New Apple Macbook Neo?

PoLo - Talk
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Hello, I know I can run Polo on a MacBook Pro with the iPadOS version but would that be also be the case on their new cheaper MacBook that uses the A18 Pro chip instead of the M series? I’m wondering if that would be a good computer for field type use?

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Something we will have to wait and find out as this is the first time this chip is going in a laptop

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Like @wc9b said, we’ll not be sure until someone tries it.

But I’d be really, really surprised if this new MacBook does not run iPad apps.

It looks like the perfect laptop for field use.

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I think I might just be the one to do that. It looks like it might also run the UTM with Windows 11 so if that also works it would be great! I’ve used my MBP a few times but just don’t like using it in “dusty” environments. Thanks for the feedback!

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100% agreed. It really seems like the perfect option if you are in the market. Can’t wait for it to get into “real peoples” hands and we can see some real life reviews and whatnot.

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My oldest kid works at bestbuy he just sent me these for the Neo they have on display.

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Outstanding!!! That was super cool of him to do that! I picked one up on Wednesday from the semi-local apple store. I haven’t been able to test it real world yet BUT I do have all the applications loaded and I was able to get a UTM of Windows 11 running with Winlink and Vara HF. I’m hoping tomorrow to get tested on a radio and make sure it actually works. So far I’m really impressed with this little computer. I mean sure I could’ve gotten a cheaper windows machine but I just really don’t want to do that - and then I couldn’t use Polo which is basically the only logging application I use.

Thanks again for posting that!

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Okay so I forgot to take a picture of it running Polo BUT I did do an activation and logged 70 contacts with it so it does run without issue. I also got it running WSJT-X although with the band conditions it wasn’t great I only made 2 contacts with it. Now here’s the crazy part - I loaded UTM, Windows 11, Winlink, and Vara HF and I was able to connect and transfer mail through it. I was really surprised that actually worked. The iPad might still be better for field logging when I’m just doing SSB but it is definitely an interesting machine.

Oh and the battery did really well and even though it charges at lower power when I put it on a small Jackery 240 it got back to 100% pretty quickly. So impressive little machine!

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Here’s the specs, don’t see why it wouldn’t work:

Hardware

  • A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

  • 8GB unified memory

  • 512GB SSD storage

  • 20W USB‑C Power Adapter

  • U.S. English Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

  • Two USB-C ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack

  • Support for one external display

  • Accessory Kit

Software

  • Photos, iMovie, GarageBand

  • Pages, Numbers, Keynote

  • macOS

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Yeah it’s working good! I’m really impressed with that little machine. Suppose a Windows computer would probably be cheaper but honestly I just do not want to have one…. I need to do another round of testing with WinLink and WSJTX to make sure I really had it working right.

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