Microsoft fires shots at Mac Book Neo, but that battle looks to be an uphill struggle — and rumored ditching of more affordable Surface laptops won't help | Tech Radar
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Microsoft fires shots at Mac Book Neo, but that battle looks to be an uphill struggle — and rumored ditching of more affordable Surface laptops won't help
Microsoft may be fixing Windows 11 in a technical sense, but it also needs to fix the reputation of the OS
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A video showing the Neo's apparent strengths versus Windows laptops went viral on X
It wasn't a fair comparison, as pointed out in Microsoft's response — but the reaction of the computing public is even more telling
A rumor is also circulating that Microsoft has ditched a couple of more affordable Surface devices
It's a tricky old time for laptops, what with the RAM crisis pushing up prices, and Microsoft has taken the opportunity to launch a counterattack on the Mac Book Neo, following Apple's recent price hikes — not that the Surface lineup isn't suffering itself, with rumors of more misery inbound in the form of cancelled models.
Windows Latest spotted the controversy around Windows laptops and the Mac Book Neo, which wasn't started by Microsoft, but rather by a video that went viral on X. The clip, which was aired by @Ahmadansari 2233 and has racked up 5.4 million views, shows how the Mac Book Neo is superior to an 'others brand laptop' (meaning a Windows 11 model).
As Windows Latest notes, the video actually uses an HP Victus gaming laptop, and this is hardly a fair comparison. Why would you compare a budget gaming notebook to the Neo? Furthermore, some of the points made — like the level of flex in the lid of the HP model — are obviously cherry-picked to show the worst of Windows 11 devices versus Apple's budget creation (with flex being a known issue for the HP notebook).
Clearly, we'd have a very different video if we looked at the Mac Book Neo's gaming prowess versus the HP Victus. (No, it wouldn't make any sense to do that either, but this just underlines the ridiculous idea of comparing a Windows 11 gaming notebook to Apple's portable.)
At any rate, the success of the video prompted Microsoft to respond, with the official Windows account on X showing the Dell XPS 13 being put through its paces (including a laptop lid and base showing little flex, unlike the HP notebook).
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The post from Microsoft goes over some of the XPS 13's benefits — including that it packs a touchscreen — and highlights the price of
And it's fair enough that Microsoft should defend itself, given that the original video is skewed against the Windows 11 side of the laptop world. (Not that Microsoft is above employing these sorts of tactics itself, mind.)
But there are problems raised nonetheless, firstly by the recent happenings with the Surface lineup, and secondly, in the painful reaction to Microsoft jabbing back at this bit of Mac Book Neo promotion.
Surface issues — and a bigger problem of entrenched perceptions
If we're going to talk about pricing, an obvious stumble from Microsoft of late is that it has applied eye-watering cost hikes for the Surface range. These were truly hefty increases, even if Apple has just actioned its own hikes for the Neo and other Mac Books. (And yes, it's true enough that while the Neo cost bump was relatively mild, it has certainly diminished its appeal versus budget Windows 11 laptops).
What's more worrying, though, is the rumor that Microsoft is ditching models at the more affordable end of its laptop range. Windows Central reports that the Surface Go 4 and Surface Laptop Go 3 have gone out of stock with most retailers, and seemingly Microsoft doesn't plan to make any more of these devices. Neither are next-gen replacements for these cheaper Surface laptops coming, either, if Zac Bowden's sources are correct.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Mac Book Neo’s $100 price bump means budget Windows 11 laptops are now the better buy
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In fairness, the Surface Laptop Go 3 has effectively been replaced by the Surface Laptop, although the latter still starts from a higher price point, about 20% pricier in fact (and that's with the new cheaper 8GB model of the latter). And the Surface Go 4 will certainly be missed as a budget option, even if it was a business-targeted device. As Bowden notes, it appears that the Go 4 was a popular device in the enterprise sphere with a palatable price tag, even if our review didn't agree with that sentiment.
However, pricing and Surface rumors aside, the most notable concern for Microsoft here must be the reaction to its riposte against the Mac Book Neo on X. As noted, I think it's a fair enough response, but the majority of Reddit doesn't seem to agree – or at least, many Redditors do agree that there's a key problem with any Windows 11 laptop.
As one poster puts it succinctly: "The problem with Windows machines is that they have Windows on them."
Others in that Reddit thread echo the same sentiment, if not a more barbed and pronounced take on it – and it's the same story in the replies to Microsoft's response on X. One poster says: "But it's Windows. You run the risk that any or every monthly update will break something. Sticking with my i Mac and Mac Neo."
What's this illustrates is that despite the obvious improvements in modern Windows 11 laptops – of which the Dell XPS 13 is a good example – and Microsoft's big campaign to fix Windows 11, there are a lot of hardcore doubters still out there. Okay, so those detractors may be noisier than those in the happier-with-Windows camp, but there's still a good deal of negative feeling to overcome for Microsoft – which is made quite clear when the company tries to blow its own trumpet in this way.
In truth, I think Microsoft has done very well with the improvements made to Windows 11 thus far this year, and I hope that progress will continue throughout the rest of 2026. Frankly, that'll be necessary to really start to turn around some of the more entrenched perceptions about Microsoft's desktop OS, and all that's still going to be an uphill struggle as this episode aptly illustrates.
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➡️ Read our full guide to the best laptops
- Best overall: Apple Mac Book Air 13-inch M5
- Best budget: Apple Mac Book Neo
- Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch
- Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i
- Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16
Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for Tech Radar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
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