Starting at 1700 USD, vs 500$ for a Neo or a very capable Windows PC on sale.

My personal favorite is a lightly used Thinkpad, you can get a nice Linux machine for under 400$. But it's still a lot of work for most people.

If a Ubuntu update does something weird, what do you do with your 1700$ System 76 laptop ?

With your Neo, you go to the Apple store and they'll sort it out.