• JP Morgan believes the iPhone 18 Pro price hike could be less severe than other analysts have predicted, at just $50
• Another analyst has flagged chip price increases at TSMC which will affect Apple, and its laptops are in a different situation to iPhones
• The end result could be substantial laptop price increases, while Apple's smartphones get away relatively unscathed

Update: Not long after this story was published, Apple officially announced price hikes on MacBooks (and other products). The MacBook Neo entry-level laptop got a straight $100 hike to start at $699 in the US (£699 in the UK, AU$1,049 in Australia).

The MacBook Air 13-inch with M5 has been hiked $200 to start at $1,299 (£1,299 / AU$2,099). The MacBook Pro has increased even more, by $300, so the baseline model is $1,999 (£1,999 / AU$3,199). In short, these are the painful hikes for Apple's laptops as predicted below, and notably the pricing of the iPhone range hasn't changed.

Original story follows below...

We know Apple's products have price hikes coming — Tim Cook has made that clear in no uncertain terms — but based on the latest spinning from the rumor mill, the iPhone could get away with a relatively mild price bump, with MacBooks potentially hit a good deal harder.

You might be surprised at the possibility that the next iPhone might not be hiked by all that much, because earlier rumors and napkin maths suggested that the incoming iPhone 18 Pro might hit $1,299 in the US, a hefty $200 increase (with a similarly step price hike for other countries). Others have theorized that there could be an even bigger jump than this.

However, as Phone Arena noticed, Max Weinbach, a tech analyst at Creative Strategies, posted on X to flag up JP Morgan's research on what the next-gen iPhone price hike might be.

Contrary to other analysis, JP Morgan thinks it might be more in line with a $50 price bump, as while memory costs will put a lot of pressure on Apple — as a Wccftech report recently underlined, noting that the firm is facing a "sticker shock heading into Q3" — the company seemingly has ways to mitigate those increases elsewhere. One such saving would be made by swapping to Apple's own modem for the new iPhone, as an example.

Another way Apple could theoretically alleviate the pressure on smartphone prices is to recoup some money by charging a premium for the rumored iPhone Ultra foldable, which will be inevitably pricey for those who want the latest and greatest tech (and it looks very much like that foldable is inbound for this year).

As for potential MacBook price hikes, there's not the same space for Apple to maneuver in terms of offsetting other component costs with its laptops. And as Tom's Hardware spotted, analyst (and former Bloomberg reporter) Tim Culpan has just delivered a rumor that TSMC is seemingly increasing chip prices for customers (from 3nm processes down to 7nm and older products) in the order of 5% to 10%.

That hits a bunch of firms who use TSMC to manufacture their chips, but notably AMD, Nvidia, and Apple. For Apple, the more heavyweight MacBook CPUs will be hit harder than mobile silicon, and on top of that, it's yet another unwelcome pressure on the affordably priced MacBook Neo.

As Culpan jokes at the end of his piece: "Maybe those red MacBook Neos will arrive after all." Puzzled as to what that means, exactly? Let's dive into that next.

Analysis: cooking the MacBooks

Arguably, Apple's biggest problem here is keeping the MacBook Neo at its tempting baseline price, in the face of these 'unavoidable' price rises as Tim Cook has called them. Mainly because the price is so low for an Apple laptop, with its popularity and demand meaning that the production of the Neo is rumored to have been massively cranked up.

Culpan has previously floated the theory that Apple will have to either apply price hikes to the MacBook Neo – and perhaps soften that blow with new colors (which is what the 'red Neo' comment refers to) – or just ditch the current entry-level variant, and offer the higher-tier Neo as a baseline instead. The latter is basically a way of applying a price hike of a hundred notes without actually having to increase prices technically, and what makes this seem more likely is that Apple did exactly that as a tactic with the Mac mini recently.

We don't know how this will play out yet, but it's looking increasingly likely that some considerable upward pricing movements will be coming to MacBooks, while the iPhone might perhaps escape the worsts.

A price hike of only $50 for the iPhone would be very much welcomed by many at this point as effectively stable pricing, given all that talk of a couple of hundred dollars or more being stuck on top of the current-gen price tag. And perhaps that's the point — with consumers fearing the worst for the iPhone 18 Pro, they'll eventually be relieved if this is the case.

At any rate — I've been saying this for a while — if you're thinking of buying a new MacBook, the time to move is very likely now, or soon, especially in the case of the Neo (unless you really, really want that red colorway, or whatever striking colors Apple may cook up to distract people from the new price tag).

"You can take the MacBook back. I don’t have the patience to learn a new thing," said my wife as she slid the MacBook Neo back across the kitchen counter.

It was the unceremonious end to a two-week-long experiment in which I encouraged my wife, a decades-long Windows user, to give Apple a try, more specifically, the flavor of Apple found in a lovely, citrus MacBook Neo.

Look, I am no pusher. Ever since I started testing the $599 laptop, my wife had been eyeing it. She was becoming Mac curious. This had a lot to do with her creaky Microsoft Surface Pro 4, a decade-old system that would soon face the dreaded end of Windows 10 security updates (no TPM 2.0 on that old Surface Pro).

As a realtor, she kind of loved the old girl. It ably ran all of her Web-based business software, handled emails, basic art needs for whipping up new listing sheets, and social media materials. She also knew, however, that it was almost time for an upgrade. We both wondered if the affordable and mid-range-powered MacBook Neo could ably step in for the Surface Pro.

My wife even told me that, if she went with the MacBook Neo, Cirtus would not be her choice; the blush looked rather nice. Of course, Citrus is what I had on hand, so that's what she got.

I told her that, while different, macOS would not be completely foreign. Sure, it moved some things around, but my wife was no Luddite; she picked up new tech pretty well.

One thing about her, though, should have been a warning: she hates change.

Taking the macOS plunge

Simply buying her a MacBook Neo — even if there are some nifty Prime Day Deals right now — without knowing if she'd take to it made no sense, and since I'd been testing and using this on-and-off for months, we decided to set her up with it as if she'd bought the system brand new.

I reset the MacBook Neo. It's a $699 model with Touch ID and 512GB of storage, and I told her that this would likely be the one we would buy anyway since I wouldn't want her to run into storage issues.

Next, we sat side-by-side as I walked her through the setup. She took to this part quickly, though I realized that the placement of Touch ID on the power/sleep button was non-obvious. When I told her to register her finger to unlock the laptop, she stared at the system for a few seconds, clearly looking for something with a fingerprint symbol.

You're on your own

For the next couple of weeks, I would watch her slip the laptop into her work bag or use it at the dining room table. I did catch her occasionally trying to tap the screen, which was unsurprising. After all, she'd spent a decade with a touch-screen convertible. I'd ask her how it was going, and she'd give me a slightly less-than-enthusiastic "OK".

At work, she said she struggled to connect to the office printer and finally had a coworker step in and help her.

When she was at home, I showed her how to add her OneDrive account to access work files, a move that seemed to both confound and confuse her. The Windows system automatically integrates the drive. For the Mac, there's an app and then a few steps.

Even the benefits I found in adding a Mac to my Apple ecosystem were lost on her:
"Why do my iPhone notifications keep popping up on the MacBook? That's annoying."

I kept waiting for that moment, the epiphany that triggered, "Why didn't I make this switch years ago?"

It never came.

She found the need to use two fingers to enact right-click functions confusing and didn't seem all that thrilled with the trackpad.

It was clear she appreciated the MacBook Neo design, and yet, she told me, “It’s nice and sleek and all of that, but I could get a new PC that’s nice and sleek and all of that."

As we walked through a Best Buy looking at both MacBook Neo and a bunch of comparable Windows machines from Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Acer, it was clear that the MacBook Neo had not won her over.

After she returned the system, my wife told me that she just couldn't get used to all the differences. Why was the control center at the top? Why did the dock look like that? How could they not have a Start button?

For the average Mac user, like myself, there were all good reasons for these design elements and placements, but, having been a switcher myself, I understood the confusion. Working on a MacBook after 30 years on Windows means you are living in a constant state of "Who moved my cheese?" And when you, as my wife does, have important work to get done, you can't have a system's quirks getting in the way of your productivity.

Getting real

None of this is a commentary on the still excellent MacBook Neo, but it does say something about a certain class of users who, while Apple might try to attract them with the affordable MacBook Neo, are unlikely to make the switch.

The reality is that the best market for the MacBook Neo is still the back-to-school market, where it will likely have an easier time of swaying kids who've used Chromebooks or have only been on iPads.

They'll become Apple's newest customers. As for aging Windows users, getting them to make the switch might be more than Apple can or should hope for — even with the appealing MacBook Neo.

• Apple's CEO has warned that "price increases are unavoidable" for its products
• That means more expensive Macs, iPhones and iPads for starters
• Price hikes will likely be substantial, and there are concerns that product lines could be adjusted as seen recently with the Mac mini – is the entry-level MacBook Neo to suffer the same fate?

CEO Tim Cook has warned that Apple is going to substantially hike prices on its products due to the RAM crisis.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (as spotted by Wccftech), Cook said: "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable. We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable."

The spiralling costs of both memory and storage (SSDs) means that Apple needs to put up prices, and the hikes will be "substantial" the report suggests (as did Cook's previous comments whereby the CEO said that from June, Apple will be facing "significant" cost increases for memory and this will "drive an increasing impact" on Apple's products).

So, this wasn't unexpected, but now it's crystal clear that these price increases are coming due to the "unsustainable" situation around memory chip supply (which is being eaten by AI and data centers to the detriment of consumer products).

What we don't know is the magnitude of these price increases, or what products they might apply to, as Cook didn't furnish us with any specific info along those lines.

It's a safe enough bet that Apple's core products are going to get pricier, though, meaning the iPhone, iPad and Macs. The WSJ even theorizes that the iPhone Pro 18 might cost from $1,299 in the US based on some rough maths.

Analysis: time to buy a Mac?

How soon these price hikes might happen is another key question, of course, but given Cook's previous comments about June, Mac rises could be imminent, as the WSJ indicates – particularly given that we've already seen the Mac mini get pricier at its baseline level. If you recall, Apple discontinued the most affordable entry-level model with 256GB of storage, effectively making the cheapest Mac mini a third more expensive.

The upshot is that if you're thinking of buying a Mac, now seems to be the time to pull the trigger, before these devices get pricier. Any deals that pop up on MacBooks for Prime Day could well be worth pouncing on, and there's already been a discount applied to the MacBook Neo (in the UK).

Grabbing that deal might be a particularly smart move to make, actually, because if the Mac mini is anything to go by, the current base version of the MacBook Neo may not survive the coming quarter. As one of a few such comments on this Reddit thread puts it: "The $599 MacBook Neo was fun while it lasted."

As to what all this means more broadly for Apple pricing moving forward, another interesting point that Cook brings up in the interview with the WSJ is that he says Apple is willing to use its "balance sheet to help be a part of the solution."

By that, the CEO doesn't mean Apple is about to fund the building of its own chip production facilities, and Cook explicitly states that. What it indicates is that the company is going to invest in this side of the tech industry, but exactly how is up for debate.

Some (like Jukan on X) theorize that what Cook is referring to is Apple prepaying to secure more memory supply – and that'll require a serious amount of upfront cash to compete with the major AI players. Others believe this could mean that Apple might help fund expansion plans for memory chip makers as part of some kind of deal to lock in more favorable longer-term pricing for iPhone, iPad and Mac memory supply.

Meanwhile, Jukan also highlighted a message from President Trump on Truth Social which states that "Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its chips in America", as has been previously rumored as a way of diversifying away from Apple's reliance on TSMC.

Tim Cook said before that Apple is exploring a "range of options" in terms of dealing with the RAM crisis, and it seems there's a lot going on behind the scenes right now. Hopefully we'll learn more about the details soon enough, but for now, I'm nervously watching what happens with the MacBook Neo and other Apple laptops.

Schrödinger sock. That's how I describe the child's foot apparel that was not visible but brought to photo-realistic life by Apple Intelligence running on iOS 27 Dev Beta. The sock exists in the liminal space between assumption and reality. Only generative AI can make it real, even if the child in the photo was never wearing his other sock. Such is the power of the upcoming update to Apple's iOS and other platforms, and of the up-to-now relatively disappointing Apple Intelligence: Apple takes on Artificial Intelligence so carefully applied that it seemed woefully behind the competition.

But that was before.

Today, after its unveiling on Monday at WWDC 2026, we have the new Apple Intelligence and its powerful image-altering and creation tools that are the product of powerful off-device models built in cooperation with Google, or rather, that incorporate Google's generative models but apply them with Apple flair.

In the demo I saw, designed to show off the power of Apple Intelligence's new and enhanced Image Editing tools, we looked at the more powerful clean up that can do something Apple has never tried before in image editing: create something biological out of nothing, or at least infer the existence of something human we clearly cannot see. In this case, a child's socked foot. In the image (which I sadly cannot share here, but there are other examples above), the boy is seated on the floor, with one leg partially obscured by a large stuffed bear.

As before, we can trace over such distractions like a chair and the bear, and then tap Clean Up to remove them. Removal is something Apple Intelligence is already quite good at, but replacing large image parts or creating what should be there was really not part of Apple's generative image editing strategy. Now it is.

Like magic, we could see the rest of the child's leg and his other socked foot. No matter that this small boy might not have been wearing a sock on that foot, it got the same sock. As I said, we'll never know if that sock ever truly existed, but in the mind's eye of Apple Intelligence, it does.

Reframing the story

The other tools similarly stretch the bounds of memory and reality. Spatial reframing is a wild Apple Intelligence tool that applies a sort of 3D model to the image, letting you subtly rotate the subject and background this way and that to better frame your image. You can even grab and shift the subject a little bit. I watched them do this with an image of a woman sitting on the grass. I must admit that the final result did look better, and I guess no one will remember the less perfectly composed photos. At least you can always go back to the original, imperfect image to remember how things truly were.

Perhaps the best and least drastic of these generative image alteration features is the new expansion tool that, like AI tools in, say, Adobe Firefly, lets you basically extend the background in a photo to make it a better fit for a certain frame or wallpaper. It's something I could see myself using quite a bit, especially because it leaves the subjects alone.

Create something new

Yes, friends, we are officially entering uncharted Apple territory. For a company that prides itself on photographic excellence with one of the best cameras, sensors, and image pipelines in the business, it is now fully in bed with photorealistic imagination creation.

In one demo I saw, a young man wanted to create a flyer to promote a, I think, a bake sale for his friend, Phil. As before, Image Playground lets you choose seed photos and subjects from your Photos library, but where the old app would stick to basically comic book renderings of these subjects, the new app, with new Gemini-infused models backing it (they all live on Apple's Private Cloud compute), happily creates photorealistic images.

