(Preview) Nerding Out with the Neo, Claude and the Integration Question, The End of Coding Language History

Ben and Andrew begin with the MacBook Neo, including Ben’s memory needs, Apple’s clever move to repurpose old iPhone chips, and the market for a $599 laptop. From there: A question about VisionOS, Andrew’s notes after six weeks of Vision Pro joy, and an extended discussion of Claude’s differentiation, harnessing, Microsoft’s AI strategy, and the future of integration and AI. At the end: A question on the end of coding language, what went wrong at the Washington Post, and being right points on AI group chats.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Andrew Sharp?

  Hello and welcome to a free preview of Sharp Tech.

• 0:08Andrew Sharp?

  Hello and welcome back to another episode of Sharp Tech. I'm Andrew Sharp and on the other line, Ben Thompson. Ben, how you doing?

• 0:19Ben Thompson?

  I'm doing well, Andrew. How are you?

• 0:21Andrew Sharp?

  I'm doing okay. Mixed feelings. Can I use this platform to publicly apologize to Bill Bishop at the top of the show here and to anyone who's living on the East Coast right now?

• 0:35Ben Thompson?

  Sure. Why? I thought you were so, you're so morose. I thought this was like going to be an F1 opening or what?

• 0:40Andrew Sharp?

  No, I am morose about F1 though. We can probably hit that later in the show. I opened Sharp China yesterday marveling at the spring weather that DC was enjoying.

• 0:53Ben Thompson?

  I could have warned you because you know, you get our weather after it sweeps through here. It was a beautiful 70 degree day on Monday and yesterday it snowed.

• 1:02Andrew Sharp?

  Oh my God. And that's what's happening today. So I said on the show, I was like, I'm not going to spike the football, but I feel like we've turned the corner. Spring is here. Everyone's in a good mood. And of course I did jinx us. It's currently snowing as I record.

• 1:19Ben Thompson?

  Oh, it could be worse. In Wisconsin this weekend, we're going to get somewhere between zero and 15 inches of snow.

• 1:27Andrew Sharp?

  See, like that would break me.

• 1:28Ben Thompson?

  Really not great.

• 1:30Andrew Sharp?

  I just would not be able to handle it. So, and I told Bill, we could safely put away the shovels. It's flurrying here. I'm not getting the shovel out based on the snow that we're dealing with in DC, but I wish you luck on the way into the weekend. 15, zero to 15 inches. That's a spectrum that's also hard to wrap your head around as you're heading into the weekend.

• 1:49Ben Thompson?

  Apparently there's going to be this band of snow that is going to well up somewhere and they're not quite sure where, but if it hits, it's gonna suck. Yeah. Not looking forward to it.

• 1:59Andrew Sharp?

  Well, one thing that won't suck is this podcast. So I am looking forward to that and it's going to be mostly mail today.

• 2:05Ben Thompson?

  Don't spike the football.

• 2:06Andrew Sharp?

  Yeah, that's right. I'm not going to spike the football again for the love of God. I learned my lesson. We'll begin with Apple and a note from Felipe who says, Ben and Andrew, this is really derived from the Dithering podcast, but-

• 2:20Ben Thompson?

  And to be clear, this is our Q and A opportunity for all trajectory plus content. So no need to apologize.

• 2:26Andrew Sharp?

  That's right. I love getting responses to dithering takes. This is really derived from the dithering podcast, Felipe writes. But the topic I thought would be appropriate for Sharp Tech as well. It's about the MacBook Neo. Ben said he is absolutely not the target customer. And that made me raise my eyebrows. What is it that Ben does in his workflow where he needs the awesome power of the M4 or M5 MacBook Pros with massive amounts of RAM as well? As far as I can tell, you need that kind of chunky performance if you're A, doing professional video editing, and I mean professional, because I saw the Neo can edit 4K video generally just fine.

• 3:08Andrew Sharp?

  B, playing very graphically intensive video games, or C, running the latest open source LLMs locally on your machine. I don't see why Ben would need to do any of those. In fact, I don't think most knowledge workers need to do any of those either. Most knowledge work today is about reading, watching media, communicating your work, doing spreadsheets, or word processing, or presentations, etc. Let's face it, we were doing all of those just fine 10 years ago. There is nothing really new enabled by the more powerful laptops we have today. I'm sure Ben was just as effective in his job 10 years ago as he was today in terms of computing power.

• 3:49Andrew Sharp?

  The M4 or M5 doesn't enable better analysis on his part. Am I wrong? We are truly in the thin client era, as Ben himself put it recently. What on earth do people need the limited local models for, other than perhaps for compliance reasons? Any thoughts?

