Even Windows fans see the MacBook Neo as a winner

Source: 9to5Mac

You’d expect Windows Central to be pretty adamant in favor of Windows laptops over any MacBook. Yet not only the website itself, but also its readers, see the MacBook Neo as a move that should have Microsoft panicking.

The site says that the timing couldn’t be better for Apple given that more Windows users than ever before are looking to switch platforms, and thinks it will hurt sales of machines like the $600 ASUS VivoBook 14 shown above.

Zac Bowden at Windows Central writes that the MacBook Neo is almost everything most people would ever need from a laptop.

I can’t believe it: Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo just lit a monstrous fire under the Windows laptop market — Microsoft better be panicking … This new low‑cost macOS laptop is everything your everyday Joe or Jane would ever need from a computer in 2026.

He notes that it’s affordable for those who would have bought a middling Windows laptop, and that a great many of them are ready to make the switch. Because of this, someone who previously had no choice but to buy a mid‑range Windows laptop now has the option of buying a MacBook. With Windows 11’s reputation at an all‑time low and millions of Windows 10 users running unsupported hardware, a $599 MacBook looks ever more appetising. The timing couldn’t be better for Apple.

Apple is making the transition as easy as possible with a dedicated microsite on switching from Windows.

Windows Central readers seem to agree. At the time of writing, more than 80 % of them believe the MacBook Neo will persuade people to switch from a mid‑range Windows laptop.