It's now a powerful tool, and I watched as we selected the subject (Phil) and described him piping a cake and with a bowl of fruit nearby. Soon, our buddy Phil appeared on screen looking very much like a master baker. No matter if the guy ever baked a cake in his life, let alone decorated one. He was doing it here. There's nothing real about this image, and while Apple likes to talk about maintaining the essence of our photos in the Apple Intelligence-powered Photo editing tools, this other land will create full-scale image narratives from whole cloth.

Yes, there is some sonic dissonance here.

Even so, Image Playground is now a vastly more powerful tool. After we gave Phil his fake bakery skills, we decided that the bowl of berries we requested for the image was not the right kind of berries. No matter, we simply used the Apple Pencil to select the berry bowl and then asked the app to switch it to blueberries. We also asked for a cupcake tower because Phil's baker bonifides were not quite strong enough.

The result was photorealistic perfection.

This is what you wanted, right? We all said Apple was behind. Now it's pulling even with the rest of the generative image world. It's progress, though I'm not sure to what end.

• Apple's incoming laptop with OLED touchscreen is set to be called the MacBook Ultra, according to a source who spoke to Macworld
• Packing M6 silicon, it's expected to sit above the existing MacBook Pro M5
• Macworld notes: "This new MacBook will cost significantly more than the current MacBook Pro and offer an entirely new feature set."

We've heard a bit more about the rumored MacBook Ultra, a possible new model that Apple could have planned for its laptop range – and this Ultra branding could extend further than laptops, too.

Macworld claims it has a source who reckons that the rumored MacBook with an OLED touchscreen won't be a MacBook Pro (as was believed until recently), but that instead Apple will introduce a new category: the MacBook Ultra.

You won't like the reason for this potential name change, mind, which is essentially that the MacBook OLED will be seriously pricey, hence the need to recategorize it as a new even higher-end offering, placed above the MacBook Pro.

As Macworld states: "This new MacBook will cost significantly more than the current MacBook Pro and offer an entirely new feature set than the existing models."

Last month, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg (via MacRumors) also said the new top-end Apple laptop with OLED could be called the MacBook Ultra.

As well as the touchscreen and OLED upgrades, the belief is that this MacBook Ultra will run with M6 Pro and Max chips, and it'll be thinner than the MacBook Pro (which would fit the idea of it being ultra-premium, as it were). The touchscreen in particular would change the MacBook experience considerably, of course, or presumably that's the idea.

The expected launch window for this new MacBook is the first half of 2027, we're told, though Apple has apparently pushed that back from late in 2026 due to the RAM crisis. All of this is rumored, of course, so grab some handfuls of salt.

Analysis: Ultra branding feels like a distinct possibility

It makes sense for Apple to try to clearly differentiate a model that goes above and beyond where the MacBook Pro currently stands by adding an OLED touchscreen. After all, that's going to be a costly upgrade, and the suggestion of a new MacBook Ultra name hints that it might be very pricey indeed. Of course, people won't just be paying for the hardware, but the cachet of owning an 'Ultra' device from Apple.

The branding also fits with Apple's existing scheme of things in terms of its processors, which have base models, then Pro and Max variants, followed by Ultra at the top.

I wouldn't bet against a MacBook Ultra appearing, then, particularly as we've heard a few bits of chatter from the grapevine about such a laptop in recent times. It seems the idea might be to keep the MacBook Pro M5 models in place, with the MacBook Ultra M6 coming in on top, featuring something in the order of a 20% price hike, Gurman has speculated in the past.

As mentioned at the outset, there could be a fair few more products carrying the Ultra name besides this MacBook.

Macworld also believes that Apple is planning an iPhone Ultra, a foldable device that's been rumored elsewhere, and further theorizes about an iPad Ultra, Mac Studio Ultra, and maybe even an AirPods Ultra (with built-in cameras) that could be on the cards for the future. This might well be the case if Apple really wants to push the Ultra branding and give it a presence across a whole swathe of (more expensive) hardware.

• New rumors suggest Apple's MacBook Neo will receive an upgrade in 2027
• Reliable tech columnist Tim Culpan expects the Neo to use the iPhone 17 Pro's A19 Pro chip with 12GB of RAM
• The Neo is also expected to stick with a five-core GPU instead of the A19 Pro's six-core GPU

The MacBook Neo is critically acclaimed as one of the best budget laptops despite the downside of 8GB of unified memory. That might change next year, but the ongoing RAM crisis could make things challenging for Apple.

As reported by MacRumors, Apple's MacBook Neo could be set to receive two upgrades, with an A19 Pro chip and a push up to 12GB of RAM in 2027, according to tech columnist Tim Culpan in the Culpium newsletter. This would see the MacBook Neo utilize the same chip used in iPhone 17 Pro models: the A19 Pro.

The current MacBook Neo became available this March, with both 256GB and 512GB storage models limited to 8GB of memory, so the purported upgrade to 12GB is expected to give the Neo an extra boost for productivity and multitasking.

Culpan also anticipates the rumored upgraded Neo will use a 'binned' (slightly less powerful, but stable) version of the A19 Pro, but a five-core GPU instead of the chip's six-core GPU. That means there won't be much of an upgrade in GPU power, since the A18 Pro already has a five-core GPU.

However, there's an elephant in the room, which is the ongoing RAM crisis impacting several PC hardware manufacturers, and ultimately leading to higher prices for consumers. The likes of Dell, Framework, and several other laptop companies have been hit with supply chain problems in the past four months.

Fortunately, it's widely reported that Apple had its RAM supply chain locked down before the RAM crisis hit, and frankly, Apple's RAM usage on hardware is used efficiently to deliver good performance without needing more memory, unlike other Windows 11-based systems.

We can only hope that by the time the rumored MacBook Neo upgrade arrives, the RAM crisis and its impact will have simmered down, or Apple's supply chain stays strong throughout 2026, leading into next year.

• Leaker Mark Gurman believes Apple has pushed back the MacBook Pro with touchscreen (and the Mac Studio)
• The next-gen laptop is likely not arriving until early 2027, with the chances of a launch this year rapidly vanishing
• More than anything, reaction to the news has made it clear that some Apple laptop fans really don't want a touchscreen on their MacBook

Apple's rumored MacBook Pro with a touchscreen (and OLED) is supposedly now pushed out to next year for launch, and we're told that the Mac Studio's release has been postponed as well.

MacRumors picked up that in Mark Gurman's latest newsletter for Bloomberg, the noted Apple-watcher said it was possible that both these Macs could experience a 'slight' delay, and — surprise, surprise — it's due to the RAM crisis.

Apparently, the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch with touchscreen are now expected to arrive in early 2027. Note that this isn't necessarily a delay as such, because previously Gurman said these laptops were due to arrive in a timeframe from late 2026 to early 2027.

So, that hasn't changed, but we're now being told that these devices won't be launched until the latter part of that window, and that this is due to the ongoing memory crisis.

Seemingly the Mac Studio has been pushed back to October 2026, whereas this PC was previously rumored to be launching in the middle of this year, according to Gurman. We've already seen this month that some Macs are getting thinner on the ground for stock, of course, including the Mac Studio.

Analysis: a touchy subject

Clearly, it's believable enough that Apple may have to rejig some of its launch plans due to the RAM crisis. After all, the situation around memory — which includes storage, the SSDs inside PCs, as well as system RAM itself — has not gotten any better of late. (Although we have seen minor glints of optimism, they are just that — very slight in nature).

Okay, so it's a relatively minor (and obviously theoretical) delay; but part of what's been interesting here is the reaction to Gurman's most recent report around the next-gen MacBook Pro (M6) with touchscreen.

Notably, there's been quite a lot of negative or doubtful feedback around the need for a touchscreen on a MacBook. As one Redditor put it: "Touch on a Mac feels like solving a problem that doesn't really exist. Trackpad and keyboard are already near perfect for what macOS is built for."

Another in the same thread observed: "The touchscreen PC fad never really went anywhere. Not sure why Apple would try it out now."

And another denizen of Reddit simply said that: "MacBook Pro with touchscreen is a bad idea anyway."

Indeed, there's a fair outpouring of skepticism in that Reddit thread (all those comments are from the same one) about what Apple is hoping to achieve with this rumored move to a touchscreen (which will come alongside the much-awaited switch to OLED, or so we're told).

The main concern is that this is going to lead to changes in macOS to support touch functionality that'll be detrimental to the experience on existing (and indeed future) non-touch Macs.

However, if Apple did this – assuming the touchscreen MacBook is indeed coming – it would presumably have to respect the lines already drawn with macOS in terms of its interface. In other words, whatever touch aspects were added to the operating system would be overlaid on top as useful extras and shortcuts – an additional bonus that doesn't affect the existing platform.

As the original Redditor I quoted further notes: "Trackpad already covers most of what people want from touch without breaking workflow. Touch on a Mac feels more like a nice-to-have than something necessary."

And I think this nails it as far as the route Apple would likely take here: 'nice' additions that don't mess with existing workflows in macOS, because disrupting the latter would be foolish (in a world where most Macs still won't have touchscreen capabilities, of course). And this pretty much aligns with what we've heard Gurman say in the past — namely that Apple is going to make macOS adapt to the input method you're using, whether that's trackpad and keyboard, or touch.

Other than that, for the anti-touchscreen crowd, or the more undecided skeptics, I guess the broader fear is that this is about where Apple might be heading for the future. And also that a touchscreen (and OLED tech) will make the MacBook Pro potentially a good deal pricier — and in this climate of sky-high RAM costs we don't need any further pressures making already pricey MacBooks even more expensive.

Slight delays aside, it's clear enough that Apple is going to need to tread carefully with how it implements a touchscreen for the MacBook, if this is the course it has set sail on.

The MacBook Neo might only have a mobile-class A18 Pro chip on the inside, but it offers far more performance than you’d expect from a $599 laptop. At that price point, it’s incredibly impressive, and is going some way to redefining what we can expect from the best budget laptops in 2026.

Yet that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and there are plenty of tasks that the MacBook Neo struggles with. Still, you don’t have to settle for that — if you want to tune up your Apple laptop and eke more performance out of its chip, you’ve got lots of avenues to explore.

Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best ways you can improve the performance of your MacBook Neo. From freeing up storage space to judiciously adjusting a handful of settings, trying these tips could give you even more bang for your buck than you already get.

1. Manage your storage

It’s a simple fact: the less free space your Mac’s storage drive has, the more sluggish your machine gets. If you’ve found your MacBook Neo has slowed to a crawl, it’s a good idea to check how much storage space you’ve got left by opening the System Settings app and making your way to General > Storage.

If it’s low, there are a few things you can do. The first is to look under the Recommendations section on the Storage page and click Optimize next to Optimize Storage. This will automatically remove things like Apple TV shows you’ve already watched. You can also offload files to iCloud (provided you have enough space), automatically empty the Trash, and more. All of these options cut down on the space used up by files on your Mac.

While you’re doing that, it’s worth shopping around for external storage drives and, once you have one, offloading hefty files onto that. Make sure you get an SSD rather than an HDD (also known as a hard drive), as the speed differences are incredible.

However, there’s one very important point to make here, and that’s on the value of configuring your Mac properly before you buy it. It’s very difficult (if not impossible) to upgrade your Mac’s internal storage, so you should make sure you equip your Mac with enough storage space before you pull the trigger. That way, you don’t need to worry about external SSDs or clearing out space on the regular.

2. Update macOS

Updating your Mac is not just a good way to keep it protected from emerging threats — it also ensures you get the latest speed and performance fixes, too.

Apple makes a big fuss about all the new features it’s been working on when it reveals new macOS versions every year, but an underappreciated aspect of these updates is the way they can speed up your Mac’s performance. Apple regularly tunes its software to ensure it functions optimally, and that’s something you’re missing out on if you stick to older versions.

Before you get started updating your Mac, make sure you’ve backed everything up (perhaps using one of our picks for the best backup software) in case something goes wrong. Then open System Settings and go to General > Software Update, wait for the new version to appear, then click Update Now.

3. Restart your Mac

It can be tempting to forgo shutting down your Mac and simply close its lid when you’re done at the end of the day — indeed, one reason the power button on the Mac mini is so awkward to reach is because Apple knows most people don’t actually shut down their computers. But doing so has notable benefits and can help to improve your Mac’s performance, even if it’s only in a small way.

You see, when you shut down your Mac, macOS clears its memory, deletes unneeded temporary files and caches, restarts demanding processes, and allows some app updates to complete. All of those things benefit your Mac and help to improve its performance by removing elements that could be holding it back. Conversely, the longer you go without shutting down, the worse these problems can get.

If you don’t want to shut down your Mac for a prolonged period of time, even a simple restart will help. That allows all the processes above to work in the same way as shutting down.

There’s also the added bonus that shutting down your Mac means it’s not drawing on your battery. This can have performance benefits of its own, as Apple starts to automatically cut back on performance when your laptop is running out of juice.

4. App improvements

Generally speaking, macOS is an efficient operating system that’s pretty good at managing apps and preventing them from getting out of control. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to write off app-related problems altogether.

One way you can keep a leash on things is by regularly quitting apps you’re not using. We don’t just mean closing the main app window, as the app itself is still running when you do this. Instead, press Command + Q or click the app’s name in the menu bar, then click Quit, which closes the app entirely. By only having in-use apps open, you reduce the strain on your Mac’s resources.

Aside from that, you can make a concerted effort to use more efficient apps. Google Chrome, for example, might be one of the best web browsers, but it’s also notorious for hogging your Mac’s memory and battery life. Switch to an alternative browser, and you will likely feel the performance benefits right away.

5. Use the correct USB port

This might sound like an odd one — after all, the two USB-C ports on the MacBook Neo look identical. Why would there be any difference between them?

Well, in an effort to cut costs, Apple has used a cheaper, slower option for one of the ports. The USB-C slot closest to the trackpad runs at USB 2 speeds, which top out at 480 Mbps. The port closest to the MacBook’s hinge, meanwhile, is USB 3.0, which means it can hit speeds of up to 5Gbps. That’s a big difference.

If you’ve got anything plugged in that relies on fast transfer speeds — one of the external SSDs we mentioned earlier, for instance — you’ll definitely notice something is wrong if you’ve got it plugged in to the front USB-C port. Switch it to the back one, and its performance will increase substantially.

6. Login and background items

Every time you start up your Mac, a plethora of apps and processes fire up alongside macOS itself. These run the gamut from apps you’ve installed to automatic updaters and everything in between. Accumulate too many and your MacBook Neo will feel the strain.

Fortunately, there’s a simple way to fix this. Open the System Settings app and navigate to General > Login Items & Extensions. Under the Open at Login header, you’ll see everything that gets going once you’ve logged in to macOS. If you see something you don’t need anymore, click the minus button (-) at the bottom of the list.

Below this is a section titled App Background Activity. This governs which apps are allowed to launch background processes (such as checking for updates or syncing files to the cloud). Like login items, background activity can gobble up a lot of your Mac’s resources. As before, check through the list and disable anything you don’t need using the toggles on the right-hand side.

