CUPERTINO, CA – Major personal computer manufacturers are reeling this week after Apple Inc. unveiled a new laptop, the MacBook Neo, priced at a surprisingly accessible $600. Executives across the industry have expressed profound astonishment that Apple would continue to produce and sell computing devices, particularly at a price point designed to attract customers.

“Frankly, we just didn’t see this coming,” stated Brenda Chen, CFO of a prominent PC conglomerate, speaking from a yacht anchored just outside international waters. “We had intel, sure, that Apple was ‘working on something,’ but we assumed it was another $3,000 dongle or perhaps a luxury toaster. The idea they’d actually make a *computer* and then, God forbid, try to *sell* it to a broader market? Unprecedented.”

Industry analysts echoed the sentiment of bewilderment. “For years, we’ve operated under the assumption that Apple’s primary business model was to innovate just enough to justify exorbitant prices, then let the PC market pick up the slack for anyone not living in a glass cube,” explained Dr. Alistair Finch, a tech market prognosticator who correctly predicted the rise of QR codes. “This aggressive pricing strategy suggests they might actually want to… compete? It’s a paradigm shift no one was prepared for.”

Sources close to several PC makers indicate emergency strategy meetings are underway, with initial proposals including a new line of laptops that are identical to existing models but come with a free, slightly used stress ball. The industry is reportedly scrambling to understand why a company known for making computers would continue to make computers.