The narrative around the MacBook Neo's performance dominance in single-core benchmarks is compelling, but it also reveals deeper tensions in the tech ecosystem. On one hand, Apple's vertical integration—controlling both hardware and software—allows for optimizations that Intel and AMD cannot match, particularly in power efficiency and specialized workloads like Photoshop. This is a legitimate advantage, not mere "hype," as some critics suggest. However, the discussion quickly shifts to broader c...