There’s also an Extensions section at the bottom of the window. This concerns extra functionality added by apps, and these sometimes run in the background. The impact of disabling these is likely to be minimal, but it’s worth having a look just in case. Click the i button next to each entry to see the relevant extensions and disable them if needed.

And if an app has started misbehaving, or if you’ve noticed macOS slow down for no discernible reason, try opening the Activity Monitor app (you can find it by pressing Command + Space and typing its name into the Spotlight search bar). Activity Monitor lists all open apps and processes and shows how much of your Mac’s resources they’re using, including memory, storage, CPU, and more.

On the CPU tab, for example, you can sort items by CPU usage, then close anything that’s out of control. Be careful here, though, and only close things if you know exactly what they are. Otherwise, you could risk causing an error in macOS.

7. Adjust visual settings

The macOS operating system isn’t overly flashy, but it does rely on a few visual effects (especially with the arrival of the Liquid Glass redesign in macOS 26). While there’s nothing overly taxing, you might want to rein some things in a bit to help your Mac run a little smoother.

One option is to cut down on motion and transparency effects. First, open System Settings and head to Accessibility > Display. There, enable the toggle next to Reduce transparency. This makes operating system elements — like menus and the Dock — opaquer, thereby reducing the load on your Mac’s graphics processor.

Now go back to Accessibility and click Motion, then enable the toggle by Reduce motion. As the name implies, this uses simpler animations and cuts out some motion altogether, such as when you open and close the Notification Center. Not only can this help you with motion sickness, but it also lessens the impact on your Mac’s chip, freeing up resources and helping to improve its output.

Bonus: third-party tools

While all the above tips have focused on what you can do with your Mac itself, you can also level it up with a few third-party accessories. An external SSD is one we’ve already mentioned, and you shouldn’t underestimate how it can help with storage constraints.

Elsewhere, you might want to invest in a laptop cooling pad or similar solution if you’re frequently running things that get your MacBook Neo hot and bothered. Since this laptop doesn’t come with a fan, certain demanding tasks can cause it to overheat, which in turn leads to throttled performance. Granted, most people with a MacBook Neo aren’t likely to be crunching enormous datasets with their laptop, but you might find that keeping it cool leads to better performance from time to time.

Although it’s an extreme example, one YouTuber hooked up a custom water cooling rig to their MacBook Neo and claimed to have doubled its performance.

We’re not suggesting you try anything like that, but it shows what’s possible with a well-cooled machine. A much simpler cooling pad or fan could therefore be a worthwhile investment.

Apple is selling an insane number of MacBook Neos, so much so that it's now trying to adjust production to meet demand. People want the MacBook Neo in ways they have never wanted a MacBook before. It's a near-perfect blend of Apple quality and affordability, and it's opened the floodgates to consumers who thought they could never afford a MacBook. I expect this to be one of Apple's most popular products of the decade, and I hope that it teaches the tech giant a valuable lesson:

Make the iPhone more affordable.

As of this moment, the cheapest iPhone you can buy is the $599 iPhone 17e. Despite being a "budget" phone, we described it in our review thusly: "the 17e feels like a more complete and modern member of the iPhone lineup."

Does that price sound familiar? It should. This budget smartphone costs as much as Apple's most affordable laptop: the aforementioned MacBook Neo. Sure, the iPhone 17e has a slightly better chip (the A19 as opposed to the Neo's A18 Pro), but that performance difference is probably nominal, at best. They do match each other on 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, by the way.

We pay quite a premium for pocketability, but does it make sense for them to be priced the same? Maybe. On the other hand, the MacBook Neo reminds us that the first thing most consumers consider in a purchase decision is price.

Let's bring the iPhone back to that magic price

When the iPhone launched almost 20 years ago, it was priced at $499 for the base 8GB (storage) model. A year later, the iPhone 3G landed for $199. Granted, this price was achieved through carrier subsidies, but it was also what Steve Jobs liked to call the "magic" price point, a term he coined when launching the iPod mini.

Once carriers figured out how to shoulder the full cost of the phone and let you pay off monthly, price became a construct. It was something that only existed as the thing Apple announced on launch, and that was quickly subsumed into years of monthly payments to your carrier.

Basically, we're paying anywhere from $600 to well over $1,000 for the iPhone we want. We do so happily, it seems, because no one is without a smartphone (iPhone or otherwise). But Apple doesn't own the global market.

According to Counterpoint, Apple has roughly 25% of the global smartphone market, which beats Samsung's 18% but falls below "Others" 30%. If you ask me, Apple has a huge opportunity here because that "Others" is probably made up of a bunch of affordable handset makers, companies offering smartphones for $300 or less, and often with features that compare favorably to what Apple's offering in its mid-tier iPhone 17.

Tecno, which does not sell in the US, offers the Tecno Spark 50 5G with a 50MP camera, a 64000mAh battery, and military-grade shock resistance for roughly $200. For around $380, you could get the Tecno Camon 50 Pro, which features a three-camera array, a 6.7-inch display, and...okay, it tops out at 4G coverage. Still, you get the idea. There are many companies like this that sell highly affordable phones to emerging markets.

What the market can bear is changing

It's understandable that Apple (and its competitors like Samsung and Google) charge more in the affluent US market. People know these phones are expensive, but they hide the pain in those monthly payments.

The MacBook Neo, though, is proving that consumers are desperate for a deal, especially one that marries affordability to quality. As experiment after experiment I've run has proven, the MacBook Neo is that mix. Somehow, without cutting visible corners, Apple delivered a tiny, ready-for-work-and-play system that outshines all the rest of the budget competition.

This is a system that's as well-built as something costing hundreds more and is an absolute pleasure to look at and use. And you never have to tell yourself, "It cost a fortune, but then look at how it works, look at the design." Instead, you can boast about how you got more than your money's worth.

I'm not calling for all iPhones to be $599 or less. Instead, I'm suggesting that the most affordable new iPhone could start at $199 or, if that's asking too much, $299 (even $399 would be a win).

Can you imagine how many iPhones Apple would sell around the world if the doorway to one of the best smartphone brands on the market opened at under $300? Apple would rocket to the top of the global market share list, eating into "Other" and surely taking a slice or two from Samsung (though Samsung has long had the Galaxy A series, which can, in some cases, start for as little as $199.99).

The MacBook Neo will continue to outsell the budget PC competition and make waves. Let's see what Apple does about them and how it affects the prices of other Apple product lines.

• All flavors of the MacBook Neo are delayed by 2-3 weeks at Apple's online store
• You'll be lucky to pick one up at a bricks-and-mortar Apple store in the US, too, although some outlets do have stock
• The popularity of the laptop seems to have taken Apple by surprise, and rumor has it that supply issues could be a real problem going forward

The MacBook Neo is a victim of its own popularity, it seems, and if you're ordering the notebook online, it won't be delivered for quite some time — and there are rumblings that Apple is going to struggle meeting demand going forward.

First off, 9 to 5 Mac flagged up that no matter which configuration of the MacBook Neo (model or color) you select at Apple's US online store, there's a 2-3 week waiting time before the laptop ships.

Even if you're heading to a bricks-and-mortar Apple store, you most likely won't be able to buy a MacBook Neo there and then. While availability varies as you might imagine, you'll typically be waiting 3-4 weeks for an in-store pickup to be ready. That said, some stores do have on-the-day availability for the Neo, if you get lucky.

Checking in the UK, I can see it's a similar situation for online orders via the Apple website, although you can pick up a MacBook Neo right away in most Apple stores in the country. And in Australia, the official Apple store also indicates a 3-4 week wait time, although some other third-party retailers with physical stores do appear to have some models in stock still.

Here's where this gets really interesting — in a very tricky way for Apple — because as MacRumors spotted, we're hearing from a tech writer in Taiwan (an ex-Bloomberg reporter, Tim Culpan) that the Neo has been way more popular than anticipated. It has apparently "surpassed expectations" in terms of how swiftly the laptop has shifted units, posing a "massive dilemma" for Apple, the writer believes (based on the usual anonymous sources).

The theory is that Apple drafted in A18 Pro chips that couldn't be used in the iPhone 16 Pro due to having a faulty GPU core. Instead of a 6-core GPU as needed in the iPhone, these chips only had 5-cores, but were otherwise good – so with the faulty core disabled, they were put in the MacBook Neo.

This is a common strategy for chips that don't make a certain grade, as it avoids the silicon going to waste. However, it means that Apple only had a certain amount of CPUs based on the shortfall with these iPhone chips. That isn't going to be enough, Culpan informs us, now that sales of the Neo have taken off so strongly, and therefore Apple could be in some hot water here, or so the rumor runs — obviously add plenty of seasoning to this claim.

MacRumors also spotted that Culpan reckons Apple will have a refreshed MacBook Neo next year, built around the A19 Pro CPU (the chip in the current iPhone 17 Pro) and equipped with 12GB of system RAM. That'll be a useful upgrade on the current 8GB loadout, which while enough for everyday computing on the Neo, doesn't look so great in terms of future-proofing.

It's also worth noting that the Mac mini and Mac Studio are now suffering serious delays (months in some cases) when ordered from Apple's online store — although these delays are reportedly due to the ongoing RAM crisis, rather than demand outstripping supply.

Analysis: will Apple need to get creative here?

While these rumors fit together rather neatly, we must be careful about making too many assumptions. Although clearly there is a problem with supply not meeting the demand for the MacBook Neo, as the laptop's already lengthy lead times for delivery show.

The question is whether this is more of a blip in the flow of stock into retail, or whether the rumor about the moorings coming loose in terms of a shortfall of CPUs for the Neo is actually true. We'll only know by keeping an eye on the availability of the MacBook Neo, and seeing whether the current situation continues (or indeed gets even worse).

If Apple is facing a supply issue with its A18 Pro chips as suggested, the company will need to either live with disappointing its customers — not a great idea, especially given how well the Neo has gone down — or crank up production of the CPUs (also with the sixth GPU core disabled, because Apple would have to keep the integrated graphics the same as with existing models).

However, as Culpan points out, the latter is easier said than done, given how much it'll cost to secure production capacity with TSMC at the drop of a hat. That won't be easy to square on Apple's bank balance when you consider that profit margins on the Neo are already thin.

There could be creative ways around that problem, such as a decision to just produce the pricier (512GB) model of the Neo, which has a little more headroom with the profit margins, no doubt. But what Apple doesn't want to do is lose the momentum it has swiftly picked up with the Neo, which is a threat Microsoft apparently recognizes in terms of making macOS a more meaningful force in the Windows-dominated world of laptops.

Again, it all comes back to the MacBook Neo being something of a victim of its own success; and while we can't leap to conclusions, the theories behind what might be unfolding here seem plausible enough. Maybe that second-gen 12GB model of the Neo will be rushed out as quickly as possible…

If I'm being honest, I'm not surprised. I set out to see if the new MacBook Neo, a sub-$600 laptop running a smartphone CPU, could get through one or more of my workdays, and the results were even better than I expected.

When I announced the test on social media last week, I got a lot of feedback. Many were excited to see how Apple's first new MacBook model in more than a decade performed. Others questioned my use of the word "everyday". What kind of work did I mean? Basically, I was talking about my average workday.

If you're reading this, you know I'm a tech editor and much of my day revolves around writing, editing, and researching. I do video calls, I edit photos, I write scripts, work on reports, communicate in Messages, work and play in AI, and stream video content (for research, I swear!).

Put another way, this is not a heavy-duty workday with 4K video editing, Logic Pro music mixing, and Final Cut Pro video production. I'm not a game designer or 3D artist. Of course, the MacBook Neo, which Apple launched in March, is not designed for or aimed at Pro users: they can choose from an array of MacBook Pro and even MacBook Air models (or Mac Minis and Studios).

Apple built the MacBook Neo as an alternative to affordable Windows 11 laptops from HP, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, and others, as well as bargain-basement Chromebooks. Many of these sub-$600 systems are either built with cheaper materials or feature under-performing processors and graphics.

The MacBook Neo instantly stood out with its uncanny mix of attractive materials, excellent craftsmanship, and a big question mark: the use of the A18 Pro CPU last seen in the iPhone 16 Pro.

If you've never used an iPhone or even one of Apple's laptops, you might've considered that a risky move. I knew better. For as long as I've been writing about Apple Silicon on smartphones (and systems), I've said they have headroom to spare. It was usually impossible to push a chip like the A18 Pro to its limits.

Nope, just nope

My confidence aside, I attracted some serious skeptics online.

"Why? Dumb. It's a toy, 8GB RAM and tiny screen with huge bezels. This laptop is for my Grandmother," wrote Bob in MI on X (formerly Twitter).

Bob's right, the MacBook only ships with 8GB of RAM. There is no option for 16GB, and nothing can slow down a system more than a RAM shortage. Even my 512GB test unit (the base model ships with 256GB of storage) has just 8GB. Bob also accurately noted the larger bezels around the smaller screen (13 inches compared to the MacBook Air's 13.6-inch).

But he also exaggerated. The bezels are not huge, and the screen is far from tiny. Also, why pick on his grandmother? I don't know the lady, but I think she might love this Citrus-colored portable.

Amidst the naysayers and curiosity seekers, there were more than a few people reporting they had already been using the MacBook Neo for a few weeks. Not one person who owned one reported any degradation, even when doing image editing, running Spotify, and using Microsoft's Office Suite.

My MacBook Neo diary

What followed were days of normal work and some note-taking about my MacBook Neo experience. My goal was never to push the system to its limits. I just wanted to get my job done without any slowdowns or tech issues.

Turns out I couldn't jump right into work because the MacBook Neo wasn't set up for my typical workday.

I started by opening Chrome (most of my company's software and systems require us to use Google's browser) and logging into my corporate Google account, which gives me access to Gmail, Slack, Google Docs, accounting systems, and more.

I already had Adobe Photoshop 2026 — my go-to image editing software — installed from previous MacBook Neo tests.

As you probably already know, I'm an active social media user and often post directly from my laptop. So I logged into X, BlueSky, and Threads. This also helped me track reactions to my adventure (and my messy workdesk).

As I start working, I keep admiring the color; Citrus is so bright and cheerful. Not everyone is a fan. My wife noticed I had switched to the MacBook Neo for work, and when I asked her about the cute color, she made a face, "Not my favorite." I assured her it came in other fun colors like Blush and Indigo.

Not only do I like the color, which can make a dreary day a bit more cheerful, but I also appreciate how the colors bleed through to the keyboard and software elements. It's a nice touch.

Attack of the tabs

Much of my writing and editing is spent within our company's proprietary publishing system, but I also open up other browser tabs for research. Add those to my Gmail, Slack, Feedly, the TechRadar homepage, and all those social media platforms, and the browser tabs start to add up.

In fact, I usually have a significant tab problem. I constantly open new ones as I research a story, and then I sometimes forget I opened them, or lose track of an entire window of open tabs. This can seriously stress even a Pro-level system, so I adopted a slightly different strategy with the MacBook Neo.

