Apple’s low-cost MacBook Neo has sparked concern in the Windows PC industry due to its aggressive pricing of $599, starting price. According to Asus co-CEO S.Y. Hsu, this move will force PC players to respond and compete with the new laptop.
Hsu acknowledged that Apple’s pricing situation was previously high, making the release of a budget-friendly product a “shock” to the industry. However, he believes that the MacBook Neo has limited appeal due to its 8GB of unified memory and inability to be upgraded.
Despite this, PCMag gave the MacBook Neo an “outstanding” score in their review, praising its fast speeds for basic computing and light gaming capabilities. Preorders began ahead of a March 11 launch, with shipping times already slipping to a few weeks.
Asus co-CEO Hsu noted that the impact of the MacBook Neo on the PC industry will take time to observe, but he suggested it might not gain traction among Windows PC users due to software differences. The PC industry is facing a major bottleneck due to an AI-driven memory shortage, which has driven up prices for consumer electronics.
The memory shortage is expected to persist for two years, until late 2027 when new memory fabs come online. Asus expects this to affect its product pricing, but the company aims to remain competitive in the market.
Source: https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/163723/asus-co-ceo-macbook-neo-is-a-shock-to-the-pc-industry