• 4:08Ben Thompson?

  Yeah, it's a good take. So, or a good question, I should say. The answer as far as my main computer needs. So, when I was talking about the MacBook, I was like, I want to buy this as a secondary computer. My main computer is a MacBook Pro. It is an M2 MacBook Pro, and I do feel limited by it. But not for any of the cases he listed is I would like Thunderbolt 5 because I have so many peripherals plugged into my computer, including three screens. At some point, I would maybe like to upgrade to two studio displays, which would be cool. And I actually have need to have three dongles because I'm running into bandwidth limitations in terms of Thunderbolts and how much stuff can go in and out of my computer.

• 4:50Andrew Sharp?

  Interesting.

• 4:51Ben Thompson?

  So it actually has nothing to do with the performance.

• 4:53Andrew Sharp?

  So it's all about the ports for you, basically?

• 4:55Ben Thompson?

  Well, it's not just ports, it's how fast those ports run. And so I have Thunderbolt 4, I have two Thunderbolt 4 docks hooked up. And I've actually run into an issue where because of all the screens, I run into bandwidth and sometimes my my ethernet connection would sort of cut out and drop down because it would like run into weird things. So I actually have my ethernet, which I have 10G or because of course I do.

• 5:20Andrew Sharp?

  Next time I come to Madison, we are going to record a Sharp Tech YouTube exclusive where we tour your office and really dive into how dorky your setup is. I can't wait.

• 5:30Ben Thompson?

  I have, well, I have all the ports on the MacBook Pro being used right now. So I have two Thunderbolt docks, I have a 10G ethernet adapter, and I have an HDMI cord to the TV that I use for for this podcast where I'm actually looking at a TV. I have two cameras, I have the camera I use for this podcast, another camera I use for for other things. So, yeah, like that honestly, that's my main use case for all the capability. I don't need the processor. I did buy the full RAM components, I have 96GB of RAM with the M2 processor, and I can run local models. To Felipe's point, do I run local models frequently? No, not really. But I I wrote sufficiently about running local models and what they were

• 6:14Ben Thompson?

  capable of back in the day that I feel I got my money's worth as far as that goes. In theory, would I like to run more? Maybe, but. Generally speaking, yeah, I'd rather use the cloud ones anyway.

• 6:27Andrew Sharp?

  Yeah.

• 6:27Ben Thompson?

  I do have that capability if I need. So, yes.

• 6:29Andrew Sharp?

  It is a kind of a funny era to remember though, because early on with L L Ms, you were all in on open source local models and you wanted to have the ability to run your own local models.

• 6:40Ben Thompson?

  I do. I do still. And I almost bought a Mac Studio when they came out with like the huge like 512 gigabytes. Yeah, I mean, imagine like if you lost internet connectivity and you could have like all the world's knowledge distilled on your local computer. That would be great. Um, I decided, you know, just get doubled down on my internet connectivity.

• 6:57Andrew Sharp?

  Fair enough.

• 6:59Ben Thompson?

  But yeah, no, but yeah, I don't necessarily, I don't need the processing power by and large. Uh, and I don't even do most of the editing anymore. Like I, we have an editor and things on those lines. So, uh, yeah, so I don't need the extra power and that's why I haven't upgraded the MacBook. I would like Thunderbolt 5. Uh, there are a couple edge limitations I run into and I'm limited in some expansionary stuff I want to do, but it's not worth the ridiculous price. Uh, when this one's perfectly fine.

• 7:29Andrew Sharp?

  And you're not playing any graphically intensive video games on your machines?

• 7:34Ben Thompson?

  I have a, uh, I have a Windows computer for that in theory, which I actually want to get to in a moment because I have a take. Uh, there's actually an interesting development in that regard, but no, I don't play any games on, on my Mac.

• 7:45Andrew Sharp?

  All right.

• 7:45Ben Thompson?

  So.

• 7:47Andrew Sharp?

  Well. Let's talk about the Neo generally.

• 7:50Ben Thompson?

  Let's talk about the Neo. No, it's why I'm not, why I was, was looking forward to this computer, why I'm not going to buy it. Uh, I, back in the day when Mac, I like having one computer with all my stuff on it. So when I go on a trip, I can take my MacBook with me. I learned my lesson. I actually bought the M1 13 inch and I'm like, I should have got the 16 inch. It's like, and so I got the M2 and I haven't upgraded since then. And I have all my stuff there. I don't have to change anything or make sure everything synced up or whatever. And my environment is, is exactly what I want. But at the same time, this is a very large computer and it's annoying to unplug all the cables and put my windows back where I want them, even though I have like a shortcut to put it all there or whatever.

