MacBook Neo: Speakers & Microphone
Listening to the side-firing speakers and microphone quality.
This is not a scientific review. I placed the laptop on a bed and filmed with my A7R II and a Sony ECM-LV1, about 50cm away from the laptop. This purely subjective test mimics how most people actually use their laptops: watching Netflix on the sofa, or tucked under the sheets.
Laptop definitely makes better laptop speakers. My 14-inch MacBook Pro sounds much crisper and has deeper bass, which itself pales in comparison to the 16-inch variant. But in terms of loudness the Neo is serviceable, and I think it still presents a high bar for other laptops in this price range to compete with.
The side-firing speakers do an admirable job given the physical constraints. There is no bass to speak of, but the mid-range remains clear enough for dialogue-heavy content.
Microphone
The built-in microphone captures perfectly adequate audio. Not fantastic, but it handled my voice just fine even in a busy outdoor environment.
For the price, the sound system is competent. Not exceptional, but competent.