I tried to be far more intentional in my tab use. If I opened one, I'd complete my work with it, copy the data I needed — often in Notes — and then close the tab (even so, I currently have 17 tabs open). Look, I'm no fool; I know 8GB is only going to get me so far.

Things I noticed and things I miss

On the first day, I chose to work with the MacBook Neo connected to power. As I plugged in a USB-C cable, I did, for a moment, miss the MagSafe charge port, but I also quickly forgot about it.

I also used the remaining USB-C port to plug in my Targus port adapter and connect the MacBook Neo to a second HD display.

The MacBook Neo did make me realize how I take the MacBook Air's backlit keyboard for granted. No matter how the light changes at home, at work, or on the train, the MacBook Air keyboard is consistently visible. The MacBook Neo keyboard, by contrast, is at the mercy of external light, and I couldn't help but notice the shadows from my hands, and how, when the light shifts in the room, suddenly half the keyboard looks darker. Again, minor issue.

I spent much of that first morning editing and then writing a post. As is often the case, I needed art. I opened Photoshop, which had been quietly running in the background, downloaded a high-resolution image from Getty, and then edited and exported the photo.

I usually save these images to OneDrive (yes, I still run the Office suite, including Word and Excel), but I decided not to add OneDrive to the MacBook Neo because I knew that mirroring my cloud storage might eat half of the system's 512GB drive. I do worry about people who buy the $599 / £599 / AU$899 base model with just 256GB of storage. That does seem a bit limited for anyone's storage needs.

Streaming history

While I've been running my small and insignificant test on the ground, NASA Artemis II astronauts rocketed into space and are flying toward the moon. Naturally, I had to track every moment of the mission, so I opened YouTube and left the stream running throughout the day (it's running right now).

Later, I used Photoshop on the MacBook Neo to turn one of the astronaut's photos into wallpaper. Doing so required running Firefly, Adobe's cloud-based Generative AI system. It all worked perfectly.

This $699 / £699 / AU$1099 system also ships with TouchID, an upgrade I appreciate for how it makes unlocking the system a fingerprint away and for how I often used it to log in to my personal Gmail with a passkey.

As the day wore on, I started to notice the difference between a Force Touch TrackPad and a Multi-Touch trackpad. One uses haptics to trick your fingers and mind into thinking the platform is moving. The MacBook Neo's highly responsive trackpad actually moves, and that means you need to apply a tiny bit more pressure to use it. It's not like it tired me out, but I did notice the cumulative difference after a day of use.

My new commute buddy

I usually work on my commute home, and I wasn't going to spare the MacBook Neo. I connected the laptop to my iPhone 17 Pro Max's Personal Hotspot and worked for about an hour as the train rolled from the city to my neighborhood. The 2.7-pound laptop felt comfortable on my lap, and I continued editing, writing, and doing some image editing (and tracking the Artemis II mission).

I was surprised to see that at the end of the hour, the Neo's battery had dropped to 59%.

A new day and a new plan

The next day, I decided to run the MacBook Neo on battery power. After recharging the laptop overnight, I unplugged it at 7 AM ET.

As at work, I had the MacBook Neo connected to a port adapter and another HD display to extend the desktop.

I also decided to push the laptop a little harder, leaving a few more browser tabs open than I had the day before. I started noting just a small bit of hesitation. After I got my first spinning pinwheel, I pulled back and closed a few browser tabs. Smooth operation resumed.

By 8:41 AM ET, and with numerous tabs and Photoshop open, battery power had plummeted to 59%.

I continued working, and by 10:05 AM ET, I was down to 22%. It's worth noting that I did not adjust the screen brightness or switch to low-power mode; I just kept working.

I got a warning at 10% battery life, and by 10:54 AM ET, the MacBook Neo ran out of juice and shut down. I plugged it in, and it took about 5 minutes for the laptop to get enough power to wake up.

My work day continued until about 5 PM without issue. A couple of days later, I was back at work and, to be honest, kind of forgot about the test. I mean, I forgot I was working on a MacBook Neo and not my typical MacBook Air.

My point is that this system I'm using right now is more than adequate for everyday work. It's an accomplished system that I would recommend to almost anyone who is not doing Pro-grade content creation.

Yes, I was a little disappointed at the unplugged battery life, but I do think I couldn't have extended my battery performance by hours had I used low-power mode (something I often employ on the MacBook Air).

Once again, the affordable MacBook Air proves itself a fantastic value that I would happily recommend to almost anybody.

Adorable. That's the only way to describe Apple's Lil Finder Guy, who arrived without much fanfare alongside the MacBook Neo. The two-tone, 3D character is a physical embodiment of Apple's iconic Finder icon in macOS. It's also more than that.

No one is quite certain of where Lil Finder Guy comes from. Apple's never issued a press release. Instead, some eagle-eyed Apple fans first noticed Lil Finder Guy using a tiny MacBook Neo in the background of an Apple TikTok livestream.

During all the excitement surrounding Apple's most affordable and excellent $599 / £599 / AU$899 MacBook Neo, I certainly didn't notice the pale-and-deep-blue guy. However, possibly as part of Apple's unexpectedly massive 50th Anniversary celebrations, the spungy little guy has appeared in a handful of clever Tok Tok ads, where Lil Finder Guy is seen in a director's chair, with his squishy head resting on a desk, face down on the floor, and using the Edge Light in a FaceTime call.

In other words, Lil Finder Guy is now a sort of proxy for you, the user. It's also like Apple's unofficial mascot. I always thought that was the role of the Apple with a bite out, but that's a logo, and lacks, if not personality, humanity.

Lil Finder Guy is different. With his cherubic features, he's automatically comical and eminently watchable.

People have such affection for him that they figured out how to make 3D printouts of Lil Finder Guy, complete with magnetically attached appendages (so you can pose him, of course). Others have used Gemini to create a whole library of Lil Finder Guy poses.

I have to admit, I'm smitten with him, and wonder if Apple will expand his presence. Could Apple add a digital version of him in macOS 27, a helpful little guy that appears on screen and offers to answer your questions? What if Lil Finder Guy takes over for Siri? Every time you summon Siri, Lil Finder Guy pops up and then runs around the desktop, doing your bidding.

With that Gemini Foundational Model integration, Lil Finder Guy could be the face of a much smarter Siri. Of course, we're edging into Clippy territory here, so maybe Apple shouldn't do this.

The secret

There's another reason Lil Finder Guy can never be a stand-in for Siri: he has a very specific purpose. He's the Finder, and the Finder is not just a locator for all your Mac folders and files. To understand Finder's true purpose, we need to look at the original design. I did not figure this out myself.

I was listening to the Retrocast podcast discuss the cute Lil Finder Guy (and the need for a real name) when they started delving into the Finder's design.

Here's the secret: it's not a face. It's two faces. The one on the right is you, the user, and the one on the left is the computer. It's an image of a user looking at the Mac startup face on the computer!

As the Retrocast hosts explained, the design evokes the "special relationship between people and high technology." It's a design manifestation of how Apple approaches technology, as a deeper connection between human and digital, and how tech does not have to be impersonal. The Macintosh launched with a face and instantly made something remote and unfeeling accessible.

Granted, this means Lil Finder Guy's face is two faces, which is a bit weird, but he pulls off the look nicely and is still just as cute.

I don't know what Apple's long-term plans are for the Lil Finder Guy. At the very least, I expect physical copies to show up in Apple Stores, where you can buy them alongside the t-shirts and pins. But I hope Apple considered letting him stick around to promote future products and show us how to do things on our MacBooks. He instantly seems like a TikTok citizen. Apple could build him his own account and probably amass more than the Apple account's 8 million followers.

You’ve just got a shiny new MacBook Neo and you’re keen to see what it can do. But before you go racing off to browse the internet or play some games, there are a few things it’s worth doing first.

Here, we’ll show you 7 of the best changes you can make to your Mac, from strengthening your privacy to customizing it to your liking. These quick fixes and adjustments will make all the difference to your macOS experience, and these tips are great for anyone new to macOS, no matter what Mac or MacBook you have.

Secure your Mac

The last thing you want to happen to your new Mac is for it to be compromised. Luckily, privacy and security are two of Apple’s core strengths, and macOS is well equipped to keep your digital life safe and sound.

First, you’ll want to enable automatic updates to ensure your Mac always has the latest security patches and new features. To do so, open the System Settings app and head to General > Software Update in the left-hand sidebar. From there, click the i button next to Automatic Updates and switch all the toggles on.

While the entry-level MacBook Neo lacks Touch ID, the more expensive model comes with Apple’s fingerprint recognition system. To register your fingerprint with macOS, go to the Touch ID & Password section of the System Settings app and click Add Fingerprint, then follow the instructions.

If your MacBook Neo model doesn’t have Touch ID, you can still protect your login details with Apple’s Passwords app. This is the free, built-in password manager that comes with macOS, and you’ll find it in your Mac’s Applications folder that’s accessed using the Finder. Just open it up and follow the on-screen instructions. Make sure you click Passwords > Get Browser Extension in the app’s menu bar to install it in your favorite web browser. That way, you can save and fill passwords on the web without needing to leave your browser.

It’s also a good idea to turn on FileVault. This encrypts your files so that even if you lose your laptop, no one else can access your private documents and information. To set it up, open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security > FileVault in the sidebar, then enable the toggle to start protecting your files. Just make sure you make a note of your Mac’s password so you don’t get locked out. Your Recovery Key is also synced to every Apple device you own with iCloud Keychain enabled.

All about apps

While iOS is very restrictive about where you get your apps (although that’s beginning to change), Mac users have long been able to install apps from anywhere they like. But in order to do that, you’ve got to change a simple setting first.

Go to the Privacy & Security section of the System Settings app, then scroll to the bottom of the page. Under the Security header, you’ll see ‘Allow applications from.’ Click the pop-up menu and select App Store & Known Developers. This gives you wider access to apps from outside the App Store while maintaining the security of your device.

Once you’ve installed a few new apps, it’s a good idea to change which ones are used to open certain files. After all, you might not always want videos to open using QuickTime, for example. There are a few ways to change your default apps.

Firstly, let’s say you want to change the app that’s used to open JPG images. Right-click a JPG file, click Get Info, then expand the Open with section and pick an app from the pop-up menu. Click Change All to make sure every JPG file opens with this app rather than just the one you selected.

To switch to a different default web browser, open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar, then scroll down to the Widgets section. There, next to ‘Default web browser,’ click the pop-up menu and pick a new app.

Finally, you can change your default email client by opening the Mail app and clicking Mail > Settings in the menu bar. Now click the General tab and choose a new app from the ‘Default email reader’ pop-up menu at the top of the page.

Customize your Dock

The macOS Dock permanently houses all your favorite apps, shows recently opened apps, and has spots for downloaded items and the trash. It’s a pretty powerful tool when you know how to use it.

To rearrange app icons in the Dock, just drag them to a new position. You can add new apps by dragging them onto the Dock and remove apps by dragging them out until the word Remove appears, then letting go.

By default, the Dock shows recent apps on the right-hand side. That can be handy, but can also clutter the Dock. To change this, open System Settings and navigate to Desktop & Dock in the sidebar, then disable the toggle next to ‘Show suggested and recent apps in Dock.’

You can also hide the Dock itself by adjusting the ‘Automatically hide and show the Dock’ toggle. It disappears by default and will reappear if you move your mouse pointer to the bottom of your Mac’s screen.

Finally, Apple’s standard configuration has apps use a ‘Genie’ effect when they’re minimized. This sucks them down into the Dock at an angle, but it’s not to everyone’s taste. If you don’t like it, change Genie Effect to Scale Effect next to ‘Minimized window animation’ in the same System Settings window.

I’ve written about the Dock in more detail, including highlighting some clever tricks to help you get even more out of it. Check that guide out if you want to learn a bit more about this macOS feature.

Set up Time Machine

If anything was to go wrong with your Mac, you don’t want to find out you’ve lost all your files. One way you can prevent that is by using Time Machine to back up your Mac. For this, you’ll need an external storage drive with enough space to hold your Mac’s files.

Now, ensure your drive is connected to your Mac, then open System Settings and go to General > Time Machine > Add Backup Disk. Choose your external drive from the list and click Set Up Disk. Once you’ve followed the on-screen instructions, you should be good to go. Your Mac will now automatically back up as long as your drive is connected.

Make full use of your trackpad

Apple’s MacBook trackpads are some of the best in the business, and even though the MacBook Neo doesn’t use a Force Touch trackpad, its offering is still incredibly well refined. You’ll find a range of intuitive gestures are enabled by default, like pinching your fingers together to open the Applications pane or moving four fingers upwards to show all your open app windows.

But you can unlock extra trackpad gestures that are hidden in your Mac’s settings. The first one can be found in System Settings by scrolling to the bottom of the sidebar and clicking Trackpad. From there, click More Gestures, then click the pop-up menu next to App Exposé and choose a gesture. App Exposé shows all the open windows of just the foremost app – rather than those of all currently open apps – allowing you to quickly flick between them.

The second secret gesture relates to dragging and dropping files. Sometimes, you might find you run out of space on your trackpad when moving a file. But if you go to System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options, you’ll find some handy ways to fix that. At the bottom, enable the toggle next to ‘Use trackpad for dragging,’ then pick one of the options from the pop-up menu. These choices let you do things like let go of the trackpad to reposition your fingers as you move a file, all without dropping it, making the process a lot easier.

Keep your battery going for longer

The better you look after your MacBook Neo’s battery, the longer it’ll serve you. Apple’s laptop batteries are already some of the most effective in the industry, but a few quick tweaks could help you get even more out of them.

The first thing to do is head to System Settings > Battery. Next to Charging, click the i button, then enable Optimized Battery Charging. This learns your daily usage routine and charges at optimal times to prevent overcharging.

Back in the Battery section, scroll to the bottom and click Options, then enable ‘Slightly dim the display on battery’ to make sure your screen isn’t eating into your battery too much while you’re not using a charger.

If you really want to eke as much juice out of your laptop as you can, click the pop-up menu next to Low Power Mode and select a scenario. This disables certain features to prolong your battery as much as possible.

Tune up your display

MacBooks have beautiful displays, and the MacBook Neo is no different. A few little changes here and there, though, can make it even better.

If you tend to use your laptop at night, you know how painful it can be to have your eyes blasted by a bright screen. To put that right, go to System Settings > Displays > Night Shift, then click the pop-up menu next to Schedule. Night Shift automatically changes your screen’s color temperature, which helps ease the strain on your eyes. You can either set up a custom schedule or use Apple’s Sunset to Sunrise option.

Back on the Displays pane, enable the toggle next to ‘Automatically adjust brightness.’ As the name suggests, this detects the brightness of your surroundings, then changes your display to match. It can help ensure your screen is never too bright or too dark for your needs.

