Asus chief says Macbook Neo's affordable pricing came as a shock to the entire PC market — compares $599 notebook to a tablet and content-consumption device

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Competition is always good.

MacBook Neo
(Image credit: 3DTested)

Asus co-CEO S.Y. Hsu said that the MacBook Neo was “certainly a shock to the entire market,” especially given that Apple devices usually came with premium pricing. Hsu said this during the company’s 4Q25 earnings call, when asked how the company views its impact on the 2026 PC market. The Asus executive said that it has heard about the product’s shipment as early as the latter half of 2025, and that it has already made some preparations for its arrival. However, it seems that the company — and the rest of the PC industry — did not expect the entry-level Apple laptop to launch at just $599.

Despite the initial surprise at the affordable pricing of the MacBook Neo, Mr. Hsu said that the cheap laptop has its limitations. “For example, the memory is not upgradeable, and it only has 8GB of memory,” the Asus co-CEO said. “This may limit certain applications. So, I think when Apple petitioned the product, it’s 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 — because tablets are mostly for content consumption.”

Another thing mentioned is that many laptop buyers are already used to using Windows as an operating system, meaning they might balk at switching over to macOS. Hsu even questioned whether the low price of the Neo is enough of an incentive to cause buyers to switch over. Still, PC manufacturers cannot ignore the fact that Apple has released a new product that is an arguably better alternative to some cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. The Asus executive said that many vendors are already looking for ways to compete with the Neo, although he also said that “the actual impact on the overall PC market still needs some time to resolve.”

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While it’s unclear what Asus or the rest of the PC vendors will release in response to the MacBook Neo, this would hopefully result in higher-quality models with a comparable price point. At the moment, most cheap Windows laptops feel exactly like that — they come with plastic shells, dim screens, and poor build quality that reflect the corners companies cut to reach a lower cost. Apple’s latest cheap laptop should light the fire under PC manufacturers, forcing them to build a model that could offer comparable aesthetics, craftsmanship, and performance at a similar price. Unfortunately, the situation is complicated by the ongoing memory and storage chip crisis, leading to high prices that could cause the end of the entry-level PC.

