Could Apple's $599 MacBook Neo be the best Windows laptop? I asked Parallels
After trying out the MacBook Neo this week, I believe it's the best Windows laptop you can currently buy. I've come away impressed with this Mac, which is something I've not attributed to Apple for several years, so it was oddly refreshing. The Neo doesn't feel like a cheap product. For $599/£599, you're in the Mac ecosystem - you just have to put up with the disaster that's macOS Tahoe, mainly thanks to its Liquid Glass overhaul.
Nevertheless, it got me thinking about how the Neo shows up other Windows laptops in this price range. Manufacturers like Asus and Lenovo offer devices with 1TB of storage and OLED displays, but tradeoffs include average battery life, a slow GPU, and Microsoft's Copilot AI being featured everywhere in Windows 11.
Then there's gaming. It's hit and miss with these laptops at this price point, but plenty can be played on the Neo without issue. YouTuber Andrew Tsai published a great video on March 13 about how some games worked via Crossover, an app that can translate Windows games to run on Mac. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 5, Hades 2, and more ran fine, which bodes well for the Neo. But gaming is just part of the Windows on a Mac story.
Parallels Desktop, an app I've used for many years on my Mac, could give users the Windows experience many need, wrapped in the Neo. Now that it's available to all, I reached out to Parallels to see what they thought about how their app could benefit those looking for a $599 laptop.
