# Has Apple stolen the budget laptop market? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-itpro-podcast-1191840/has-apple-stolen-the-budget-laptop-market Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-itpro-podcast-1191840/has-apple-stolen-the-budget-laptop-market.md Podcast: [The ITPro Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-itpro-podcast-1191840) Published: 2026-03-20T06:30:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.itpro.com/the-it-pro-podcast Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c68ecc09-ee42-4271-a558-fc2bf959dd43.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=f3283fca-ed34-4271-8f7c-301f5c25540b&aw_0_1st.episodeid=c68ecc09-ee42-4271-a558-fc2bf959dd43 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-itpro-podcast-1191840/episodes/has-apple-stolen-the-budget-laptop-market Duration seconds: 976 ## Resource Apple made waves at the start of March with the launch of the MacBook Neo, its first budget laptop. As RAM prices skyrocket, businesses are under pressure to make device purchases that count and that will future-proof their workers for years to come. Both Apple and manufactures in the Windows ecosystem are vying for enterprise money in the budget and pro segments – even as it becomes more expensive than ever to spec devices to 16GB of memory and beyond. Where does the latest Apple release fit into the wider business laptop ecosystem? This week, Rory speaks to Bobby Hellard, ITPro’s reviews editor, to unpack all things MacBook Neo, Windows laptops, and the future of business hardware. Read more: MacBook Neo: everything you need to know about Apple's £599 laptop The MacBook Neo is another Apple master stroke, and it couldn’t have come at a better time Low-budget devices are the biggest casualty of the RAM crisis Give businesses more practical AI services and some return on investment before you go selling 6G Lenovo wows at MWC with concepts for a modular ThinkBook and desktop AI-devices AMD thinks ‘AI on the PC has crossed an important line’ – the rise of ‘Agent Computers’ will be the next big breakthrough Are AI PCs becoming the norm? Nobody asked for AI PCs, but they’ve been thrust upon us – at least Dell realizes it’s probably made a mistake ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-itpro-podcast-1191840/episodes/has-apple-stolen-the-budget-laptop-market/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-itpro-podcast-1191840/has-apple-stolen-the-budget-laptop-market.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.