Windows PC makers typically haven't had to compete with Apple on the low end, but that changes with the Neo, says S.Y. Hsu. The memory shortage might complicate things, though.

The Apple MacBook Neo’s $599 starting price is a “shock” to the Windows PC industry, according to an Asus executive.

Hsu said he believes all the PC players—including Microsoft, Intel, and AMD—take the MacBook Neo threat seriously. “In fact, in the entire PC ecosystem, there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product,” he added, given that rumors about the MacBook Neo have been making the rounds for at least a year.

Despite the competitive threat, Hsu argued that the MacBook Neo could have limited appeal. He pointed to the laptop’s 8GB of “unified memory,” or what amounts to its RAM, and how customers can’t upgrade it.

  • boonhet@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    10 hours ago

    Tbh Apple laptops were always easier to deal with than non-pro PC laptops when I worked at a refurb shop.

    Professional grade PC laptops (Thinkpad T, X series, Elitebook 700 series and up) were very easy to repair (and had more replaceable components than a Mac), but get your hands on a Pavilion and you’ll want to pull your hair out. Using label remover to remove battery cells after removing an 8-10 screw bottom case on a Mac was quicker than even a simple HDD replacement in some PC laptops.

    Of course it helped a LOT that Apple’s lineup is pretty standardized and they don’t change everything around every model year, so a LOT of part reuse happened. Which was the same with e.g Elitebooks and Thinkpads, but again, not Pavilions and Ideapads and such.