The PC industry is officially worried about the MacBook Neo
PC makers, Intel and Microsoft will need to respond to the Apple MacBook Neo's entry into the affordable laptop market, says Acer.
The $599/£599 price tag of the Apple MacBook Neo laptop has left PC manufacturers in “shock”, the boss of Acer has said.
In an earnings call, Asus co-CEO S.Y. Hsu says the advent of a first sub-premium laptop from Apple is something PC makers will have to contend with.
In comments translated into English, he said (via PCMag): “In the past, Apple’s pricing situation has always been high, so for them to release a very budget-friendly product, this is obviously a shock to the entire industry.”
Now PC makers, as well as the processor-makers and software providers need to take heed. “In fact, in the entire PC ecosystem, there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product,” he added.
The saving grace for the PC industry, according to the Acer bossman, is the MacBook Neo’s max RAM configuration of 8GB. PC makers will be able to top that. This may limit the appeal of the MacBook Neo “content consumption”, Hsu says, and this is “different from the use case of a mainstream notebook.”
I’m not so sure about that glimmer of hope, to be honest. 8GB of RAM will be more than enough for most mainstream tasks like web browsing, light photo and video editing, communication, office productivity apps, and media streaming. Those use cases will likely cover the main needs of the target market, which is going to be students and those without need for MacBook Pro oomph. Stuff has already weighed in on the MacBook Neo affording it a five-star review.
“How big of an impact [the Neo] will have on the PC industry will still require some time for us to observe,” Hsu mused, adding: “Of course, the entire Windows PC ecosystem will push out products to compete against Apple.”
Chris Smith
