Apples new "Neo", video editing ?

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sir1963

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#324243 16-Mar-2026 10:01

I have been asked if Davinci would run on the new Neo.

The 8GB of RAM makes me unsure as does the potential limitations of the GPU.

Most editing will be for 1080p and relatively short clips (minutes long).
Anyone tried this...yes I know every early days so unlikely, but thoughts on this would be useful

TIA

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#3470758 16-Mar-2026 10:12

There are some good youtube reviews that show what it can and cant do. I did see one that showed it doing editing but forget which one sorry :(. Maybe look at Tech Chap, GregsGadgets or it might have been this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKPSlWpaQ4s

wellygary

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#3470761 16-Mar-2026 10:15

MKBHD's review said it was "OK" with Final Cut for basic 4K edits but started to blow chunks when using plugins ( and presumably things like filters as well)

For 1080p, it should be better, but again YMMV due to the 8GB...

https://youtu.be/iGeXGdYE7UE?t=575

Quinny

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#3471622 19-Mar-2026 09:54

Another that shows it being used for editing and answers your question :) MacBook NEO for FILMMAKERS - Can DaVinci Resolve work with 8GB of RAM - Tests and Buying Advice

KiwiSurfer

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#3471641 19-Mar-2026 10:56

At my day job I do occassional 1080p video editing on a relatively older Intel laptop with integrated graphics. Video editing is quite doable on lower spec machines -- the only catchs are exporting will take ages and playback in editing mode will be more choppy the more effects you add. E.g. plain video will be fine, but once you add green keying, crops, fades, etc you start to see it take its toll on the GPU as it has to do all that in real time while you are editing. It does mean I have to be a bit strategic e.g. I'll try and do as much time editing, saving the green keying and other complex effects for last.

If you're just doing the occassional home/hobby editing then the Neo will be fine with a bit of patience if you can't afford to go for a higher spec machine. But as a work daily driver (e.g. if you're doing a lot of editing every day for work) it would definitely be worth upgrading to for a smoother editing experience and faster exports as the time saving would pay for itself.

It boils down really whether you want to pay more to save time waiting on exports and a better/smoother editing experience.

wellygary

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#3471646 19-Mar-2026 11:22

KiwiSurfer:

At my day job I do occassional 1080p video editing on a relatively older Intel laptop with integrated graphics. Video editing is quite doable on lower spec machines -- the only catchs are exporting will take ages and playback in editing mode will be more choppy the more effects you add. E.g. plain video will be fine, but once you add green keying, crops, fades, etc you start to see it take its toll on the GPU as it has to do all that in real time while you are editing. It does mean I have to be a bit strategic e.g. I'll try and do as much time editing, saving the green keying and other complex effects for last.

If you're just doing the occassional home/hobby editing then the Neo will be fine with a bit of patience if you can't afford to go for a higher spec machine. But as a work daily driver (e.g. if you're doing a lot of editing every day for work) it would definitely be worth upgrading to for a smoother editing experience and faster exports as the time saving would pay for itself.

It boils down really whether you want to pay more to save time waiting on exports and a better/smoother editing experience.

Apple's higher spec'd laptops (everything other than the neo) have "M" Class chips that have Hardware Video Encoding.

The Neo has to do it in software as there are no hardware encoders on the "A" class chipset...

So as others have said it will get there, but you'll end up waiting...

alasta

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#3471676 19-Mar-2026 13:11

There is a reason why the Air and Pro lines are more expensive than the Neo.

I get that most people are struggling with cost of living at the moment, but honestly it's better to slightly over-spec your Mac rather than gamble on something that might have you spending several years wishing that you'd spent a bit more money.

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wellygary

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#3471689 19-Mar-2026 13:49

alasta:

There is a reason why the Air and Pro lines are more expensive than the Neo.

I get that most people are struggling with cost of living at the moment, but honestly it's better to slightly over-spec your Mac rather than gamble on something that might have you spending several years wishing that you'd spent a bit more money.

The Neo is not an "everyone" machine....

