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

[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 at an even lower $499 for college students.

"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. His comment was translated to English by an interpreter who was present on the call.

Wu said the MacBook Neo has some limited specs, including only 8GB of RAM, and he believes this may impact the ability to use certain apps. However, MacBook Neo reviewer Patrick Tomasso played back 4K video in DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro, edited a photo in Adobe Lightroom, and used many tabs in Google Chrome on the laptop, all without issue. In fact, most if not all reviews praised the MacBook Neo's performance.

Wu believes that Apple seems to be positioning the MacBook Neo as a device that is more for "content consumption," like a tablet.

"Of course, it's not that it cannot do all the work, but considering user experience and those hardware limitations, the experience, I think, differs significantly from mainstream products," he said, according to the transcript.

Nevertheless, Wu said the PC industry is taking the MacBook Neo's introduction "very seriously."

"I believe all PC vendors, including upstream vendors like Microsoft, Intel and AMD, they're all taking this very seriously, seriously discussing how to compete with this product in the entire PC ecosystem," said Wu, per the transcript. "The entire PC system will launch corresponding products to compete with Apple."

Ultimately, he said the MacBook Neo's actual impact on the PC market remains to be seen.

"The final market competition outcome is hard to predict," he said. "We just need more time."

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

Article Link: ASUS Executive Says MacBook Neo is 'Shock' to PC Industry

 

[ProMotionPotato]

The most revealing line in this article isn't the "shock" comment. It's this: "all PC vendors, including upstream vendors like Microsoft, Intel and AMD, they're all taking this very seriously."

Upstream vendors. Intel and AMD. The chip makers.

The MacBook Neo is built on an iPhone chip manufactured at iPhone scale under Apple's direct TSMC supply agreements. Intel just raised entry level laptop CPU prices by more than 15%. DRAM costs are pushing mainstream laptop prices toward a 40% increase this year. Apple is insulated from both.

So while the rest of the PC ecosystem scrambles to launch "corresponding products," they'll be doing it with more expensive chips, more expensive memory, and Windows overhead all while trying to hit a price point that Apple can defend permanently because their bill of materials is anchored to iPhone production economics, not PC market volatility.

Wu called it a content consumption device to manage expectations. But every major reviewer ran DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Lightroom and Chrome on it without issue this week. That's not a tablet. That's a computer that the entire PC industry just admitted they don't know how to compete with.

The clock isn't ticking for Apple.

 

[jz0309]

Nah, the guy has not spend time on MR where the Gimpbook is praised with 8 times slower SSD speed, no P3, a whimsy Mediatek WiFi and the base model not even havin TouchID ...

 

[bLackjackj]

Was the ASUS executive living under a rock? We first learned of a low cost MacBook in the works in 2020,..a full 6 years ago!

 

[QuantumPulse]

I imagine the Neo will be causing consternation in many of the aforementioned board rooms (eg ASUS, ACER, Microsoft, Intel, AMD, et al) for the foreseeable future.

 

[hieranonymous]

I think the real shock to the system is that Apple has released a comparatively premium-feeling laptop at a price point that PC vendors have occupied for years with 🐕💩 commodity hardware. If Apple, with its storied profit margins, can comfortably enter this market segment without making too many show-stopping compromises, what exactly have PC vendors been selling their customers all this time?

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Asus sucks. My ZenBook won't restore using the factory cloud restore utility, and you can't install Windows 11 from a Microsoft restore ISO, you have to install Windows 10 first and then upgrade. It doesn't work correctly even after installing all of the appropriate drivers. So I'd take any communication from them with many huge grains of salt.

 

[JohnC1959]

It will be interesting to see the sales numbers. I expect there are a lot of people that due to use of iPhones have been considering an Apple laptop but felt priced out. This new MacBook won't win over those that are sold on Windows but clearly there must be a good number of Windows users that only use Windows because they thought Apple laptops were too pricey. Once introduced to Apple laptops via the Neo, they are more likely to step up to more costly MacBooks when they outgrow the Neo.

 

[klm9210]

Too stressed to be blessed. A strong, hot fire under the butt like the Neo will be good for the industry as a whole

 

[delsoul]

An Apple computer is a PC.

 

[TheColtr]

If he see the MacBook Neo as a content consumption device then he, and most of MR forums, has it incorrect.

Example 1) My grandma has a 2014 MacBook Pro that she uses rarely, but won’t give it up because she likes to track medication and print out the list when she goes to the doctor, and she doesn’t want to try to do that on an iPad. She also won’t update her Mac because she doesn’t want to drop 1K.

