To date, I’ve published two videos about the MacBook Neo on Mark Ellis Reviews. Combined, they’ve amassed 237,000 views, nearly 8,000 likes, and thousands of comments.

More interestingly, they’ve generated those numbers in record time, faster than anything we’ve published before. If you’ve contributed to those numbers, thank you (even if you called me an idiot for suggesting that the Neo is a superb laptop).

Even more interesting is the narrative that’s developing in the comments sections of those videos. It’s a mixture of people who completely get the Neo - what it stands for, who it’s for, why it exists, and why it isn’t the right laptop for certain users. The other bunch (in the minority, interestingly) is what I’m now terming the Barrel Scrapers.

The lack of a backlit keyboard. The 8GB of unified memory. The fact that it runs macOS and not Linux (I’m not making this up). Bar the latter, they are absolutely elements of the Neo that need to be investigated, but the vigour with which that crowd is going after those perceived deficiencies verges on desperation.

I talk more about this, and why I love the MacBook Neo so much (for two very specific reasons) in this week’s Tech Diary video. And, yes, I’m writing these words on it now.

It’s been a week since the MacBook Neo made its way onto my lap and I can’t stop talking about how good it is. No, it hasn’t reinvented the wheel or done anything eye-catching, but the simplicity is the selling point. Check out my full thoughts!

No, I hadn’t forgotten about this amongst the Apple onslaught! I’ve had some time to think about the S26 Ultra (and it needed some thought because it is a bit of a weird pitch to make to consumers) and come up with a list of things that you should know about it!

👉 MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air: Which One Should You Buy? - Out of all of the device comparisons you can make, this is probably the most interesting and complicated →

👉 M5 MacBook Air vs M4 MacBook Air: What’s Actually Changed? - Hmmm, indeed…what has actually changed? →

👉 M4 iPad Air vs M5 iPad Pro: Which Is Best For You? - Yup, a lot of these kinds of questions have been generated after Apple’s latest releases. This one is easy to answer though, right? →

😲 How AI Will Fail Like The Music Industry (Rick Beato) - One of those significant lightbulb moments. A must-watch.

🍎 Apple will never be the same. (fpt). Whatever you think of this channel (and its presenter), this video is worth watching. I don’t agree with his conclusion at all, but it will generate some very interesting discussion.

🗣️ Extended interview: Tim Cook (CBS Sunday Morning) - If you have even a passing interest in Apple, this interview (which coincides with Apple’s 50th birthday) is one to add to your watch list.

This is the Oppo Find N6 foldable! I can’t say much about it now, but what I CAN say is that it’s the first foldable to come with ‘zero-feel crease’ technology.

That got you interested, didn’t it?!

Full review coming next week, but in the meantime, let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter! It’s been all-Apple everything as you might have come to expect, but there’s something very cool hitting the channel tomorrow (hint above)! See you there.

~ Mark