Apple MacBook Neo makes Microsoft nervous: Paid study shows Windows laptops to be superior
With the MacBook Neo ($589 on Amazon), Apple is making inroads into the market for affordable mid-range laptops. As our detailed test shows, Apple can set itself apart from most similarly priced competitors with a bright display, silent operation, good speakers and a first-class trackpad. However, with only 8 GB of RAM, a very meagre selection of ports and the lack of keyboard illumination, the MacBook Neo also makes major compromises to make this price possible.
Microsoft now wants to convince customers that Windows laptops still offer better value for money than the MacBook Neo. To this end, Microsoft has commissioned and paid for a study at Signal65 which compares the MacBook Neo with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x, the HP OmniBook 5, the Lenovo Yoga 7i and the HP OmniBook X Flip. This laptop selection is curious, because with 15.3 to 16-inch displays, all four devices are significantly larger than the 13-inch MacBook Neo - even though most of these laptops are also available as smaller 14-inch variants.
Windows laptops offer more performance
In the comparison, Signal65 focuses primarily on two metrics - performance and battery life. For example, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x is said to achieve 90 percent higher CPU performance and 56 percent longer battery life thanks to the Snapdragon X , while the OmniBook 5 with AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 is said to be up to 92 percent faster and achieve a 12 percent longer battery life.
Our test confirmed that the Apple A18 Pro with 8 GB RAM is a performance compromise, but the MacBook Neo is fast in everyday tasks. The tiny 36.5 Wh battery does not set any battery life records, but with almost 13 hours while surfing the web, the runtime is reasonable - and can be extended with a power bank thanks to the very high efficiency.
Microsoft pays for cherry picking
The fact that comparably priced Windows laptops offer advantages cannot be denied. However, the Signal65 study simply omits facts that do not match Microsoft's desired result. For example, most of the Windows laptops mentioned have displays that only achieve a brightness of 300 nits and a 62.5 percent coverage of the sRGB color space, instead of 500 nits and 100 percent like the MacBook Neo.
Build quality, fan noise, speaker quality, keyboard and trackpad are important factors when choosing a laptop, but as the MacBook Neo would score well in these areas, these specs are simply not addressed. Before buying a laptop, it is therefore advisable, as always, to read independent tests rather than sponsored studies.
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