MacBook Neo proves that Microsoft had the right idea, but the wrong execution

Follow ZDNET:Add us as a preferred sourceon Google.

---

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The MacBook Neo isn’t the first “cheap premium” laptop.
• Microsoft’s Surface RT was a similar product that launched in 2012, but it failed.
• Despite being years late, the MacBook Neo nails the execution.

---

The$599 MacBook Neo’s disruption of the consumer laptop industry has been successful not just in its product design, but also in its execution. The branding is effective, the timing is good, and Apple is speaking to a demographic that actually exists.

But the Neo is not the first device of its kind. Microsoft tried the same thing more than a decade ago with the Surface RT, a $599 ultraportable hybrid tablet/laptop with a premium (for the time) build, good battery, and hardware designed for everyday tasks. But it never caught on.

Also: After using MacBook Neo, it’s clear Windows needs to rethink its PC strategy (and fast)

In a recent post on X, Microsoft’s former head of Windows and architect behind the Surface RT, Steven Sinofsky shared some praise of the MacBook Neo, while drawing some “melancholy” conclusions about his — and Microsoft’s — failure to succeed with a product that is fairly considered a predecessor of the Neo — nearly 15 years ago.

There are many factors at play here, but even though the Surface RT was a well-designed product with an innovative perspective, Microsoft lost $900 million dollars on it because they didn’t sell. It was too early — the ecosystem wasn’t there, and the lifestyle branding fell flat.

It all starts with the foundation

In the consumer electronics market, performance is important, but so is branding. You’re not just selling a product, you’re selling a lifestyle. Obviously, Apple understands this intimately. The Neo comes to market with decades of established branding supporting it. Its position in Apple’s laptop catalog is clear and easy to understand, even to the average consumer.

Conversely, when Microsoft launched the Surface RT in 2012, it went to market with a lot of “firsts.” It was an all-new product line: Microsoft’s first in-house laptop PC, and it launched with an all-new operating system: Windows RT, a stripped-down version of Windows 8 that ran on ARM architecture.

Revisit: My 60 days with the Surface RT

For all that alone, the Surface RT was a huge risk for Microsoft, but you have to respect it. Microsoft believed it had created something innovative (and it had), but the consumer market isn’t guaranteed to accept an innovative product solely because of that fact alone — especially if there’s not an established brand story to support it.

The Surface was too new, too unknown, and even though its hardware and design were impressive, consumers weren’t ready to throw down for Windows RT’s “walled garden”, which only ran select apps from the Windows Store. The Neo comes to market alongside a fully mature ecosystem with decades of app development. It is Apple’s Nepo Baby — all the hard work has been done, it just needs to show up.

Proto-Neo

Senior Contributing Editor Ed Bott went hands-on with the Surface RT back in October 2012 and praised its hardware and design, but acknowledged there was a lot missing. Besides being locked to Internet Explorer with no support for Chrome or Firefox, even Microsoft’s own ecosystem of apps was limited on the Surface RT.

The Surface launched with an Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC and 2GB of RAM, which at the time, was roughly equivalent to the Neo’s 8GB: not a lot, but certainly enough for everyday use. Local storage was also lean, with either 32GB or 64GB of eMMC (soldered) on the device.

On the plus side, Bott said itsbattery life was great, lasting for several days with intermittent use, and the overall hardware was gorgeous, including the well-engineered kickstand. It ran quietly and efficient, with no fans and no heat. Sound familiar?

But the problem was the ecosystem. It simply wasn’t developed enough to stand on its own — the number of apps in the Windows Store is a fraction of those available to Apple and Android users. Not only could users run the apps they wanted, but the ones available were also not optimal.

Hindsight is 20/20. You can bet that Apple learned from Microsoft’s rollout of the Surface RT almost 15 years ago and waited to release the Neo until the stars aligned — even if that means several years late.

Target audience

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you don’t like the MacBook Neo, it probably isn’t for you. There is a target demographic for this device, and it’s not the MacBook Pro user. It doesn’t matter if there are objectively “better” bang-for-buck PCs or Chromebooks on the market (there are). What matters is Apple’s calculated execution that hits all the right notes: branding, product ecosystem, and target demographic.

Neo nails the cool factor. And that’s what moves products.

Also: MacBook Neo review: My biggest concern with Apple’s near-perfect budget laptop

Now, Apple may have learned from the past, but the future is still unwritten. If these devices end up piling up as cheap, disposable products that don’t last more than a few years, it’ll be disappointing. I’m not predicting doom and gloom, but I’ve expressed my concerns about the Neo’s longevity, especially since if these things are going to be thrown around classrooms and public spaces by kids.

In that sense, its situation is the opposite of Microsoft’s Surface RT: the ecosystem is there — the hardware just needs to last. Here’s hoping that isn’t the case, and it’s worth the wait.