Molly Anderson on the ‘special equation’ that halved MacBook Neo materials use
Source: 9to5Mac
Interview Overview
Molly Anderson, Apple’s Industrial Design Leader, discusses the process behind creating the MacBook Neo in a new interview. Tom Ravenscroft at Dezeen conducted the interview, in which Anderson talks about the new machine that contains the most recycled material of any Apple product.
Design Philosophy
Anderson explains that Apple didn’t simply revert to older technology to lower the price; instead, they created something new:
“People’s assumption about the way that you make something that’s affordable is often – you use an older technology, maybe use a cheaper material or find a way to cut a corner somewhere,” she said.
“But for us it was important for it to be quintessentially a MacBook. It wasn’t just a redesign, it was starting from the beginning, and we’re not using cheaper materials, it’s incredible aluminium.”
Manufacturing Process
A particularly interesting part of the interview details how the MacBook Neo is machined, achieving high build quality at a lower‑than‑expected price:
“We started with an extrusion, we flatten and then form it with heat and pressure to get as close as possible to the shape of the final product,” Anderson explained.
“Then we fine‑machine to create the profile. So we’re really reducing a huge amount of the machining cycle time that’s involved.”
According to Anderson, this approach reduced cost by cutting overall manufacturing time and halving the amount of material used:
“The goal is for us to use less material overall, and to reduce the amount of processing of that material,” she said.
“It’s really this kind of special equation of having the right alloy, designing the right product and developing the shape to be able to process it so it feels exactly like the MacBook with the quality of a MacBook.”
Availability
You can read the full interview at Dezeen. The MacBook Neo is available to pre‑order for $599 ahead of its launch on Wednesday, March 11.
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