This was a week full of new Apple product announcements. As Joe Rossignol of MacRumors notes, there were seven of them: (1) the iPhone 17e; (2) the iPad Air (M4); (3) the MacBook Air (M5); (4) the MacBook Pro (M5 Pro and M5 Max); (5) an updated Studio Display monitor; (6) the Studio Display XDR; and (7) the MacBook Neo. The new MacBook Neo is the most interesting new product. For the first time ever, Apple is selling a laptop computer for only $599 (or $499 with a student discount). John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes that while you can get a PC laptop for a similar price, the “screen sucks (very dim, way lower resolution), the speakers suck, the keyboard sucks, and the trackpad sucks.” In contrast: “The MacBook Neo looks and feels every bit like a MacBook,” with a nice aluminium case, good keyboard, good trackpad, good bright display, surprisingly good speakers, and more. Sure, you can pay more and get more features with a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro. But I think it is significant that Apple is now selling the most popular type of computer—a laptop—for a price substantially lower than Apple has ever sold a laptop computer. For those who want something inexpensive and decent, there is now an excellent option from Apple. Indeed, as Gruber also notes, for $1200—about the same price as a traditional Mac laptop alone—you can now purchase both a Mac laptop and an iPhone 17e. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- Stephen Hackett of 512 Pixels identifies the features that you don’t get when you purchase a MacBook Neo for $599 instead of a MacBook Air for $1099. I agree with Hackett’s prediction that “most folks in the market for a $599 Mac won’t care about most of these.”
- Instead of an Apple processor that is designed for computers and that begins with the letter “M” such as the current M5 processor, the MacBook Neo uses an iPhone processor: the A18 Pro. That is the same processor that Apple used in the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro released on September 9, 2024. As John Siracusa notes on Mastodon: “The A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is 19% faster than the M2 Ultra in the Mac Pro in single-core performance (Geekbench 6). The MacBook Neo starts at $599. The Mac Pro, which is still for sale, starts at $6,999.”
- William Gallagher of Apple Insider notes that for most common tasks like email, web browsing, and word processing, the A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is going to be just fine. I agree with that. The bigger limitation may be the memory: the A18 Pro chip only supports 8GB of RAM, so that is what is included with the MacBook Neo.
- M.G. Siegler of Spyglass says that the MacBook Neo “is the smartest move Apple has made in years,” in part because it is perfect for students.
- Why is it called the “Neo”? In an interview with Lance Ulanoff of TechRadar, Colleen Novielli, Director of Mac Product Marketing at Apple, said: “We wanted something that felt fun and friendly, and fresh, and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product.” Ulanoff adds that the goal was to have a name that projected youth and energy.
- Why hasn’t Apple sold a laptop like the MacBook Neo in the past? As noted by Jason Snell in an article for Six Colors and Macworld, Steve Jobs answered that question in 2008, saying: “We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.” Eighteen years later, thanks to Apple’s processors and its manufacturing expertise, it has finally figured out how to do so.
- At the other extreme from the MacBook Neo is the new MacBook Pro with an M5 Max chip. Joe Rossignol of MacRumors reports that the initial tests show that the M5 Max is more powerful than every other consumer PC processor.
- Adam Engst of TidBITS notes that the new $1599 Apple Studio Display is only a minor improvement over the prior model introduced in 2022: you get a better webcam, more capable USB-C ports, and an updated six-speaker sound system. I’m surprised that Apple didn’t also increase the brightness from 600 nits or change the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz—both of which are important reasons that the screen on my iPad Pro looks so amazing. If you want those features in a monitor from Apple, you need to purchase the new Studio Display XDR for $3299.
- Nilay Patel of The Verge reviews the iPhone 17e after getting a chance to try it out on Wednesday. His conclusion is that it “is a nice thing to hold and Apple’s fit and finish make for a very sharp little package. But there’s nothing mindblowing here—which is probably exactly right for a $599 phone that most people will buy on sale or get for free on contract.”
- The iPhone 17e comes in a new color: pink. Cherylynn Low of Engadget got to see it in person and says that “this new pink color option is absolutely delightful. … it’s understated and elegant.”
- Chance Miller of 9to5Mac says that the iPhone 17e solves the biggest problem of the iPhone 16e: the lack of MagSafe.
- Miller also notes that Apple released iOS 26.3.1 and similar updates this week. It provides support for the two new displays announced by Apple this week, but presumably also includes some bug fixes and security improvements.
- Matt Novak of Gizmodo reports that United Airlines has a new policy: you can get kicked off a plane for refusing to use headphones while listening to your electronic devices. Amen to that.
- Kelly Huang of the New York Times reports that many young people are now using an Apple product that is new to them: an iPod.
- Coming to Apple TV this weekend: the French-language thriller The Hunt, and Formula 1 races, as noted by John Voorhees of MacStories.
- The first F1 race airs this Saturday, March 7, at 8 Pacific / 11 Eastern. Apple notes in a press release that it will feature not only 5.1 surround sound but also, for the first time, 4K with Dolby Vision. (And note that 4K shows look even better on Apple TV than other streaming services because Apple doesn’t compress the video as much.)
- Ryan Christoffel of 9to5Mac reports that Apple’s Super Bowl halftime show, starring Bad Bunny, broke all records with over 4 billion views.
- And finally, while Apple released videos for many of the new products that it released this week, I really like the video for the iPhone 17e because it points out that even though this is the new budget iPhone, it can still do quite a bit: