Everyone Has Their Targets Set on the MacBook Neo

Yet it’s only $699 (or $599 for students). The XPS 13 makes similar trade-offs as the MacBook Neo. First, it starts with only 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It also starts with a slower Intel Core 5 processor (note: not Intel Core Ultra). I’ll be interested to find how the performance and battery life stack up against the MacBook Neo, but Dell is clearly taking notes from Apple, which used a slower iPhone chip in the Neo instead of an M-series laptop-grade processor.

What’s nice about the Dell XPS 13, though, is that you can scale it up appropriately. The MacBook Neo is capped in both storage and memory, but the XPS 13 can be configured up to 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage.

I’ve been testing a lot of $500 to $600 laptops recently from companies like Acer, Lenovo, and HP, many of which take a more conventional Windows approach to rivaling the MacBook Neo by offering better specs at lower prices. They all have 16 GB of RAM and use more powerful chips, too. But none challenge the MacBook Neo in display quality and chassis materials. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for something like the HP OmniBook 3, but it doesn’t play for the same audience as the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Neo.

The Wrong Direction

Inevitably there would be a company that thinks it can ride on the success of the MacBook Neo without understanding what makes it tick. Last week, Microsoft announced two versions of its Surface Laptop for Business PCs: a higher-end 13.8-inch model and a cheaper 13-inch device. The 13.8-inch model is a more standard refresh, implementing Intel’s new Core Ultra X7 368H Panther Lake chip—and most notably, it still starts with 16 GB of RAM.

The smaller 13-inch model is where things get problematic. Despite its starting price of $1,200, that configuration only comes with 8 GB of RAM. Don’t get too caught up in the price, since business PCs always come with an up charge. The starting RAM is the eyebrow-raising spec. Unlike the new Dell XPS 13, Microsoft isn’t tricking this out with a thinner chassis and an upgraded screen—it’s just giving you less computing power and calling it good.

And to be fair, this “optional” 8 GB model is coming later this year, separate from the 16 GB and 24 GB versions. But it’s hard to imagine Microsoft being willing to sell an 8 GB laptop in 2026 if Apple hadn’t paved the way. While there’s no 2025 Surface Laptop 13 for Business for direct comparison, the consumer version of the Surface Laptop 13 started with 16 GB of RAM. This feels like a straight generational downgrade.