Apple’s new MacBook Neo has already rattled the wider laptop market, and Asus co-CEO S.Y. Hsu made that clear when he called the device a “shock” to the PC industry. His reaction matters because Apple rarely enters the lower end of the laptop market with this kind of aggressive pricing, so the MacBook Neo instantly changed the conversation around value, competition, and what buyers now expect from an entry-level notebook.
Hsu said Apple’s decision to launch a “very budget-friendly product” has triggered serious conversations across the PC ecosystem, and that comment alone shows how closely rivals are watching this launch. He also said, “there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product,” which suggests Apple has done more than release a cheaper MacBook. It has forced major PC brands to rethink pricing and positioning at a time when buyers are paying close attention to performance per dollar.
According to PCMag, Hsu made those remarks during Asus’ earnings call while discussing the effect the MacBook Neo could have on the broader Windows laptop market. The report said Asus believes the threat is real, even if the company also sees limits to the MacBook Neo’s appeal among more demanding users.
Asus Still Sees This as a Weak Spot
Even with that concern, Hsu did not treat the MacBook Neo as a perfect all-round laptop. He pointed to its 8GB of unified memory and the fact that buyers cannot upgrade it later, which remains a real issue for people who run heavier workloads or want a machine that stays flexible for years. He also described the MacBook Neo as a “content consumption” device, comparing it to an iPad rather than a mainstream notebook built for more compute-intensive work.
That mix of praise and criticism tells the real story. Asus clearly sees the MacBook Neo as a disruptive product because of its price, but it also believes traditional PC makers still have room to fight back by offering stronger multitasking performance, better upgrade flexibility, and more familiar Windows software support. Even so, once a rival calls your new laptop a “shock” to the industry, the message is already clear. Apple has everyone’s attention.
“The report said Asus believes the threat is real, even if the company also sees limits to the MacBook Neo’s appeal among more demanding users.”
‘More demanding users’ are NOT the target market.