• Apple is experiencing shipping delays for the MacBook Neo
• Orders from Apple's online store aren't expected to ship until mid-April
• This demand is attributed to first-time Mac owners, making it the biggest Mac launch for Apple

Haven’t ordered your new MacBook Neo yet? Well, I’d advise you to score Apple’s budget laptop sooner rather than later, as it’s experiencing shipping delays everywhere.

Following its launch on March 11, the MacBook Neo has proved to be one of Apple’s most popular products in recent years, but it appears that the tech giant hasn’t been able to keep up with the skyrocketing demand that’s come with it. As a result, shipping delays are increasing, and now you may not be able to get your hands on a MacBook Neo until mid-April at the very earliest.

According to 9to5Mac, every configuration of the MacBook Neo has sold out in the US and won’t be shipped until between April 6 and April 13 when you order from Apple’s online store, pushing shipping dates back a good two to three weeks.

Apple’s online store in the UK is showing similar dates, and most models are due to be shipped between April 9 and April 16. Based on which iteration of the Neo you opt for, you could be looking between April 16 and April 23 for your device to be shipped — this is mainly for the MacBook Neo with the Blush finish, and applies to both the 256GB and 512GB models. Ordering from your local Apple store may not be the best idea either, as in-store collection dates are also being pushed back.

Waiting until next month to snag what will undoubtedly become one of the best budget laptops isn’t ideal, but a few weeks back, we predicted that Apple would sell these by the boatload, and voilà. But despite the frustrating delays, it reveals something monumental for Apple as a company, and it’s all thanks to first-time Mac customers.

For the first time, a MacBook launch has ushered in a demand that you only really see with the release of a new iPhone. Apple CEO Tim Cook has deemed it the ‘best launch week ever’ for Macs, which has been fuelled by first-time MacBook owners. This can be attributed to the MacBook Neo’s affordability, giving users who've wanted to convert to Mac a better entry point, but could never justify the hefty price tag. But the Neo has also done a stellar job at luring casual users and students.

Just like us, users on Reddit also expected the demand, with one describing the MacBook Neo as ‘such a neat notebook’, garnering a shedload of responses agreeing that it'll be a big hit with scholars, especially when September comes around. Not only that, but Apple’s budget laptop has given users more reason to not opt for an iPad, which costs around the same as the MacBook Neo, but requires purchasing a separate keyboard and other accessories, which aren’t budget-friendly.

With this in mind, picking a MacBook Neo up at your nearest Apple store may be your best option if you don’t want to wait nearly three weeks for one to arrive. Alternatively, you can try other retailers such as Amazon, which offers same-week shipping. Unfortunately, the MacBook Neo is out of stock on Amazon UK, so heading to the Apple store is your best shot right now.

When we recorded the latest episode of the TechRadar podcast we were coming in hot after the major new product announcements from Apple including the iPhone 17e, iPad Air M4 and its new budget MacBook.

Hearing that the affordable Apple laptop boasted an iPhone chip – the A18 pro which debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro back in 2024 — and only 8GB of unified memory (which we call RAM in the recording though it’s not the same as typical PC RAM) I just didn’t believe it would be that great. Even at its budget pricing I thought it would be a major let down.

Then we got to review the MacBook Neo and this thing blew us away. Our Computing Editor Matt Hanson called it “the best budget laptop you can buy right now.”

Clearly I was wrong, but what makes the MacBook Neo so excellent?

Beautiful inside and out

The first success of this machine is its design.

There’s silver, black, pink, and a lime green which all look beautiful, and the vibrant colorways are felt throughout the whole machine — across its body, keyboard, accents, and even macOS elements.

Couple this with the silent fanless design, the already sleek macOS software, and a gorgeous 13-inch 2408 x 1506-pixel display, and the MacBook Neo oozes premium — something most budget machines simply can’t achieve.

While not as essential as performance (at least in my books) the look of something is important.

Case in point, I’m currently testing the Rokid AI glasses and while they boast solid AI abilities to rival Meta’s smart specs they just don’t share the Oakley or Ray-Ban pizazz. Even though they are cheaper the Rokid design just feels bland and plasticky, and it’s a serious let down that makes me much less inclined to use them.

The Neo, on the other hand, smashes the design — it’s a budget gadget you’ll be proud to get caught using — but it does succeed on the performance side of things too.

iPhone chip, MacBook performance

Without an M-series chip I didn’t believe Apple’s MacBook Neo could deliver a laptop experience, but as our review discovered, this machine delivers an uncompromised version of macOS.

You aren’t locked out of any apps or locked into iPhone or iPad software, and this machine can multitask a fair amount too. Obviously we have to temper expectations — 3D blender projects or serious 4K video editing aren’t what the Neo is for, as is to be expected in this price category.

But if you want to do typical productivity tasks, the Neo will be great. In fact, it boasts better Geekbench 6 scores than the MacBook Air M1, and it beats the MacBook Air M2 in single core performance — impressive feats for a phone chip.

This supports what we found in testing. Simpler tasks, even a little light gaming should be fine, but things like scientific simulations or hefty video editing will be slow with the Neo’s less impressive multicore performance and mere 8GB of unified memory (you may find this 8GB harms its future-proofing somewhat too).

And while this might not sound like an out and out victory for the Neo, you have to remember that cheap Chromebooks and Windows 11 machines come with much stricter limitations and worse performance. It’s not the best laptop ever made, sure, but the Neo is best in class if affordability is a priority.

And thus, Apple has wholeheartedly proved me wrong on the MacBook Neo, and you know what? I’m happy about it.

With costs rising, especially in tech, it’s nice to see some affordability victories — especially from a big brand like Apple. The Neo stuck the landing for students and folks in need of a cheap productivity machine.

Few laptops have enjoyed the staying power of the MacBook Air M1. Six years ago, I called it "an astonishing breakthrough." It was the first Mac to feature Apple Silicon and the last Air to wear that iconic wedge design. As recently as last year, people were still buying this system for roughly $699 at Walmart.

As it finally shifts into refurb-only availability, the MacBook Air M1 remains the affordable Mac to beat, and now, with the MacBook Neo, that iconic Mac has met its match.

Like that system before it, the MacBook Neo breaks new ground for Apple. We've never seen an affordable MacBook like it. From the day-glo colors to the iPhone CPU (oh, hey, A18 Pro), the $599 / £599 / AU$899 MacBook Neo stands out among its peers, and has put the affordable laptop market (bargain basement Windows systems and Chromebooks) on notice.

While that comparison is obvious, I admit to some surprise that the most frequent question I got about the MacBook Neo is how it compares to the MacBook Air M1, not the M2 or even the recently unveiled MacBook Air M5 (an exceptional portable).

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I, too, remain a massive fan of that M1 model — from its classic design to the still excellent price/performance ratio. It's worth remembering, though, that the MacBook Air M1 started at $999, $400 more than you'll spend today for the MacBook Neo.

I still have the MacBook Air M1 I tested in 2020, and so I did what any rational tech reviewer would do: I compared it directly with the MacBook Neo by running the latter through virtually all the same tests.

TLDR: Despite a mobile processor, the MacBook Neo more than holds its own against the MacBook Air M1.

MacBook Neo refresher

First, let's talk about the new MacBook Neo. From a design perspective, the laptop's aesthetic owes far more to its more recent predecessors than the MacBook Air M1. That laptop marked the end of the line for a look and feel unveiled by Steve Jobs in 2008.

The MacBook Neo is like a smaller yet thicker MacBook Air, and with a better sense of style, thanks to a collection of bright colors like my test unit's Citrus finish. It's built around the A18 Pro that originally appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro, lacks a backlit keyboard, and only has TouchID in the $699 / £699 / AU$1099 model (like my test unit).

Turns out that the MacBook Neo is slightly smaller and a touch lighter than the MacBook Air M1. I can't really compare thickness, because the wedge-shaped M1 ranges from 0.16 inches to just over half an inch. The MacBook Neo is a neat 0.5 inches from edge to edge.

The M1 screen is slightly larger than what you get on the Neo and offers slightly higher resolutions (227ppi versus 219ppi on the Neo). But the Neo is, at 500 nits, the brighter screen.

Both systems have just two USB-C ports, but the M1's are Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, while the Neo offers just one USB-3 (10 Gbps) port and one USB-2 port.

The gap narrowed when I started looking at core components and actual performance.

Now, keep in mind that my test units were not the base systems, but they still have comparable memory and storage (8GB of Unified RAM, and 512GB of storage — the base model of both systems is 256GB of storage).

MacBook Neo A18 Pro:

• 6‑core CPU with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
• 5‑core GPU
• Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
• 16-core Neural Engine

MacBook M1:

• 8-core CPU with 4 perform­ance cores and 4 efficiency cores
• 8-core GPU
• 16-core Neural Engine

As you can see, the M1 shipped with more performance cores and, in my test unit, more GPU cores.

With that information in hand, I started by running Geekbench 6 benchmarks on both systems. For the sake of comparison, I included some MacBook Air M5 results.

As you can see, the MacBook Neo actually bests the MacBook Air M1 on single-core performance and is quite close on multi-core. The disparity is greatest in Metal scores, which makes sense when you consider the MacBook Air M1's total GPU cores.

Enter the real world

What matters more to me, though, are real-world tests. Again, I dug back into my original MacBook Air M1 review and did my best to recreate the test suite.

I started by installing Adobe Photoshop, crossing my fingers that a system really designed for everyday work and not professionals could handle it. It would be the first time I'd be running the desktop version of Photoshop on an iPhone chip.

I needn't have worried. I easily installed Adobe Creative Cloud and Photoshop and then started manipulating multi-layered photos. I even ran some AI, asking Adobe Firefly to select a subject (Alicia Keys singing at an Apple 50th Anniversary event) and then replace Keys with someone else doing the exact same thing. It took a moment, but it worked.

Pixelmator Pro is another app I used on the M1, so I installed it here and edited a few of my photos.

I installed a couple of iPhone apps to see how they looked and worked on the platform. As on the MacBook Air M1, they appear in an iPhone-sized window and work perfectly.

Next, I installed Asphalt 8: Airborne and had fun using the keyboard to play. By the way, the side-firing dual speakers sounded quite good.

I opened Netflix and streamed Better Call Saul. Trust me, a lot of students will be streaming their favorite content on these laptops.

Yes, I even installed Final Cut Pro and started editing multiple video streams.

Again, these are all things I did with the M1, so why not repeat them here?

Keep in mind, I never closed an app. I just keep installing, opening, and using them, waiting for the MacBook Neo to cry uncle.

I opened Apple Maps and zoomed in and out until I could see and spin the entire globe.

Back in 2020, I opened Apple Arcade on the M1 and installed Little Orpheus. It's a beautiful game, but unfortunately, it has since left the Arcade. For the MacBook Neo, I installed the puzzle platformer Inmost. It played smoothly, and to keep from bothering my officemates, I connected my AirPods Pro 3 to enjoy the lush soundtrack.

Throughout my tests, I was also using Safari, but since the MacBook Neo showed no signs of slowing down or struggling, I also installed Google Chrome and opened a few tabs there, as well.

As for my anecdotal battery tests, with the MacBook Air M1, I regularly got more than 15 hours with mixed use. The MacBook Neo is rated for 16 hours if you only stream video. You can see what I was doing here, and in that scenario, I got over 12 hours. Obviously, your mileage will vary based on which app(s) you're running.

In virtually every situation, the MacBook Neo stood tall and appeared the equal of at least the MacBook Air M1. I suspect it could also hold up against M2 models (maybe even M3). I didn't put Steam or any AAA console games on the laptop, but I know that in his MacBook Neo review, Matt Hanson did give Cyberpunk 2077 a go. The MacBook Neo made it playable at about 30fps.

So, in answer to the question: 'Can the MacBook Neo replace my MacBook Air M1?' The answer is a resounding yes. This is clearly a limit-pushing budget laptop that will surprise many people. It's not a pro system, and people will certainly find some of the caveats, like just 256GB and 8GB of RAM, limiting. The $699 512GB model addresses some of those issues (including adding Touch ID), but it does not raise the speeds of those ports or add a backlit keyboard. Those looking to push the limit on storage, performance, and screen sizes will look to the MacBook Air and, especially, MacBook Pro models.

However, for those who fell in love with the MacBook Air M1 and — now that it's finally no longer on sale as a new system — are looking for a replacement, the MacBook Neo is here for you.

You won't be disappointed.

While you consider buying a MacBook Neo for yourself, waste a little time on this MacBook jigsaw puzzle, Can you handle the highest difficulty?

Another Apple launch event has come and dropped a heap of exciting new gadgets into our laps. But while a lot of people have been discussing the surprise announcement of the more affordable MacBook Neo and the powerful new MacBook Pro, I’ve only got eyes for the new MacBook Air M5. In fact, I’m so enamored, I’ve decided it’s finally time to ditch my trusty but dusty MacBook Pro 2017 and belatedly join the 2020s.

For a laptop that’s an absurd nine years old, my MacBook Pro has been aging pretty gracefully — that is until the last few months, when its fraying LCD display flex cable has finally begun to give up the ghost. The colors are so broken that my Retina display looks more like the psychedelic horror show that was mid-1980s EGA computer graphics. Worse, the screen is criss-crossed with lines that makes most apps and images look like they’re upholstered in tweed.

This is a pretty shameful look for a tech journalist — its certainly no longer a candidate for best laptop. But I could cope with the expressionistic graphics for a little longer if it wasn’t for the groaning machinery under the hood.

My MacBook Pro’s wheezing Intel architecture is increasingly showing its age. I predominantly use my laptop for music-making and digital artwork and many of my workflows have started to push my CPU usage to 140% — the kind of math that would cause my high-school teacher to silently weep about my exam prospects. Frankly, a pre-Apple-Silicon chipset can no longer keep up with creative workflows and redlining my laptop is only further shortening the mayfly-esque lifespan it has left.

So upgrading has become an inevitability at this point. But why has the MacBook Air M5 tempted me so much more than its predecessors?

Why I’m buying the MacBook Air M5

OK, it should be abundantly clear already: the MacBook Air M5 is a major step up from what I’m using right now. As I’ve already touched on, its Apple Silicon is far more suited to demanding workflows than the Intel chipset MacBooks used to rely on.

Yes, the M5 chip is only a modest advance compared to the previous generation. But it is important to consider how far we’ve come. The original M1 was a quantum leap compared to the CPUs it was competing with and each iteration since has advanced on that lead. While it can’t match the power of the M3 Ultra or the kind of creative powerhouse employed by 3D animators, the M5 chip is at the bleeding edge of computing power for everyday creatives and I can’t wait to see how much smoother that makes my creative process.

There’s another thing attracting me to the latest MacBook Air though. For any of you that rolled your eyes at the announced $100 / £100 / AU$100 price rise during last week’s launch, I’ll admit my pupils were freewheeling too. But, for me, the increased price is actually a bit of a bargain, given it also gives you access to a more expansive 512GB SSD as standard.

