Apple's MacBook Neo has sent shockwaves through the Windows PC market, with Asus' CFO Nick Wu calling it a 'shock' to the entire market. The MacBook Neo, priced at ₹69,900 in India and $599 in the US, offers a full MacBook experience, complete with an aluminium chassis, fan-less design, Liquid Retina display, up to 16 hours of battery life, and the A18 Pro chip.
Wu is calling on ecosystem partners, including Microsoft, Intel, and AMD, to take the threat seriously, as the MacBook Neo resets pricing expectations from mainstream laptops. The lack of reaction or preparedness is surprising, considering murmurs of a MacBook powered by an iPhone-class chip have been doing rounds for almost a year.
Asus knows consumers have noticed this too, and will expect Windows PC makers to catch up. However, it won't be easy, as the PC ecosystem is struggling with higher component costs and limited supply. IDC's latest analysis expects PC shipments to fall by as much as 11.3% through 2026.
The MacBook Neo's benchmark numbers show single-core performance at 3461 and multi-core performance at 8668, landing meaningfully closer to the M4 than to the M1 in single-core performance. Apple's recent affordability-focused launches, including the iPhone 17e, make it clear this is the mass market it now has in mind.
Intel will attempt to match Apple's M-series chips with its new Panther Lake silicon, but Asus' Wu sees a silver lining, saying the actual impact on the overall PC market still needs some time to resolve.