Its very carefully targeted, - its key expected users are students, along with people who just browse the web and write a few documents... and for those groups its a very attractive proposition,

But It's been carefully designed and built to not cannibalise their other product range, so If you're regularly editing videos,( or think you might) then you should probably look at Apple's other devices.

mattwnz

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#3471713 19-Mar-2026 15:06

Essentially you don’t buy the NEO if you want to do that sort of thing. It is apples version of Chromebook, running off an iPhone chip. It is the equivalent of an M1 air which you wouldn’t buy for video editing.

Tinkerisk

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#3471746 19-Mar-2026 16:33

sir1963:

I have been asked if Davinci would run on the new Neo.

The 8GB of RAM makes me unsure as does the potential limitations of the GPU.

Most editing will be for 1080p and relatively short clips (minutes long).
Anyone tried this...yes I know every early days so unlikely, but thoughts on this would be useful

TIA

I have two MacBook neo. For 1080p it is totally fine for (non professional) video editing for it‘s price.

edit: I‘ve used Final Cut Pro for editing a 92GB file.

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wellygary

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#3471808 19-Mar-2026 17:17

Tinkerisk:

I have two MacBook neo.

Phil Schiller can burn in hell for all I care..... :)

Tinkerisk

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#3471813 19-Mar-2026 18:19

wellygary:

Tinkerisk:

I have two MacBook neo.

Phil Schiller can burn in hell for all I care..... :)

You can do it however you like a roofer. I had to „Google“ the name first, that's how little I know the Apple people. 😁

The two Neos have been in use in my small company since the day before yesterday (intended as admin’s netbook, not as a professional video creator).

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wellygary

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#3471814 19-Mar-2026 18:35

Tinkerisk:

You can do it however you like a roofer. I had to „Google“ the name first, that's how little I know the Apple people. 😁

The two Neos have been in use in my small company since the day before yesterday (intended as admin’s netbook, not as a professional video creator).

It was your reference to "two macbook neo" in the singular...

Phil Schiller when he was an apple exec is famous for saying that you should never use plurals for Apple products (most people gave this a huge eye roll when he said it )

I Thought you were making a reference to that, but you just used the plural now...

Aucklandjafa

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#3471815 19-Mar-2026 18:36

wellygary:

KiwiSurfer:

At my day job I do occassional 1080p video editing on a relatively older Intel laptop with integrated graphics. Video editing is quite doable on lower spec machines -- the only catchs are exporting will take ages and playback in editing mode will be more choppy the more effects you add. E.g. plain video will be fine, but once you add green keying, crops, fades, etc you start to see it take its toll on the GPU as it has to do all that in real time while you are editing. It does mean I have to be a bit strategic e.g. I'll try and do as much time editing, saving the green keying and other complex effects for last.

If you're just doing the occassional home/hobby editing then the Neo will be fine with a bit of patience if you can't afford to go for a higher spec machine. But as a work daily driver (e.g. if you're doing a lot of editing every day for work) it would definitely be worth upgrading to for a smoother editing experience and faster exports as the time saving would pay for itself.

It boils down really whether you want to pay more to save time waiting on exports and a better/smoother editing experience.

+1

Apple's higher spec'd laptops (everything other than the neo) have "M" Class chips that have Hardware Video Encoding.

The Neo has to do it in software as there are no hardware encoders on the "A" class chipset...

So as others have said it will get there, but you'll end up waiting...

The A18 Pro is faster than the M1 - a chip that was game-changing when released.

As others have stated: it’s not so much Macs using silicon from smartphones, but rather, smartphones are now using desktop-grade silicon.

Tinkerisk

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#3471824 19-Mar-2026 18:39

wellygary:

Tinkerisk:

You can do it however you like a roofer. I had to „Google“ the name first, that's how little I know the Apple people. 😁

The two Neos have been in use in my small company since the day before yesterday (intended as admin’s netbook, not as a professional video creator).

It was your reference to "two macbook neo" in the singular...

Phil Schiller when he was an apple exec is famous for saying that you should never use plurals for Apple products (most people gave this a huge eye roll when he said it )

I Thought you were making a reference to that, but you just used the plural now...

I completely missed it. I'm just a German who simply made a typo in English. 🤣😉

RogerMellie

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#3471829 19-Mar-2026 18:52

https://x.com/stalman/status/2031507292454269171

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