Frankly, after years of struggling to stretch a 256GB SSD to its absolute limits, it’s absolutely time this decrepit spec was put out to pasture. Even offloading all of my older productions to the cloud, creating enough space for sample libraries and software is becoming nigh-on impossible with drives this size, so I had always budgeted for a larger SSD in my next purchase. Given speccing up the MacBook Air M4 to a 512GB drive would have cost $1,199 / £1,199, getting the exact same amount of storage for just $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799 is a bit of a steal in my book.

But why content myself with the MacBook Air? If I want professional results, wouldn’t the MacBook Pro be a better shout?

Honestly, no. As a result of the exponential growth in power of Apple Silicon, the MacBook lines have experienced serious power creep. While the Pro range was the only option for creatives a decade ago, the level of performance it’s designed for is above and beyond what most digital artists or bedroom producers need — unless you’re rendering 3D artwork or compiling enormous code databases, it’s likely going to be overkill.

And in line with this, the price of each range has increased, with the MacBook Pro ballooning from the relatively modest $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$1,899 I spent last time to a whopping $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$2,699 for the M5 — meaning the increased list price for the new MacBook Air is now far more in line with my budget than the exceedingly spendy Pro.

Ultimately, when you’ve got a laptop as elderly as mine, pretty much any alternative is going to be an upgrade. But given the professional power, storage and portability I need, the MacBook Air M5 sits right at the center of my dream laptop Venn diagram. Our initial benchmarking shows it's seriously fast, it’s impressively capacious and, most importantly, can display more than 16 colors — so I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on mine.

The MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e are cut from the same cloth. Both devices were announced at the same event on March 4, both represent the entry point into their respective product ecosystems, and both — remarkably — start at just $599 / £599 / AU$999.

We also know that iPhones work seamlessly with MacBooks, a fact that Apple’s typically glossy launch video for the Neo sought to remind audiences: “Best of all, Neo works like magic with your iPhone. You can start a chat on your Neo and continue on your iPhone. Or copy from one and paste straight to the other. You can even use your iPhone without holding your iPhone.” You get the idea — MacBook and iPhone: better together.

The MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e are the fun younger siblings of the best iPhones and best MacBooks, so my question to Apple is: why didn’t you make these two affordable, fun-loving devices available in the same colors?!

We discussed this topic and much more on the latest episode of the TechRadar Podcast, which you can view below.

In Apple’s world, more color typically equals greater affordability (remember the iPhone 5C?), and the company did at least soften the appeal of the iPhone 17e by offering it in — ahem — a rather lovely Soft Pink (the plain Black and White colors of the iPhone 16e also make a return).

The MacBook Neo, meanwhile, is available in Silver, Blush, Citrus, and Indigo. Three of those colors are exclusive to the Neo range, but none are similarly available on the iPhone 17e.

Bearing in mind that both products share a target market of cost-conscious (dare I say younger?) buyers, wouldn’t it have made sense for consumers to be able to pair their Citrus MacBook Neo with a Citrus iPhone 17e? Or pick up an Indigo version of both devices? Admittedly, Blush is a slightly darker shade of Soft Pink, and Silver is a slightly darker shade of White — but that’s about as close as you’ll get to a uniform MacBook Neo/iPhone 17e combo.

I am, of course, being facetious; this is a minor gripe with what was an otherwise formidable product launch from Apple. College students can now pick up a new iPhone and a MacBook for a combined $1,098 / £1,098 / AU$1748 — that just hasn’t been possible before, and it should worry the likes of Acer and Samsung, who have remained relatively unbothered by Apple at the lower end of the laptop market.

But Apple has really stepped up its color game in the past 12 months (Cosmic Orange and Mist Blue are all-timers), and it would be nice to have the option of picking up its two new budget-friendly buddies in the same exact shade. Apple is the king of uniform tech, after all. Here's hoping for a Citrus iPhone 18...

• The MacBook Neo has been disassembled on YouTube
• The content creator found the laptop to be incredibly easy to take apart
• That should make it much easier to repair than most Apple laptops

Apple’s laptops have a reputation for being particularly difficult to work on once they’re opened up, with components often glued in place or buried under masses of intricately routed and incredibly delicate cabling. So it comes as some surprise that the brand-new MacBook Neo is, in the words of one reviewer, “absolutely amazing” in this regard.

That comes from a teardown video published by Tech Re-Nu on YouTube. There, the content creator felt that Apple’s latest laptop was unusually accommodating of people who want to open it up and get at its internals.

For instance, Tech Re-Nu pointed out that there were no sticky tabs holding the MacBook Neo’s speakers in place, while the headphone jack was entirely modular, which Tech Re-Nu described as “very nice work from Apple.” That comes after similar conclusions from a teardown performed by YouTuber Dave2D.

Indeed, Tech Re-Nu was surprisingly effusive in its praise for the MacBook Neo and its disassembly process, stating: “I can’t say we’ve ever had a Mac that looks as repairable and as modular as this one. No sticky tape, no tricky adhesives, modular parts, minimal parts as well, no hinge covers or anything like that. It’s just super-straightforward, elegant design.”

Why has Apple done this?

Apple has often found itself in the sights of right to repair activists who say its penchant for making its laptops tough to tear down makes them much more difficult to repair, which in turn can contribute to high levels of e-waste. As well as that, this type of device can become more expensive for users who need to buy a new device when – theoretically – they might have been able to repair it instead if doing so was easier.

The likelihood is that Apple operates this way due to a long-standing desire to make its products as compact and as simple (on the outside) as possible. Both Steve Jobs and Apple’s former chief designer Jony Ive believed that Apple’s products should be free from needless extras, and that often extended to empty space – one apocryphal story has Jobs dropping an iPod prototype into a fish tank and pointing to the emerging bubbles as proof that there was too much unused space inside the device.

As a result, Apple tries to pack its devices’ insides as tightly as possible, ensuring it manages to include advanced components while keeping the product’s dimensions as slimline as possible. One upshot of this is the incredibly densely engineered internals that are a nightmare to tear down for all but the most adept of tinkerers.

Evidently, however, the MacBook Neo is different. Because it cuts a lot of the more advanced components commonly found inside other Macs, it’s a lot easier to manage on the inside. The motherboard, for example, is tiny, while the battery simply lifts out once its screws are removed, without the need to deal with adhesive or built-in tabs.

Another reason for Apple’s simplified assembly could be the pressure from right to repair campaigners. The movement has scored some significant wins in recent years and Apple has felt compelled to issue users with repair tools and guides, something that it never used to permit in the past. With regulators increasingly targeting Big Tech firms, Apple might have decided to preempt any potential scrutiny by changing how it puts the MacBook Neo together. That conclusion, though, will depend on whether the M5 MacBook Air and M5 Pro MacBook Pro are similarly easy to disassemble – which, for now, remains unknown.

What we saw in Tech Re-Nu’s video was a laptop that is neatly put together without being overly burdensome to repair. And that’s good news for anyone who might want to poke around inside their MacBook Neo if something goes wrong.

• Tim Cook pens a letter celebrating Apple's 50th anniversary
• Apple has announced plans to celebrate
• There are scant details so far

Apple is ready to celebrate 50 years of innovation. The company has been tight-lipped about how it will mark this half-century milestone, but now it and longtime CEO Tim Cook are opening up just a bit about the plans, how Apple views the last 50 years, and what comes next.

"Apple was founded on the simple notion that technology should be personal, and that belief — radical at the time — changed everything," wrote Cook in a letter posted on Apple.com to mark the occasion (the official date is April 1).

In the letter, Cook credits Apple's customers with defining the story of Apple: "In your hands, the tools we make have improved lives, and sometimes even saved them. And that is what inspires us — not what technology can do alone, but everything you can do with it."

While Cook and Apple often hesitate to look back, the company finally revealed in a press release a skeletal plan for celebrating 50 years of Apple:

"In the coming weeks, Apple and its global community will celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary, recognizing the creativity, innovation, and impact that people around the world have made possible with Apple technology."

What that means, though, is open to interpretation. Surely Apple will have some in-store decorations and displays celebrating the history. I've asked Apple, though, if Cook will host an Apple Park event for employees. I'll update this post if I hear back.

Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has produced some of the most important tech products of the information age. From the game-changing Macintosh to the music-carrying iPod, and then the only mobile phone ever casually described as the "Jesus Phone", which became the iPhone. While of lesser impact, the iPad has had the longevity and arguably the impact of other Apple products.

Under Cook's guidance (he took over as CEO in 2011 after Jobs' untimely death), Apple has become a leader in wearables (Apple Watch) and has built a formidable Services business. The jury, though, is still out on Cook's biggest swing, its expensive spatial computer, the Vision Pro.

It could be argued, in fact, I've seen these arguments on Reddit, that the company Jobs and Wozniak founded and that Jobs ran is distinctly different from the one Cook runs today.

Reddit user Raveen396 wrote, "Apple under Cook is a much more mature company...Not trying to be [a] corporate bootlicker here, but comparing Apple under Jobs and Apple under Cook is like comparing two entirely different companies."

Comment from r/iphone

I'm not sure you'd expect anything different from a company entering its second half-century. Leadership changes, and the world and its customers change around it. Apple under Cook has made numerous adjustments to meet the market and customers wherever they live.

Still, there is a continuum and one I'd like to see celebrated with Apple's own gift for elevated flair.

I envision museum-like installations at Apple Stores around the world (currently more than 500), displaying early products and their prototypes. 50 years is the perfect moment for Apple to pull back the curtain on its vaunted privacy, if only just a little bit.

Neo may mean more than you think

While some were hoping for a big product reveal during the 50th anniversary celebrations, I think the MacBook Neo may have won that moment. It's the first new Mac in over a decade and potentially opens up MacBooks to an entirely new market.

Still, it's not exactly the kind of earth-moving innovation we were hoping for. A tease of the iPhone Fold, now that would be something. As would a first look at Apple iGlasses.

We know Apple is working on a foldable handset or tablet and that augmented-reality smart glasses are somewhere on the product roadmap, as well. What if Apple broke with tradition and gave us a sneak peek at what Apple's labs are working on right now?

It's not just that I want this; Apple might need it. Apple's next 50 years are not a given.

The competition is tough, and people are less positive about technology than they were when Apple first arrived, maybe more so now than ever. They need something exciting to look forward to.

In its press release, Apple's statement on the future is promising, but vague: "Apple will continue to innovate in groundbreaking silicon, life-enriching products, transformative software, and services that improve people’s lives, while deepening its commitments to environmental responsibility, education, and community impact around the world."

What people want, though, is to believe that Apple at 50 is just as innovative and interested in risk-taking as it was in 1976.

I think Cook gets that, and the end of his letter is a signal that Apple is not done being crazy:

"If you’ve taught us anything, it’s that the people crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

So here’s to the crazy ones."

• Apple's MacBook Air M5 is largely the same
• Eagle-eyed reviewers noticed a small but important keyboard difference that removes some words
• Alignment with the iPhone and the global market are the reasons

It's a change so subtle and crafty that you might not notice it at first. In fact, most reviewers missed this design switcheroo on the new Apple MacBook Air M5. It's on the keyboard where a handful of keys no longer have words, just images or glyphs.

How and why this happened is a subject of some debate, but Apple's reasoning is fairly obvious.

First of all, turns out that MacBook keyboards can look different depending on where in the world you buy them. Even between the US and UK, there have been differences. Now, though, there is some alignment.

On the new MacBook Air M5, these keys have changed:

• Cap Lock
• Shift
• Delete
• Return

They are all now represented with glyphs; the words are gone. In the UK, this is just how it's been on some previous MacBook Airs, like the first one to feature Apple Silicon, the M1 (though not apparently consistently).

To be clear, there was no situation where, on the previous MacBook Air, we had words and images, and so in this new laptop, we get just the glyphs.

Aesthetically, it's a cleaner look, and it shouldn't present any confusion, especially for touch typists who aren't looking at the keyboard anyway.

Glyph lineage

If you are a hunt-and-peck sort of typist, you'll probably navigate this change fine, as well. After all, these Glyphs should look quite familiar. Apple based them all on the virtual keyboard of iOS.

Look at Delete on your iPhone's keyboard. It's the same. Double-tap on the upper case key and, yes, you'll instantly recognize the Cap Lock key on the new MacBook Air.

It's the same for the Return and shift keys.

It's not a big deal or the kind of change that will impact your laptop buying decision, but it is interesting to see how usage and design decisions bleed out through the Apple ecosystem and around the world.

Apple and its customers thrive on utility and consistency. These changes will likely bring a small measure of both.

Making Mac familiar

Consistency has another benefit and one that may favor Apple's future market aspirations: it makes transitioning to the Mac from other platforms easier, especially if you've been using an iPhone.

One aging stat claimed that 70% of Windows users owned iPhones, which means there may still be a huge addressable and untapped market that could base their familiarity with a Mac on how well they know their iPhone.

Imagine if one subtle change could help tip the scales in favor of the Mac, which, by some measures, still has a single-digit desktop market share. And, in case you're wondering, the hot, new MacBook Neo features the same keyboard glyphs.

MacBook Neo is turning the budget computing world on its head, terrifying rival PC manufacturers, entrancing reviewers, and simplifying the build so much that it's even lowering the cost of MacBook repairs.

I'm not surprised. The MacBook Neo is everything that virtually every budget/affordable Windows or Chrome laptop is not. It's stylish, well-built with high-quality materials, and doesn't skimp on key features like performance and battery life.

"While its price is at the higher end of what I’d consider 'budget', the design, build quality and performance are all leagues ahead of its Windows and Chromebook competitors," wrote our own Matt Hanson in his extensive review.

His thoughts echo those I've read and seen across the web. There's virtually nothing but love for what is now Apple's cheapest computer at $599 / £599 / AU$899 and just $499 / £499 for education.

It's no shock that companies known for selling low-end laptops to education are worried. Apple is not supposed to step into their budget pool. But the reality of the situation is inescapable. The MacBook Neo is here, and now they have to adjust, though I doubt they can do it in time for the critical back-to-school buying season.

More than the sum of its parts

Someone at TechRadar described the MacBook Neo, which runs on the iPhone 16 Pro's old A18 Pro chip, as basically a smartphone "minus the keyboard and modem." That's sort of true, and the point is driven home when you look at the included 20W charging brick (in the US), which is essentially an iPhone charger.

So, yeah, it's maybe a bit like a phone with a giant screen and full-sized keyboard, but it's also running a full-blown desktop OS. And when I look at the benchmarks from, say, the first MacBook Air M1, which I reviewed in 2020, and compare it to this MacBook, the numbers do look better on the Neo. Granted, not wildly so; after all, this system has just 8GB of RAM (same as the base M1 MacBook Air), and its performance trails well behind the MacBook Air M5, which has 16GB of RAM and costs over $1,000.

