The title should read 'it's hard to justify buying any other laptop than the Neo in the sub $1000 space'. It's an absolute unit of a computer; the only more revolutionary box would be the M1 Air (or the original Air. maybe. my vote is on the M1.)

The original Air was not good.

I think you mean the second gen Air (SSD-only, c2010), which was an incredible combination of price, performance, and usability.