• 8:33Ben Thompson?

  It's like, I'd rather just leave it here unless I'm like traveling and will be working while traveling.

• 8:40Andrew Sharp?

  For multiple days. Sure.

• 8:41Ben Thompson?

  Right. But just around the house or around town, like I drive my son to baseball practice all the time. And usually he's at baseball practice. I sit in the car and I do work. And for that. A MacBook Air is amazing. It's fantastic. It's such a, it's, I have an M2 MacBook Air also. So both my computers are M2s. Uh, this one I actually bought, I think I got a refurbished one. I think the M2, I can't remember, but it was like totally fine. It was sort of spur of the moment. Like I really should get another one and then now like it's amazing. It's an amazing computer. It's so small and thin. It's gotten all beat up. Like, like in Taiwan, I would just leave it. I called it my car computer. I just leave it in my car all the time. Uh, it plugged in. Uh, Taiwan is a good environment to just leave expensive computers in the car.

• 9:24Andrew Sharp?

  Free to do whatever over there.

• 9:26Ben Thompson?

  Um, but I went to the car. I picked up my son, a bunch of his friends. I didn't realize it was like down in the floor in the backseat. It got all stomped on or whatever. It still works fine, but whatever. If I need to get a new one, it's an M2. I can get a new one. It's fine.

• 9:38Andrew Sharp?

  Um, I love you just nerding out here. Ben loves to be asked about his tech preferences.

• 9:44Ben Thompson?

  I do. I do. Uh, well, actually in Taiwan, because connectivity is so good and you have like perfect 5G everywhere. What I act, the way I would actually use the MacBook Air in Taiwan is I would just screen share back, or I would just go back to my computer and, uh, I'd just use my home computer via the MacBook Air. Uh, I don't do that as much here. It's, it's, it's harder to always get as good of a signal.

• 10:11Andrew Sharp?

  Regardless of signal.

• 10:12Ben Thompson?

  But, uh, but mostly it's, you know, I, but everybody's, yeah. But anyhow, I have the MacBook Air that I take with me. It's great. If I travel and I'm not going to be working, I just take the MacBook Air. I can do everything I need with it. It's super light.

• 10:25Andrew Sharp?

  I will second your endorsement. Just for the record, I was convinced to buy a MacBook Air by our colleague Duman, like three years ago, because his sister got one. And so he gave me the specs. I think it was an M1 MacBook Air. Um, but it was one of the best purchases I've made this decade because I've got a MacBook Pro where I do all my work, where I record all my podcasts. It has more RAM and it's very performant. I got the biggest screen on the MacBook Pro, but it's just so much easier for me to leave it in one place.

• 10:59Ben Thompson?

  That's the other thing I need. Uh, I will regularly. I have so many tabs open and I use Chrome that I don't need 96 gigabytes of memory, but I need a lot of memory.

• 11:12Andrew Sharp?

  It does slow things down.

• 11:14Ben Thompson?

  So, uh, so I do, I do use a lot of RAM for the stupidest reason possible. And the MacBook Pro is much more RAM than the air.

• 11:22Andrew Sharp?

  Yeah, I don't know how much RAM I have on the air, but every now and then, why? Cause I write on the air and every now and then I just have to shut off the air and restart it because the computer starts to overheat a little bit because of all the tabs.

• 11:37Ben Thompson?

  I think that's Chrome, but, uh, but yes, the, uh, but anyhow, I would love, because my whole use case is I don't need power. It's, it's all about the portability. I would love a rehash and it, I think I speak for a lot of Apple fans that have been waiting for. Apple released this MacBook, they called it just MacBook. Uh, I think the name that people came up with was, I think it was ATP called it MacBook one. Cause it had one port, which you had to use for charging and anything else. It weighed two pounds. It was so thin on the front edge, it like, actually the, one of the biggest critiques of it was you couldn't open it with one hand. Cause the whole thing would like flip up when you're trying to lift the lid. Like the, the tension in the hinge was, was, took more weight than like the weight of the computer.

• 12:22Ben Thompson?

  So my wife had one of these, it's amazing. It was the, back then the MacBook Air did not have a retina screen. So if you want a small computer, the retina screen is the first one to have it. It started at $1,300, more than the MacBook Air. It was hilariously underpowered, like the processor in that actually would, I think inhibit even the basic stuff that I do. But it, the form factor was unbelievable. And so you hear Apple is going to come out with a computer that uses an iPhone chip. And it's like, we, it was like, yeah, MacBook Air is cool. Can we do the MacBook? Can we do even thinner? Could it be even smaller? Like you, you know, I don't think, I don't think they ever released in the US, but Sony used to have these tiny like laptops that were kind of thick because the, but still like you could, how small could Apple make?