Even if the Neo does not win on performance or battery life against its pricier cousins, it bests our leading budget laptop, the $299 Acer Aspire Go 15, with comparable battery life, much brighter and sharper screen, and significantly better performance. It's also a pound and a half lighter, something that really matters for on-the-go students and workers.

It's what's inside

We also got confirmation this week, via a video review that included a brief teardown, that the MacBook Neo is simply built, with quality components that might be easier to fix. In fact, Apple sort of confirms this by making repair costs half of what you'd pay to repair a MacBook Air.

That must be music to the ears of parents who are now considering a MacBook Neo for their grade-school or college-age kid, wondering if the laptop will hold up and, if it doesn't, what it'll cost to bring it back to life.

Repair costs aside, I think they needn't worry. The MacBook Neo is light (2.7lbs) but solidly built. It feels good to hold, and displays all the engineering expertise and tolerances you expect from a MacBook.

This is the genius of this new product. I know there are things missing, like a backlit keyboard and Touch ID (you can get the latter and another 256GB of storage for $699), but Apple did not skimp anywhere that matters. That's why people are so excited about this multi-color lineup; it's not a cheap knockoff with poor performance and sketchy battery life.

Instead of building this 'Frankenstein-style' out of pieces discarded from previous MacBooks, Apple, as they told me last week, really designed the MacBook Neo from the ground up. It's built around some aging mobile silicon, but even that is fresh enough to offer most people all the power they need for a standard work or school day.

It's no wonder my interest ticks up by the day, and I dream of owning one or buying one for my hard-working partner who toils on an aging Windows laptop.

There has been, it seems, almost nothing but good news about the MacBook Neo — and I'm betting the only bad news will be when Apple runs out of them.

Apple MacBook Neo two-minute review

The MacBook Neo is one of the most interesting releases from Apple in a long time, and it comes at an important moment. Thanks to a global memory shortage, a tariffs-loving president in the White House, and other global conditions, consumer electronics are becoming ever more expensive, just as the cost of living has also risen, which means consumers have less money to spend on things like a new laptop.

Apple is generally regarded as a company that sells high-end and expensive devices, which isn’t entirely fair, as I think the Mac mini (M4) is one of the best-value products in the computing space. The MacBook Neo is interesting, as Apple is entering the budget and midrange laptop market for the first time. This is a market that's dominated by cheap Chromebooks and affordable Windows 11 laptops, and while Apple is joining the fray with the MacBook Neo, it’s doing so on its own terms.

That means, as the company is keen to emphasise, that while the MacBook Neo is a more affordable MacBook, it is in no way a cheap, pared-back or limited MacBook.

You’re still getting a solid and great-looking laptop made out of aluminum (and now in four new colors, harking back to the more fun days when Apple launched brightly-colored Macs), and a bright and vibrant screen with a retina resolution of 2408 x 1506, which is higher (and therefore sharper and more detailed) than the 1080p screens laptops at this price usually sport.

Audio from the built-in speakers is also excellent, the 1080p webcam means video calls look great, and perhaps best of all, the MacBook Neo runs the full version of macOS, and you can run pretty much any Mac app on it.

While its 8GB of unified memory means you won't see the best performance when running multiple apps at once, overall I had no issues at all running various apps for day-to-day tasks, making it ideal for students in particular.

Best of all is the price: $599 / £599 / AU$899. You’re going to be hard-pushed to find a Windows laptop or Chromebook around this price that can match the build quality and performance of the MacBook Neo; and if you're a student, you can get a further discount that brings it down to just $499 / £499 / AU$749. At that price, it really is a no-brainer.

Of course, there are compromises. As well as the limited amount of memory, the MacBook Neo doesn’t come with a backlight behind the keyboard, so finding the right keys in darker environments can be an issue, and the two USB-C ports use older and slower USB 3 and USB 2 tech.

Despite those compromises, Apple has made easily the best budget laptop you can buy in 2026. While it’s not the cheapest laptop out there, it’s well worth paying a little extra to get such a slick and accomplished laptop at this price. Windows 11 laptop and Chromebook makers have been put on notice, and they’ll need to up their games to match, let alone surpass, the MacBook Neo.

Apple MacBook Neo: Price & release date

• Starts at $599 / £599 / AU$899
• Went on sale March 11

The biggest selling point of the MacBook Neo is its price, with Apple seemingly pulling out all the stops to keep the price as low as possible.

With a starting price of just $599 / £599 / AU$899 (and a further $100 / £100 / AU$150 discount for education users), this is one of the cheapest Macs Apple has ever made. Sure, the Mac mini (M4) is more powerful, and launched at the same price, but it doesn’t come with a screen, mouse or keyboard, so for sheer out-of-the-box value for money, the MacBook Neo now reigns supreme.

For that starting price you get a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, 8GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD. The Neo is powered by the Apple A18 Pro chip, with a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU. The A18 Pro debuted in 2024 in the iPhone 16 Pro, and the fact that the MacBook Neo is powered by an older mobile chip, rather than one of the M-series chips usually found in Macs, is one of the ways Apple has kept the overall price of the MacBook Neo down.

Customization options for the hardware are pretty limited as well, with just the option to double the storage to 512GB for an extra $100 / £100 / AU$200. Considering the current price of storage, this isn’t an obscene amount to pay for an extra 256GB of the stuff — and by going for the larger storage option you also get a Touch ID button on the keyboard that allows you to log in to macOS, pay for things via Apple Pay and more using your fingerprint. This is not an option with the base model of the MacBook Neo.

The $599 / £599 / AU$899 starting price firmly pits the MacBook Neo against the best budget laptops, such as the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch and Acer Aspire Go 15 — the first time in a long, long, time that I can say that about a MacBook, and Apple’s build and design quality easily surpasses almost every budget laptop or Chromebook at this price point.

The arrival of the MacBook Neo also means the MacBook Air is no longer the cheapest MacBook model, which makes the new, more expensive, price of the just-announced MacBook Air (M5), which now starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799, a slightly less bitter pill to swallow. Slightly.

While I love the fact that you can now get a MacBook for $599 / £599 / AU$899, the value proposition of the Neo lives or dies on how many compromises Apple has had to make to keep the price low.

One last thing to note here is that in the UK and EU, the MacBook Neo does not come with a charger, just a USB-C cable, as is the case with the M5 MacBook Pro from last year and the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra. It’s likely we’ll see an increasing number of laptops in the UK and EU not ship with chargers in a bid to reduce e-waste — if you don't already have a USB-C charger you’ll need to buy one.

• Price: 5/5

Apple MacBook Neo: Specs

Apple MacBook Neo: Design

• Available in four colors
• No backlit keyboard
• USB 2 and USB 3 ports

Apple has done an excellent job of ensuring that, despite its lower price, the MacBook Neo retains the look, feel and build quality that we’ve come to expect from Apple devices; and when it comes to design, the MacBook Neo blows pretty much all of the competition at this price point out of the water.

Thanks to its aluminum build the MacBook Neo feels solid, robust and impressively premium. It comes in four vibrant colors, and the review sample Apple sent me is the Citrus version, which is a nice bright-looking green. I also had the chance to check out the other colors at the launch event: Silver is the iconic Mac color, Blush is a lovely pinkish shade and Indigo is a dark blue.

As with the iMac redesign a few years ago, it’s great to see Apple return to releasing fun and colorful Macs, and while the MacBook Neo variants look bright, there’s a metallic sheen to them which means they don’t resemble toys.

The aluminum chassis means the MacBook Neo isn’t quite as light as you might imagine. At 2.7 pounds (1.23kg) it weighs the same as the MacBook Air, and while that’s certainly not a hefty laptop (hence the ‘Air’ moniker), students and kids lugging the MacBook Neo around might notice the weight. It’s also thicker than the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Neo’s Magic Keyboard is slightly colored to match the hue of the laptop, which, as Apple says, creates “a cohesive design aesthetic and [makes] MacBook Neo the most colorful MacBook yet.”

Speaking of the keyboard, it’s here where one of the big differences between the two models of the MacBook Neo can be found. If you go for the more expensive model with 512GB storage you also get a Touch ID button for signing into macOS using your fingerprint. It’s a shame that this is limited to the pricier model, as I find Touch ID to be really convenient — you can also use it to approve installations, insert passwords and make payments — and there are plenty of budget laptops out there that support biometric security.

The base model instead comes with a ‘lock’ button that you can press and hold to lock the MacBook Neo, which is far less useful.

While the keyboard of the MacBook Neo feels as comfortable to use and responsive as the Magic Keyboards on more expensive Macs, it does lack a very important feature: backlighting.

On other MacBooks, the keyboard backlights illuminate the letter or icon of each key, making them easy to see in low-light conditions. Without backlighting, typing can be more difficult if you’re not in a suitably lit environment, even if, like me, you’re a proficient typer who doesn’t usually need to look at the keyboard.

It’s arguably the biggest sacrifice Apple has made in order to keep the MacBook Neo’s price as low as possible, and while it's not a deal breaker, it’s definitely worth noting, and in dark and poorly lit classrooms and lecture halls the lack of backlighting could become an issue.

Along the left-hand side of the MacBook Neo are two USB-C ports, which are also used to charge the laptop (there’s no fancy magnetic MagSafe 3 port here). While the two USB-C ports are indistinguishable from each other, or from the USB-C ports found on other MacBooks, it’s important to note that both use different, and older, tech.

The USB port nearest the back of the MacBook Neo uses USB 3, which maxes out at 10Gb/s. For comparison, the new MacBook Air M5 comes with Thunderbolt 4 ports, which can handle up to 40Gb/s, and the most recent MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max up that tech to Thunderbolt 5, which can handle 120GB/s.

So, while the USB 3 port on the MacBook Neo can handle modern peripherals (such as mice and keyboards), moving large files to and from an external hard drive will be noticeably slower than on many other modern laptops. You can at least plug in a USB-C monitor and use it as a second screen, with support for 4K and 60fps.

The second USB-C port uses the even older USB 2 interface, which limits speeds to just 60MB/s, which is far slower, and only really appropriate for wired keyboards and mice.

This is another big indicator of the MacBook Neo’s (relatively) low price, and while I can understand that Apple needed to make some sacrifices, it could have handled this a bit more elegantly. For a start, having two seemingly identical ports that use very different technology could cause confusion — you might wonder why your USB memory stick is suddenly very slow, or why a peripheral isn’t working correctly if you connect them via the wrong port.

Also, while using USB 3 technology is an understandable cost-cutting measure (Apple is likely banking on most people not noticing the low speeds compared to more modern USB technology), including USB 2 in a laptop in 2026 feels close to insulting, no matter how cheap the device is.

To be fair to Apple, the rest of the design of the MacBook Neo is free from those kind of compromises. As I’ve mentioned, the aluminum body makes it look and feel far more premium than pretty much any other laptop at this price point, and the screen is another highlight. At 13 inches, and with a resolution of 2408 x 1506, the display might not be the biggest or sharpest screen in Apple’s lineup, but on a laptop in this price range it’s a fantastic addition, considering that most Windows 11 and Chromebook rivals at this price will be limited to 1080p or even lower. The 13-inch screen also helps to make the MacBook Neo nicely portable, especially for kids and students. Perhaps the best thing about the Neo’s display is its brightness — it's able to hit the same 500 nits of peak brightness as the screen on the MacBook Air.

For anyone who's used a budget laptop and been disappointed by the dim or washed-out image quality, the MacBook Neo’s screen is impressively bright and vivid, and with support for one billion colors (and that higher-than-usual resolution), the MacBook Neo easily has one of the best, if not the best, displays on an affordable laptop — though, Apple being Apple, it’s not a touchscreen.

• Design: 4/5

Apple MacBook Neo: Performance

• Uses the same A18 Pro chip that powered the iPhone 16 Pro
• Can run macOS apps
• 8GB of memory is a concern

The MacBook Neo is one of Apple’s most interesting releases in years, and while it uses a chip built by Apple, unlike the other modern MacBooks it’s not an M-class chip; instead it's the A18 Pro, which originally appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro.

Putting a smartphone chip into a laptop might seem odd, but the logic is sound. For a start, Apple has been making mobile chips for a lot longer than it’s been making computing chips (by around 10 years), and the mobile chips it makes these days, especially for its high-end Pro iPhones, are impressively powerful — and you could argue that a powerful mobile chip like the A18 Pro is more capable than a weak laptop chip like those found in many budget devices.

By going with an older iPhone chip, Apple is able to keep the price of the MacBook Neo lower without impacting the performance too much.

So why not use an older computer chip like the M1? As Apple explained to me, the A18 Pro features a 16-core Neural Engine that can handle on-device AI features, including Apple’s much-hyped Apple Intelligence, which is baked into macOS. The M1 chip, which debuted with the MacBook Air in 2020, isn’t able to handle those tasks as well – and the A18 also uses faster memory. So, despite my initial reservations about Apple using a mobile chip for the MacBook Neo, it’s actually quite a shrewd move.

As the A18 Pro is also a 64-bit Arm-based chip, you don’t have to worry about only being able to run iPhone apps on the MacBook Neo. Instead, you can run any Mac app that can run on modern MacBooks.

macOS itself runs well on the Neo, and while it doesn’t feel quite as snappy as when I’m using my MacBook Pro, considering the price difference I was impressed. Because of the less powerful hardware in the MacBook Neo, for the best results it’s worth sticking to the default apps as much as possible. So, rather than loading up Ableton Live 12 and launching a project full of various sounds and instruments, I stuck to the pre-installed Garage Band instead; while it’s a more basic music-making application, it’s still got plenty of great features, and it ran without an issue on the MacBook Neo. Other default apps, such as Keynote, used for presentations, also ran well.

If you want to try more intensive apps you certainly can. As I mentioned earlier, despite running on an iPhone chip, the MacBook Neo can run any Mac app — I even installed Steam, which requires Rosetta to run on non-Intel hardware. You get the same macOS experience as you’d get on the similarly priced Mac mini, as well as on ultra-expensive MacBook Pros or the Mac Studio.

So, there are no limits as there are with ChromeOS on Chromebooks, where you can only run limited Android apps, or a relatively small selection of Chrome apps. Some budget laptops also come with ‘Windows 11 in S mode’ – a typically terrible Microsoft name, and which is essentially a locked-down version of Windows 11 that can only run apps bought or downloaded through the Microsoft Store, and on which you’re stuck with using Edge as the default browser.

The MacBook Neo suffers from none of these limitations, so in theory you’ll be able to run any app that you could run on a more expensive Mac. This makes the Neo a far more versatile device than a Chromebook or Windows 11 S laptop, and I’d also argue that it’s more useful than the iPad Pro, which despite being far more powerful (and which uses the latest Apple M5 chip), can only run iPadOS apps, rather than full Mac applications.