Example 2)?I used to work in higher ed, where you use Google Classroom/Canvas for LMS, digital textbooks online, the entire school used Google workspace for education so drive, sheets, docs, slides, etc. the last year I was there they moved to a browser based campus printing system. Except for Microsoft Office, everything ran in the browser.

Of course those in Design/Engineering/SWE will need more power, but to say that the Neo is bad because it’s underpowered is wrong. This Mac is a dream (for the price) for the education, business, and various “studies” departments who just use Chrome.

 

[hieranonymous]

It will be interesting to see the sales numbers. I expect there are a lot of people that due to use of iPhones have been considering an Apple laptop but felt priced out. This new MacBook won't win over those that are sold on Windows but clearly there must be a good number of Windows users that only use Windows because they thought Apple laptops were too pricey. Once introduced to Apple laptops via the Neo, they are more likely to step up to more costly MacBooks when they outgrow the Neo.

The psychological hold Apple’s brand has on Gen Z and younger especially can be shocking at times. It’s seen as aspirational. The fact that Apple is releasing a commodity-priced laptop with traditional Apple build quality is gonna be a major differentiator.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Windows guys told me they will switch to Mac when Mac will have more games !

 

[gigapocket1]

All this proves to me is that iPhones can be docked and run Mac OS… and then unplug them and run iOS. No need for 2 devices…. 1 device.

 

[JPack]

Wu believes that Apple seems to be positioning the MacBook Neo as a device that is more for "content consumption," like a tablet.

"Of course, it's not that it cannot do all the work, but considering user experience and those hardware limitations, the experience, I think, differs significantly from mainstream products," he said, according to the transcript.

Like what? Did he even read the product page? There is no ambiguity there.

 

[JohnC1959]

The psychological hold Apple’s brand has on Gen Z and younger especially can be shocking at times. It’s seen as aspirational. The fact that Apple is releasing a commodity-priced laptop with traditional Apple build quality is gonna be a major differentiator.

And let's not forget all the 'fun colors'. I foresee a number of pink Neos with Hello Kitty stickers. I'm being silly but those things really do increase their appeal to the target market.

 

[rosegoldoli]

and yet some people here are calling this a gimpbook

 

[justanotherdave]

Tom’s Hardware, a site devoted to people who build their own PCs and is heavily PC biased, has stated the Neo is the best laptop in its category EVER made and puts the entire industry on notice.

 

[Dirty Mac]

I'll not slag the Neo... looks fine for many and can't beat the price point (especially if you live in the USA). I do wonder one thing, the reviewers all playing 4k video in Resolve and Final Cut as if that means a lot. Play or editing? Becuase playing 4k video in DR or FCP is no more taxing than playing a 4k video in VLC or Infuse. I know photoshop will be ok since I used to edit on my mini 2 base model with no problems.

 

[hieranonymous]

Like what? Did he even read the product page? There is no ambiguity there.

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Yeah, that dig about content consumption felt like wishful thinking. He seems to be hoping it’ll cannibalize iPad sales … instead of eating into PC and Chromebook sales.

 

[kuito]

You didn’t think Tim Apple was gonna let that part of the market alone did you? Of course they would make a laptop for that segment.

This is definitely a consumption device (like a tablet). Not that you can’t work on one if you HAVE to.. but primarily will be used for consuming.

 

[crashgrab]

The MacBook Neo is built on an iPhone chip manufactured at iPhone scale under Apple's direct TSMC supply agreements. Intel just raised entry level laptop CPU prices by more than 15%. DRAM costs are pushing mainstream laptop prices toward a 40% increase this year. Apple is insulated from both.

I'm curious why you say Apple is insulated from DRAM cost increases. (Not being sarcastic - genuinely curious.) Apple buys DRAM from Samsung (and probably others), and even with high volume, they aren't immune to increased costs.

One thing Apple does have going for it is a high gross margin, which means they can afford to eat into that a bit instead of passing the extra cost on directly to the consumer.

 

[gagaliya]

Apple is playing with kid gloves, they could easily set the neo base model a m4 and 16gb ram for like $50-100 more, then the $500ish Chromebook market will be truly cooked.

Only reason they didn’t is Tim Apples worry it will cannibalize the air, and the current ram price spike probably was also a factor

 

[truthsearcher]

The thing is that all Apple needs to do is to convince Mac parents to buy one for their kids instead of recycling down their old Mac book pro... and those kids to charm their friends into getting one as well.

Very few mac users leave the eco-system once they are in.

This is coming from someone working with a Win11 mobile workstation and a Mac Pro 2019 + Macbook pro M1 max. No religion. I just prefer the smoothness of the Mac experience.

 

[Bustycat]

ASUS is known for producing overpriced computers even in Taiwan.