{"id":4610,"date":"2026-03-13T17:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/4610\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:21:10","slug":"pc-makers-are-not-ready-for-the-macbook-neo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/4610\/","title":{"rendered":"PC makers are not ready for the MacBook Neo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MacBook Neo<\/a> is here, and it took no time at all for an executive from a major PC manufacturer to put their foot in their mouth trying to discuss this new competition from Apple\u2019s $600 laptop. On Asus\u2019 latest earnings call<\/a>, CFO Nick Wu said that the Neo and its aggressive entry-level pricing were \u201ccertainly a shock to the entire market.\u201d Wu also disclosed that Asus had some knowledge of Apple developing the Neo back in 2025, much as many of us had heard rumors of a MacBook with an iPhone chip<\/a> for months \u2014 and yet, Asus and other PC makers seem to have been caught flat-footed.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worse is these company executives don\u2019t even seem to realize what the Neo means. Apple has fully entered the budget laptop space, with an extremely capable (and colorful) device seemingly geared at everything from mainstream Windows laptops to the fleets of Chromebooks in schools everywhere. Apple\u2019s manufacturing might, design chops, and near-total ownership of its tech stack give it the tools to take on this market in a big way. Somehow, the PC makers still don\u2019t see it coming. Here\u2019s how Wu described the MacBook Neo, specifically its 8GB of RAM limitation:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when Apple positioned the product, it\u2019s probably focused more on content consumption. This differs somewhat from mainstream notebook usage scenarios, because in that case, the Neo feels more like a tablet \u2014 because tablets are mostly for content consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hang on. Can we hold up for a second here?<\/p>\n

\"When<\/a><\/p>\n

When I see macOS I don\u2019t solely think \u201ccontent consumption,\u201d and I doubt anyone else who uses it does either. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

Equating the MacBook Neo to a glorified Netflix machine is preposterous. It\u2019s not a desktop replacement-class laptop with tons of power, but it\u2019s a very capable machine. And this misunderstanding tells me that PC manufacturers are about to repeat many of the same mistakes as when they spent<\/a> years mocking<\/a> the supposedly underpowered MacBook Air, and when former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer laughed at the iPhone<\/a>. Once again, the Windows world appears to not understand what people actually want.<\/p>\n

How, exactly, does the MacBook Neo differ from mainstream notebook usage, like web browsing, editing documents, making basic presentations, and maybe occasionally playing a game? According to a 2025 CNET survey<\/a>, 52 percent of laptop owners use their laptops for creating and viewing documents. Next highest was 35 percent using their laptops for streaming and watching shows and movies (content consumption, yes). The other surveyed uses behind that were creative work, studying, test taking, and basic life organization. That\u2019s all stuff the Neo can do well (with some limits on the creative side). And it does it while having a good trackpad, a bright and colorful screen, a solid keyboard, and quality speakers \u2014 things that go a long way to making a computer compelling, and which are often lacking on low-cost Windows laptops.<\/p>\n

If the Neo came out running iPadOS, sure, call it a consumption machine, but it runs macOS \u2014 a desktop OS that\u2019s known for getting by better with less RAM than Windows. And, meanwhile, thanks to the ongoing RAM shortage<\/a>, we may once again get more new laptops with 8GB of starting RAM<\/a> on Windows. As RAM prices explode, Apple\u2019s vertically integrated supply chain can continue to offer computers cheaper. Even if PC makers can match the specs, they\u2019ll have a hard time matching the price.<\/p>\n

\"Your<\/a><\/p>\n

Your average Apple Store-goer will have an easy time demoing and shopping for this $600 laptop \u2014 one of Apple\u2019s strengths compared to buying a Windows laptop online or at Best Buy. Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

The proof of the MacBook Neo\u2019s performance for the money is in the numbers. In single-core benchmarks tests<\/a> \u2014 which most accurately measure the kinds of everyday tasks you do on a computer \u2014 the Neo\u2019s A18 Pro chip beats out all manner of Windows laptops, including the new flagship Intel Panther Lake chip<\/a> in Asus\u2019 own $2,400 Zenbook Duo<\/a>. Is a Zenbook Duo more capable than the MacBook Neo for heavier tasks, like photo and video editing or playing more graphically demanding games? Yes, and it\u2019s part of why I loved that dual-screen laptop when I reviewed it. But the Zenbook Duo also costs four times as much. And, again, the Neo can hang with it for most common tasks, even with its 8GB of RAM.<\/p>\n

I said in my review that the Neo embarrasses an entire class of affordable Windows laptops, but further embarrassment awaits these companies if they have nothing to answer it with. I hope they\u2019re already working on that next generation of laptops that will actually compete at $600. And I really hope companies like Asus, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Acer, Samsung, and MSI have an actual understanding of what makes their new competition so good, and what it can do for a whole lot less than current Windows-based offerings. I reached out to all these companies, and the answers I\u2019ve received so far are expectedly milquetoast.<\/p>\n

\"Asus\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Asus\u2019 dual-screen Zenbook Duo is a great, unique laptop. It\u2019s also very expensive. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales \/ The Verge<\/p>\n

Gigabyte marketing director Howard Chiu told me, \u201cGigabyte is not currently pursuing laptops in the same segment as the Neo. The Gigabyte A16 would be minimum specs that we are involved in.\u201d Which, okay, I can actually respect that. Because Gigabyte is a small player in the laptop space and mostly specializes in gaming \u2014 it\u2019s simply not competing with the Neo.<\/p>\n

Dell PR rep Nathalia Romano pointed me to COO Jeff Clarke\u2019s CES keynote<\/a>. Clarke teased the release<\/a> of a new XPS 13<\/a> laptop that will be \u201cthe most accessible XPS price point ever.\u201d He also said the company\u2019s aim is to \u201ccover all price points with great products. Is a great product different at $399 than it is at $1,999? Of course it is, but they both can be great at what they\u2019re expected to do.\u201d What does Dell currently have at the Neo\u2019s price? A Dell 15 laptop<\/a> with a dim 16:9 display, plastic build, three-year-old Intel chip, and\u2026 8GB of RAM. On Windows 11. Woof.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t just about performance scores or the amount of RAM, it\u2019s also about making affordable laptops that don\u2019t feel like a punishment to use \u2014 a total package for everyday people, for a price that\u2019s not exorbitant. That\u2019s what Windows laptop manufacturers are up against, and if they don\u2019t understand that, then they don\u2019t understand an entire class of customers who can walk into an Apple Store today and get exactly that for $599. Because they\u2019re about to.<\/p>\n

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