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Jowi Morales
Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer
11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Pierce2623
    Asus pretending like they don’t sell laptops with only 8GB is kinda funny.
    Reply
  • salgado18
    While it’s unclear what Asus or the rest of the PC vendors will release in response to the MacBook Neo, this would hopefully result in higher-quality models with a comparable price point. At the moment, most cheap Windows laptops feel exactly like that — they come with plastic shells, dim screens, and poor build quality that reflect the corners companies cut to reach a lower cost. Apple’s latest cheap laptop should light the fire under PC manufacturers, forcing them to build a model that could offer comparable aesthetics, craftsmanship, and performance at a similar price.
    Every budget product has to cut corners. While the Windows/Linux market cuts on quality, Apple choose to cut on hardware. It looks and feels premium, up to the screen, but internaly it's a weak notebook. Their competitors have plastic shells and TN/IPS screens, but have a much more capable and upgradeable hardware (single core the Neo is rather good, but everywhere else is worse). Non-Apple users will buy it, sure, but will find it lose its breath in the occasional heavy software, not suited for most gaming, and not enough storage for their photos and videos. Asus will try to make premium entry notebooks, but with i3's, low RAM and little SSD? Good luck, I'll keep recomending 32GB/1TB entry level plastic ones.
    Reply
  • excalibur1814
    Maybe... Just maybe... The entire market (other than this case) is overpriced.
    Reply
  • ezst036
    Asus pretending there hadn't been rumors for months of this laptop with an iphone chip in it is kind of funny.
    Reply
  • helper800
    salgado18 said:
    Every budget product has to cut corners. While the Windows/Linux market cuts on quality, Apple choose to cut on hardware. It looks and feels premium, up to the screen, but internaly it's a weak notebook. Their competitors have plastic shells and TN/IPS screens, but have a much more capable and upgradeable hardware (single core the Neo is rather good, but everywhere else is worse). Non-Apple users will buy it, sure, but will find it lose its breath in the occasional heavy software, not suited for most gaming, and not enough storage for their photos and videos. Asus will try to make premium entry notebooks, but with i3's, low RAM and little SSD? Good luck, I'll keep recomending 32GB/1TB entry level plastic ones.
    To my understanding the new Apple laptop is also an IPS screen.
    Reply
  • Findecanor
    Another thing mentioned is that many laptop buyers are already used to using Windows as an operating system, meaning they might balk at switching over to macOS.
    I'd think that giving users a simple way to get away from Windows is kind of the point of the MacBook Neo.
    Reply
  • Randi Poling
    So far... From current reviews, the Neo is well worth the price point, able to do Photoshop, edit 4K videos, some AI, and can somewhat game, even had Cyberpunk running at 50fps. There's some more refinements apple can do on the back end through software updates to improve this little machine. Currently waiting for my 512GB Citrus model to get here (600 with student discount, worth it).
    Reply
  • King_V
    salgado18 said:
    Every budget product has to cut corners. While the Windows/Linux market cuts on quality, Apple choose to cut on hardware. It looks and feels premium, up to the screen, but internaly it's a weak notebook. Their competitors have plastic shells and TN/IPS screens, but have a much more capable and upgradeable hardware (single core the Neo is rather good, but everywhere else is worse). Non-Apple users will buy it, sure, but will find it lose its breath in the occasional heavy software, not suited for most gaming, and not enough storage for their photos and videos. Asus will try to make premium entry notebooks, but with i3's, low RAM and little SSD? Good luck, I'll keep recomending 32GB/1TB entry level plastic ones.
    I dunno about all that. Taking it point by point:
    Their competitors have plastic shells and TN/IPS screens, but have a much more capable and upgradeable hardware
    Much more capable? How so? Again, we're talking low price range, in 2026.
    Much more upgradeable? Some systems, maybe, but budget systems are notoriously less likely to be easily upgradeable.

    But will find it lose its breath in the occasional heavy software
    Really depends on the software. But again, I'm not too sure there are a lot of budget Windows/Linux laptops that are generous in RAM, not even counting the 2026 mayhem.

    Not suited for most gaming
    I wasn't aware that Mac laptops were particularly marketed as such. And, again, the same problem you state likely applies to most PC/Linux Laptops in the budget category.

    Not enough storage for their photos and videos
    Not too familiar with it, but I'm pretty sure that's gonna be cloud-centric. I believe Apple was doing this pretty early on.

    I'll keep recomending 32GB/1TB entry level plastic ones.
    How do you get 32GB/1TB and entry level in the same sentence? Again, it's 2026, with the RAMageddon that's come with it.
    Reply
  • Notton
    helper800 said:
    To my understanding the new Apple laptop is also an IPS screen.
    Not only IPS, but high res, decent brightness, and good color reproduction

    Most manufacturers have moved away entirely from TN, but the IPS panels used in low to mainstream laptops by Asus, Acer, Dell, etc. Are all 1080p/1200p, <300nits, <70% sRGB, pieces of crap.
    Reply
  • PEnns
    It's like criticizing that a certain car I might buy is not as powerful as the Ferrari F1 race car....when all I do is occasionally go 75-85 mph on the highway, otherwise, 99% of the time it is 45 mph city driving!

    Note to those who are complaining that the Neo is weak, doesn't have enough memory, not enough space, etc..: This laptop is not meant for you.
    As in many articles on this very subject have already pointed out: The Neo is meant for millions of other users for whom such specs and quality are perfect for the price and had had enough of lousy, already obsolete laptops that cost even more and were the only option.

    PS: 1 TB storage on ICloud is 0.99 cents / month and millions of people use it, newbies or otherwise...even professionals with more powerful hardware. Buying SSDs during the AI bubble is pure insanity.
    Reply