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Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students

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Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students
Published: April 15, 2026 at 18:03 | Source: theverge.com
News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech Apple Close Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Apple Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students PC makers are discounting laptops and bundling Microsoft 365 and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. PC makers are discounting laptops and bundling Microsoft 365 and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. by Tom Warren Close Tom Warren Senior Correspondent Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Tom Warren Apr 15, 2026, 6:03 PM UTC Link Share Gift If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Image: Microsoft Part Of The Neo Effect: How Apple’s cheapest Mac is changing the PC game see all updates Tom Warren Close Tom Warren Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Tom Warren is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo ($499 for students) has sent shockwaves through the PC ecosystem, and now Microsoft is responding with deals targeting students in the US. A new “Microsoft College Offer” is launching today, which will see the software giant bundle 12 months of free Microsoft 365 Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with select Windows 11 PCs that have also been discounted. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are all participating in this Microsoft College Offer, and Microsoft is even discounting some Surface devices days after hiking the prices of its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models. Best Buy is selling a 15.3-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x for $499.99, with 16GB of RAM, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processor, and 256GB of storage. Walmart has HP’s 16-inch OmniBook 3 for $429, with a similar configuration. Amazon , Dell , HP , and Microsoft’s online store will also have similar deals. Related The MacBook Neo is the best thing to happen to Windows in years PC makers are not ready for the MacBook Neo How Apple’s MacBook Neo is changing the PC game Students will also get a free Xbox controller through Xbox Design Lab, but the bundle of 12 months of Microsoft 365 Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is only available to new subscribers. If you’ve previously subscribed to Xbox Game Pass or Microsoft 365 in the past, you’ll have to use a different Microsoft account. Microsoft is launching its deal today and it will run until June 30th, or while supplies of the eligible PCs last. Microsoft usually runs back-to-school discounts for laptops over the summer, but it’s rare to see the company launch deals this early. The timing feels like an early reaction to the $599 MacBook Neo, and the $100 discount that Apple gives eligible students in the US. The MacBook Neo looks like it will have a positive impact on Windows itself , with Microsoft unveiling big changes to Windows 11 just days after Apple’s MacBook Neo announcement. Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Tom Warren Close Tom Warren Senior Correspondent Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Tom Warren Apple Close Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Apple Microsoft Close Microsoft Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Microsoft News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Tech Windows Close Windows Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Windows More in: The Neo Effect: How Apple’s cheapest Mac is changing the PC game You can make a multicolor MacBook Neo out of Apple’s spare parts Emma Roth Apr 13 The MacBook Neo is the best thing to happen to Windows in years Tom Warren Apr 9 Apple adds MacBook Neo parts to its Self Service Repair Store. Andrew Liszewski Apr 9 Most Popular Most Popular Ticketmaster is an illegal monopoly, jury finds YouTube now lets you turn off Shorts Allbirds announced a switch from shoes to AI and its stock jumped 600 percent The heist of iOS 26 The FCC just saved Netgear from its router ban for no obvious reason The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree
  • News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
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  • Follow Follow See All Apple Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students PC makers are discounting laptops and bundling Microsoft 365 and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions.

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