The debut of Apple's MacBook Neo has triggered a wave of affordable Windows 11 laptops aiming to compete on price, according to Wccftech. Dell's XPS 13 was reportedly first to respond, and Acer has now begun quietly taking pre-orders for its Aspire Go 15, positioning it as a lower-cost alternative to the Neo.
The Aspire Go 15 is listed for pre-order in the U.K. at £499 on Amazon, compared to £699 for the MacBook Neo. It runs on Qualcomm's 8-core Snapdragon C chip and matches the Neo's 8GB of RAM, but ships with just 128GB of storage—half the Neo's base amount. Wccftech notes it's unclear whether that storage is expandable NVMe or fixed eMMC memory. The report also cites a rumor that the Snapdragon C's CPU cores are only slightly overclocked versions of the older Kryo 670 cores found in chips like the Snapdragon 778G and 780G, meaning the Aspire Go 15 should handle everyday tasks but isn't expected to rival Apple's A18 Pro on demanding workloads.
Other Aspire Go 15 specs include a 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS display, a full-sized keyboard, two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a single HDMI 1.4 input, Wi-Fi 6E, a 1080p webcam, dual speakers, and a 53WHr battery with no disclosed runtime. Wccftech says that without performance and efficiency data on the Snapdragon C, or details on the laptop's build quality for long-term use, it's difficult to judge whether the £499 price is a good value—though it notes that critics have responded well to the MacBook Neo itself, which is currently listed from $696 for the 256GB version on Amazon.
Separately, Tom's Guide reports that the MacBook Neo has also spawned a growing accessory ecosystem, highlighting three new color-matching products from Satechi: the Slim EX Wireless Mouse, the USB-C Snap Hub, and the OntheGo 5-in-1 Multiport Adapter, all available in the Neo's four launch colors as well as silver and black. The reviewer, who preordered the Neo for its battery life and lightweight design as an alternative to a MacBook Pro, tested the Indigo versions of all three.
The Slim EX mouse charges via USB-C, includes a USB-C dongle, and supports three total connections—two over Bluetooth and one wired dongle—though the mouse itself cannot be connected by cable. The USB-C Snap Hub was praised as addressing a key Neo limitation: its two USB-C ports run at different speeds, with one at full USB 3.2 and the other capped at USB 2.0 for charging only. The Snap Hub plugs into both ports simultaneously, adding SD and microSD slots, HDMI, USB-A, another USB-C, and up to 45W pass-through charging without bottlenecking. The OntheGo 5-in-1 adapter instead uses a magnetic ring that sticks to the laptop lid and connects through the faster port alone, offering HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, a full-size SD reader, and 60W charging, though it lacks a microSD slot and alters the laptop's clean look—making the Snap Hub the reviewer's preferred option overall.