I came across news about Lenovo’s new machine, the IdeaPad Vibe, these past few days. As someone who has been waiting for the Windows camp to respond since March or April, after reading through the coverage, all I can say is… come on, is that it?
Absurdly Slow to Respond
MacBook Neo’s sales exceeding expectations this year is an obvious, plain-as-day fact by now. I assumed the vendors would come up with a proper response within a month or two at most. But here we are, almost half a year later, and there’s still no actual product — just the same “according to reports,” “expected,” “will launch” language recycled over and over.
The market was already validated, and they’re copying the homework this slowly. By the time they actually get a machine out, the Neo will probably have a next generation out already, and they’ll end up half a beat behind again.
The Coverage Is All About the Color
What’s funnier is that the reporting focuses entirely on the “youthful colorways.” Do they seriously think people buy the Neo for the color?
[My Neo] is yellow, but to be honest, the color didn't even make the top three in my purchase decision. I paid 3000 yuan for a machine that gave me the best screen, keyboard, and trackpad experience I've had, plus a proper Unix-like system. That's why I pulled out my wallet.Reducing the core of a best-selling product to “nice-looking colors” and advertising it as the selling point is treating customers like fools.
Specs That Look Like a Scam
And finally, the rumored specs. Oh boy, right back to the Chromebook tier — the kind that looks like a scam at first glance.
Hardware prices did go up this year, I’ll admit that. But that doesn’t explain daring to ship such stingy specs — and don’t forget, what’s running on this thing is Windows, an operating system that is itself a negative optimization. The same specs will only feel worse on Windows.
If the core hardware is only at the Neo’s level, while the screen, keyboard, and trackpad — the parts users touch every day — remain as bad as ever… I genuinely can’t picture these machines selling. The Neo sells because it’s cheap and a great experience. Your machine, by contrast, will probably not be cheap, and it’s saddled with an unambitious Windows. On what basis?