• 13:06Ben Thompson?

  Uh, a computer that is actually still, still a real computer. And that is a computer. That and the other factor to answer Felipe's question is I have discretionary income. So if they come out with the ultra thin computer and it costs like $2,000 and I'm like,

• 13:25Andrew Sharp?

  The more expensive, the better.

• 13:26Ben Thompson?

  Take my, yeah, take my money. This is great. The reason I'm not the target customer for the MacBook Neo is because it is actually thicker than the MacBook Air. It weighs the same and I would rather, all things considered, pay for the better capability and performance of the MacBook Air. Do I need it? No, probably not. Is the MacBook Neo gonna be fine for the vast real use cases? Almost certainly. But if I have the choice of basically the same specs, although actually again, the MacBook Air is actually thinner. Uh, I'm probably just gonna get to MacBook Air. So, uh, and this is not a critique of the Neo. I think the Neo is amazing. Like, and I think it's, it's quite exciting just in a,

• 14:11Ben Thompson?

  it, I mean, it's cool to see Apple doing a new strategy, like, like the 17E start or the 16E started it. But for ages, their low end computers was just sell old iPhones and keep them around forever. Now to see them actually designing for the low end and to look at the Neo and to see how cheap it is, how capable it is. Uh, the teardown videos are cool. It's, it's like the old computers, everything can be, is modular and like screwed in. There's no like, you take a, a part of modern Apple device. It's all like glue and stuck together. And that's how you get it thin with long battery life. Oh, that's the other thing. The, the air has better battery life.

• 14:48Andrew Sharp?

  Yeah.

• 14:48Ben Thompson?

  That is a, like, for one that I leave in my car and I could plug it in the car, but I want it to always be working.

• 14:54Andrew Sharp?

  Piece of the Neo that I, made me pause and say, all right, this probably isn't for me because it, battery life does matter to me. As particularly if it's a second laptop that I'm carrying all over the house the whole time.

• 15:06Ben Thompson?

  Right. Which I don't always remember to plug in and it's like, but basically they are like, I plug it in. I use it right now. I'm looking at the air. I use it for, as my computer to look at our rundown while we're recording. And it's plugged in right now. And this is the only time I'll have it plugged in all week. Like the rest of the time, it's just sort of like, it, it's around and it, it's totally fine. So, uh, so yeah.

• 15:25Andrew Sharp?

  Big picture. Before we get to Apple, I, I'll read this question from.

• 15:28Ben Thompson?

  I was very tongue in cheek saying I wasn't the target customer. I think it's an amazing computer. I'm just not in the buying. It because it's cheap stage of my life anymore.

• 15:39Andrew Sharp?

  Yeah. Well, Rav says, Andrew and Ben, what is going on in Cupertino? On earth, we humans are grappling with memory and storage prices going up over 100% each quarter, and investment being diverted from consumer tech into AI infrastructure. But not at Apple. They're launching an entry level laptop at $599 in 2026. They're a big tech company that is spending $0 on AI CapEx in 2026. What is going on here? Did Apple's Spaceship Campus actually leave Earth? So that's the context for our last 15 minutes here. The Neo is $599 and

• 16:21Ben Thompson?

  $4.99 for education.

• 16:23Andrew Sharp?

  And a really good laptop at that price.

• 16:25Ben Thompson?

  No, for sure. Like, what it does have going for is color. Color is good, Apple. We like color. It drives me bonkers that color was always for the cheap stuff and not for the expensive stuff. I would, you know, they do have it with the iPhone Air to an extent. But, uh, no, it's an amazing computer. It's awesome. We've been waiting for like the iPhone chip computer and it's great that Apple shipped it. And I do think Rav raises a really important point. There is, was a lot of muttering in this budget. Oh, Apple got caught out by the memory prices. This is how sort of out of touch they are. Uh, all evidence is that no, Apple is still fully in control of their supply chain. They understand what they're doing.

• 17:07Andrew Sharp?

  All right. And that is the end of the free preview. If you'd like to hear more from Ben and I, there are links to subscribe in the show notes, or you can also go to sharp tech.fm. Either option will get you access to a personalized feed that has all the shows we do every week, plus lots more great content from Sir Teccary and the Sir Teccary Plus bundle. Check it out. And if you've got feedback, please email us at email at sharp tech.fm.