These $500 Windows Laptops Show the MacBook Neo’s Competition

Today, Apple announced This is the new budget MacBook. At $599, it looks really impressive. Although I haven’t tested its performance, battery life, or display yet, based on some of the specifications alone it might be hard to beat at that price.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t competition. I’d like to recommend some Windows laptop deals that offer various benefits over the MacBook Neo, showing that the Neo has both strengths and weaknesses.

First, check out this Asus Vivobook 14, a laptop that I’ve had the pleasure of recommending as the budget computer of the past year. In many ways it is the Windows version of a laptop like the MacBook Neo. It uses a highly efficient ARM chip, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X, which means it gets great battery life and performs admirably in daily tasks. It’s not as thin or light as the MacBook Neo, but it’s pretty portable for a laptop at this price.

Unlike the MacBook Neo, the VivoBook 14 comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. You get double this in the starting configuration of the MacBook Neo. Right now, this configuration of the VivoBook 14 is on sale for $539. It’s a great deal for those specifications. It even comes with a better mix of ports, including HDMI, two USB-A, one USB-C, and a headphone jack. This also means it can support two external displays, unlike the MacBook Neo, which can only handle one.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not at all saying that the VivoBook 14 is a slam dunk compared to the MacBook Neo. Based on the specifications alone, I know the VivoBook 14 is a serious step up when it comes to the display. It’s less sharp, stretched on a larger screen, and color performance isn’t so good. The VivoBook 14 can go up to a maximum of 280 nits, while Apple says the MacBook Neo can go up to 500 nits. My guess is that the MacBook Neo will offer a better display in almost every aspect.

There is also a touchpad. It’s a bit clunky to use, which is typical of budget Windows laptops. This is just a guess—but the touchpad will likely feel smoother on the MacBook Neo. It’s a mechanical trackpad (unlike the MacBook Air’s haptic feedback trackpad), but Apple almost never makes a bad trackpad.

If you’re not convinced by the Asus VivoBook 14, I’d also recommend the HP OmniBook 5, which is currently on sale for $500 and uses the same Snapdragon X chip. While it only has 256GB of storage, it has a much better screen than the VivoBook 14, using an OLED display. It’s not any brighter than the VivoBook 14, but it gives you far better color performance and contrast. It’s only 0.50 inches thick, which exactly matches the MacBook Neo in portability.