ASUS Executive Says MacBook Neo is 'Shock' to PC Industry

Source: MacRumors

On an earnings call today, an ASUS executive admitted that Apple’s more affordable MacBook Neo is a “shock” to the PC industry (via PCMag). In the U.S., the MacBook Neo starts at just $599, or an even lower $499 for college students.

Executive Comments

“Given Apple’s historically very premium pricing, launching such an affordable product is certainly a shock to the entire market,” said ASUS’s Chief Financial Officer Nick Wu, according to a transcript of the earnings call published by Seeking Alpha. The comment was translated to English by an interpreter present on the call.

Wu noted that the MacBook Neo has limited specs, including only 8 GB of RAM, and suggested this could affect the ability to run certain applications.

Performance Review

Despite the modest hardware, reviewer Patrick Tomasso demonstrated that the device can handle demanding tasks. In his video review, he:

• Played back 4K video in DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro
• Edited photos in Adobe Lightroom
• Ran many tabs in Google Chrome without issue

You can watch the review on YouTube: MacBook Neo Review – Patrick Tomasso.

Most, if not all, reviews (MacRumors review roundup) praised the MacBook Neo’s performance given its price point.

Positioning and Industry Reaction

Wu believes Apple is positioning the MacBook Neo more as a content‑consumption device, akin to a tablet:

“It’s not that it cannot do all the work, but considering user experience and those hardware limitations, the experience differs significantly from mainstream products.”

He added that the PC industry is taking the launch “very seriously”:

“All PC vendors, including upstream vendors like Microsoft, Intel and AMD, are seriously discussing how to compete with this product in the entire PC ecosystem. The entire PC system will launch corresponding products to compete with Apple.”

Outlook

Wu cautioned that the ultimate impact on the PC market remains uncertain:

“The final market competition outcome is hard to predict. We just need more time.”

With the MacBook Neo launch underway, the clock is officially ticking.