Microsoft counters the MacBook Neo with freebies for students

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.

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.