MacBook Neo raises the bar for cheap laptops and shakes the PC market

Apple’s MacBook Neo has reset the baseline for sub‑$800 laptops, a change that matters even before widespread hands‑on reviews. For years Apple focused on the high end, keeping its least expensive MacBook—the MacBook Air—around $1,000 and largely avoiding the cheap‑PC segment inhabited by many Windows machines.

The new models make some compromises without crossing dealbreakers. Apple caps RAM at 8 GB, a choice the company appears to have made to avoid cannibalizing the MacBook Air, and the $699 version includes biometrics aimed at home users. A $599 model seems intended for education, where it drops to $499.

Market dynamics will determine how much switching happens. Enterprise deployments and many professionals are likely to stick with Windows or higher‑spec machines, while the home and education segments—consumers, students and families, especially iPhone owners—could be swayed by a cheaper, higher‑quality Mac.

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