Years ago, I bought a cheap Asus netbook, seduced by its diminutive size and portability.
It looked really fun: an ultraportable and inexpensive laptop I could use in my garage to fix the electronic gears on my bike using Shimano’s (at the time) PC-only software.
But as soon as I turned on the laptop, it immediately became apparent that it was junk.
It wasn’t just no fun to use, it was almost impossible to use. It was painfully slow, prone to stuttering and crashes, and the screen, keyboard and battery were all very subpar.
The only things it had going for it were a bunch of ports and a chip that made it possible to use it as either a hackintosh or a Linux machine. (I tried both, but it was still crummy.)
Needless to say, I haven’t looked at a low-cost Windows laptop since, especially as the entire segment has been described by one expert as a dumping ground for “e-waste.” Ouch!
Now, the manufacturers of “e-waste” seem to be in almost panic mode with the arrival of Apple’s MacBook Neo.
As we report: “The largest PC vendor in the world is publicly acknowledging that Apple could eat their lunch at that price point.”
Also in today’s newsletter:
The Neo just went on sale — along with a handful of other lust-worthy Apple devices — but is already sold out!
The Neo is just getting started. One leading Apple analyst predicts it will take off like a rocket, with up to 5 million sales this year, which would put it in blockbuster territory. (The original iMac sold 6 million units over several years and generations, and that machine was considered a massive smash hit.) Plus, he’s predicting PC e-waste manufacturers’ troubles are just starting.
This is a clever product: An iPad hub that doubles as a folding stand.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Wow! The brand-new M4 iPad Air is already on sale.
Apple Arcade continues to expand with a “Lovecraftian” fishing adventure game called Dredge+, which was the App Store Awards’ iPad Game of the Year for 2025.
The Vision Pro may have finally found its killer app! Check the last X post below, which is bringing out legions of flight-sim fans, all of whom are now pledging to get Apple’s AR headset.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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One more thing ...
Sometimes, when we get rid of things like the floppy disk drive on the original iMac, people call us crazy…. Sometimes, you just have to pick the things that look like they’re going to be the right horses to ride going forward.
Today’s poll
Just how screwed are makers of low-cost Windows PCs?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Wait for the M6 MacBook Pro, or pull the trigger now?
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