You can also use your iPhone or iPad with the MacBook Neo, in the same way you can with more expensive MacBooks. So, you can mirror the screen of your iPhone, drag and drop files, make calls and messages, share the clipboard, and use an iPad as a second screen. I paired the MacBook Neo up with the latest M5-powered iPad Pro (an unlikely pairing, I’ll admit, given the price difference between them), and used the iPad Pro as a second monitor, and it worked brilliantly.

So I have to give Apple major props when it comes to ensuring that users of the MacBook Neo do not get a compromised or limited macOS experience — you enjoy the same experience that other Mac owners do, and that’s great to see on a more affordable device.

The only limits, then, are those of the MacBook Neo’s hardware itself, so while you could fire up Blender and work on complex 3D scenes, the Neo is going to struggle, so you'll need to keep your expectations in check.

While I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the A18 Pro chip, I do worry about the 8GB of unified memory, which could limit how future-proof the MacBook Neo will be.

Due to the global memory shortage, which is raising the price of memory, it was an inevitability that the Neo would come with a limited amount in order to help keep the overall price down — and I was actually relieved that we got 8GB rather than 4GB, which some Chromebooks and even some budget Windows 11 laptops still come with.

However, 8GB of system memory doesn’t go very far these days, and there’s no option to upgrade to a MacBook Neo model with more — and you certainly can’t easily open up the laptop and install more memory yourself.

With my MacBook Neo running Safari, Keynote, Garage Band and downloading a game through Steam, around 6.48–7GB of memory was being used at once — that's pretty darn close to the 8GB limit. Once you max out the MacBook Neo’s memory, as with any laptop, things start slowing down considerably.

The MacBook Neo, like other modern Macs, uses unified memory, which means that 8GB of memory is shared between the system and graphics, so loading up more graphically-intensive tasks puts even more pressure on the memory.

If you’re going to be using a laptop for graphically intensive workloads, or you like to multitask and switch between numerous apps, you’d be much better off investing in the MacBook Air (M5) instead, the base configuration of which comes with 16GB of unified memory.

Again, the memory limits of the MacBook Neo can be avoided by keeping in mind what the MacBook Neo has been designed for, and what it hasn’t. Sticking to more basic apps, and only having a few of them open at once, will ensure you have a smooth and enjoyable experience.

If you’re not prepared to do that, then the MacBook Neo simply isn’t for you — but good luck finding at laptop at this price that will be able to keep up with your ambitions.

The MacBook Neo can also play games, though again you’ll need to keep your expectations in check. However, I got it to run Cyberpunk 2077 at a perfectly playable 30fps (frames per second) using the ‘For this Mac’ preset. Usually a stunning-looking game, on the MacBook Neo it wasn’t quite as impressive due to most graphical presets being set to ‘low’, or turned off entirely (such as advanced ray tracing lighting effects); but the fact that it was playable at all on a 13-inch laptop costing $599 was very impressive. You can also play iPhone and iPad games, and those are much better suited to the MacBook Neo’s hardware.

Overall, the performance of the MacBook Neo is very impressive for the price It excels at day-to-day tasks, and is flexible enough for you to run most Mac apps without an issue — but if you want a productivity powerhouse, look elsewhere.

One last thing to note here is that, like the MacBook Air, the MacBook Neo has a fanless design, which means it’s practically silent when in use — another big difference from budget Windows 11 laptops, which often get noisy when the fans whirr into life.

• Performance: 4/5

Apple MacBook Neo: Battery life

• Apple claims up to 16 hours of video streaming
• 11 hours of wireless web browsing
• Hit 13 and a half hours in our tests

The MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro chip is an efficient bit of silicon, which isn’t surprising as it was designed to power a smartphone, and Apple promises up to 16 hours of video streaming on a single charge — that's two hours less than what it promises for the MacBook Air, but still an ambitious target.

In Future's battery life tests it managed to last 13 and a half hours before shutting down, which is more than enough for an entire work or school day, though there are Chromebooks out there that can go for a lot longer.

This makes it a great laptop for students who don’t want to have to hunt for a power socket between lessons, and charging the MacBook Neo is fast using the 20W power adapter that’s included in the box (unless you’re in the UK or EU, in which case you don’t get an adapter).

• Battery: 4/5

Should I buy the Apple MacBook Neo?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

How I tested the MacBook Neo

• I used it for almost a week
• I ran various apps
• I used it alongside an iPad Pro and other Macs

After seeing the MacBook Neo at Apple’s launch event I was given a unit to thoroughly test. I’ve been using the laptop every day during my review period, using it for a variety of day-to-day tasks such as document creation and browsing the internet.

I also used various apps, including Garage Band, to push the MacBook Neo, and played a bit of Cyberpunk 2077. I also linked the MacBook Neo up to an iPad Pro and my Mac Studio to test out how the MacBook integrates with other Apple products.

I’ve reviewed almost every modern MacBook during my time at TechRadar, as well as other Macs and iPads, plus plenty of Chromebooks and Windows 11 laptops as well, and I've used this experience to help me judge whether or not the MacBook Neo is worth buying for different kinds of user depending on their requirements.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: March 2026

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5): Two-minute review

It's safe to say the MacBook Air 13-inch M5 is every bit as good as its M4 predecessor, but a little faster. The differences are so few, in fact, that I could simply direct you to my now year-old MacBook Air M4 review, and just note here that the M5 chip makes Apple's latest, and sure to be quite popular, ultraportable both faster and more efficient.

However, I'm not that lazy. I've spent considerable time with this attractive, well-built, ready-for-almost-anything (and a solid day of it) ultraportable laptop, and I have some thoughts.

The MacBook Air is one of the most popular laptops out there for a reason. Apple has found a winning aluminum slab design that mixes a lightweight (2.7lbs) chassis with a stunning 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, and 18 hours of battery life (promised for streaming video only).

While Apple didn't touch the design, or any external materials and components, it was inevitable that its fastest class of Apple silicon would find its way into the new Air, along with the new N1 chip, which readies the MacBook Air for the growing proliferation of WiFi 7 hubs and brings it up to speed with the latest Bluetooth 6 capabilities.

If there is a downside to this update, it's the new starting price. Over the years, the MacBook Air has bounced around the $1,000 mark, dropping just below and then rising up a hundred dollars or so. Now it's back to $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799, but I'm actually okay with this change, because the Air finally starts with a half terabyte of storage (for the record, my test system arrived with 1TB 👀); that's double the 256GB we've been getting, without a huge leap in price. And, as a bonus, the storage speed is faster than on the M4 MacBook Air.

So, while having to pay a little more for the best ultraportable you can buy is not good news, the upsides far outweigh the hit to your bank balance.

The MacBook Air 13-inch M5 does have several other notable, though not new, features, like the 12MP Center Stage camera, a backlit keyboard that feels wonderful to use, the highly responsive ForceTouch trackpad, Thunderbolt 4 ports, and macOS 26 (a.k.a. Tahoe). I know Liquid Glass divides opinion, but I think it's elegant and I like it. Yes, there's also Apple Intelligence, but I'm still not fully sold on its utility.

All in all, while I don't think you need to trade in your M4 Air for this new model, it's a worthwhile upgrade from your clamshell MacBook Air M1; and it will, like its predecessor sit atop our best ultraportables list.

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Price and availability

• Starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799
• Costs more than the M4, but there's hidden value

Apple unveiled the MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) on March 3, 2025, and the laptop starts shipping on March 11.

Those shopping for the latest MacBook Air will likely notice the price hike on this 13-inch model and wonder what gives. Yes, it has an incrementally faster piece of Apple silicon (M5), but I'd attribute the $100 / £100 / AU$100 hike to the new base storage level. The 13-inch MacBook Air M5 starts with 512GB of storage, double the starting SSD of previous models. It's a non-insignificant change and, as I've written, 256GB was simply not enough in what for many users is a workhorse portable.

In addition to the option of buying a larger, 15-inch MacBook Air (heavier and more expensive, but with a substantially larger screen), the 13-inch MacBook Air M5 comes in a variety of configurations, including my 10-core GPU test model, up to 32GB of memory, and up to 4TB of storage (the previous limit was 2TB).

It’s available in Sky Blue, Midnight, Starlight, and Silver. Sadly, there are no new colors this year, although that may only be an issue if you let the new day-glo Citrus MacBook Neo turn your head.

• Price score: 4.5/5

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Specs

The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) comes in three pre-configured options.

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Design

• No major redesign
• Excellent construction, materials, keyboard, and trackpad

You could be forgiven if you had trouble telling the difference between this new 13-inch MacBook Air M5 and the M4 model. They are, for all intents and purposes, identical. Still, this is a winning design. The body is made of recycled aluminum that feels premium and smooth to the touch, but also strong enough to get dumped in your backpack or slapped onto a desktop without suffering any damage. My 1TB review unit arrived in Starlight, which is not my favorite color (I'd have chosen Sky Blue), but then the chassis hue is not the primary reason why you'd buy a MacBook Air.

MacBook Airs will never be the cheapest laptop (there's now the Neo to hit that spot), but they all have the same premium design and build. The backlit keyboard is expansive, and with good, satisfying travel. I love typing on it; in fact, I'm using it right now to write this review. Included in the keyboard is the Touch ID sleep button, a useful biometric device for unlocking the laptop, signing into services and apps, and making purchases. It took me just a moment to register my index finger (though I can register more).

The Force Touch trackpad offers an expansive, almost 6-inch, canvas for interaction without ever getting in the way. As a haptic device, it doesn't actually move, but it does a remarkable job of fooling you into thinking it does.

The ports and speakers are also unchanged from the previous model. On the left side are a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, which are great for extending the screen to a new Studio Display or other monitor, or for high-speed data transfer (the Pro model gets you Thunderbolt 5 ports).

Next to those ports is the MagSafe charger, a magnetic port that makes it almost impossible to accidentally drag the laptop off a desk by kicking the charging cable. Opposite those ports is the 3.5mm audio jack. The four-speaker system sits in the hinge, and provides loud and clear audio that supports spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. The 15-inch model ups the speaker count to six.

Perhaps the best demonstration of the MacBook Air's elegance and design is how you can open it with just a fingertip. The laptop is so perfectly machined and balanced that all I have to do is place a fingertip under the lip and above the 1.5-inch-wide-carve-out in the base and lift — even without me holding it, the base stays put.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Display and Center Stage

Over the years, I've gotten used to the notch at the top of the MacBook Air's lovely 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. When using most apps, the space, which is used to house the Center Stage Camera, a light sensor, and an LED Indicator, only breaks into the menu system. Streaming content, games, and the majority of apps, are displayed in the rectangular space below it. If you really feel like you're losing a lot of space, you might consider the 15-inch MacBook Air instead.

Overall, though, this is an excellent LED-backlit, high-resolution (2560 x 1664) display, full of rich colors (a promised one billion, though I can't say that I counted), rich contrast, and 500 nits of brightness. I've used MacBook Air outdoors, and while it might struggle in direct sunlight, using it in shade is no problem at all.

The 13.6 -inch display is ample space for one or more apps, and everything from macOS apps to movies and games, which look great on it. Images and text are crisp and clear, blacks are inky, and colors pop. I spend most of my work days looking at this screen, and I'm never disappointed.

Speaking of that notch, it does give you a decent webcam, the 12MP, 1080p Center Stage camera. It's called Center Stage because it can, if you allow, follow you around during your video conference. So if you like to stand up and walk around during your FaceTime calls, this camera is for you. The camera can also recognize gestures, and can launch reactions and emojis during the call.

Unlike many modern Windows 11 ultraportables, and also unlike some more affordable laptops, the MacBook Air screen does not support touch. If you want to use a touchscreen within Apple's ecosystem, but still plan on doing desktop-style computing, I suggest you look at an iPad Air or iPad Pro running iPadOS 26 and paired with a Magic keyboard.

• Display score: 4.5/5

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: macOS and Apple Intelligence

• macOS Tahoe is a rich, deep, and well-organized platform
• A MacBook take on Liquid Glass
• Apple Intelligence is of limited use

macOS Tahoe 26 is not only a rich, well-organized, and deeply thought-out operating system, it's a doorway to Apple's wide and varied ecosystem — the more Apple products you own, the more powerful it becomes.

With Liquid Glass, there's a consistent look and feel across everything from the MacBook Air 13 I'm testing to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPad Pro. However, the glassiness feels somewhat less aggressive on the MacBook Air, likely because it still has to look like a traditional Mac desktop.

The desktop is customizable, easy to manage (stacks are incredibly useful), and I like the widgets, especially the fact that you can keep them black-and-white to reduce distractions.

Still, I love how I can mirror my iPhone and get notifications from it on my MacBook Air desktop, and with Universal Control, my trackpad and keyboard easily hop from one Apple screen to another. I found that not only could I control a neighboring iPad with the mouse and keyboard on my 13-inch MacBook Air, but I could do the same with two MacBooks sitting side by side.

Apple Intelligence does add some useful features, like Writing tools to help you sound, say, more intelligent or friendlier, including in Messages. For those who aren't as confident with their writing, this might be of some use. I can imagine other features like Live Translation might come in handy, especially if you work with global teams.

Clean Up in Photos is also a valuable enhancement, especially if you need to remove distractions from photos you want to share, post on social media, or print. Apple Intelligence can't, say, add a lifelike puppy to your photos (or really anything for that matter), but it will do its best to make sure that when you remove something the revealed background still makes sense. One caveat here: this replacement only works if the object you remove isn't too big — it did a pretty good job when I removed a pie and some whipped cream from my photo of a holiday spread.

I do not get what the big deal is with Genmojis — basic emojis are still good enough for me. I was similarly disenchanted with Image Playground. Despite providing Image Playground with a good headshot of me, its output does not look much like me (it put hair on my head!). Also, Apple's insistence on sticking with cartoonish content creation seems ridiculous when you consider the image-generation capabilities now found on even the best smartphones.

Siri is obviously part of the system, but still lacks the long-promised AI brain transplant. You can get wider answers via the ChatGPT integration, but Siri is still not the master of all things (inside the system and relating to you) that Apple's been promising. I, like many others, await the promised Gemini integration that will likely transform Siri on this MacBook Air and all other Siri-supporting Apple devices.

• Software score: 4/5

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Performance

• M5 chip brings the same levels of power showcased in the 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 released in October 2025
• More and faster storage is a very welcome update
• The MacBook Air M5 is truly a workhorse in ultraportable clothing

Apple's MacBook Air line now lives between the new A18 Pro MacBook Neo and the high-performance, heavy-workload M5 Pro (or M5 Max) MacBook Pro. It's meant to be the laptop for every student and office worker who prioritizes portability and battery life over raw power.

(Note: my test system shipped with the 10-core CPU and 10-core GU, so your GPU performance may vary if you have an 8-core GPU.)

However, even in my early performance tests, I found the new 13-inch MacBook Air M5 more than capable of some pretty heavy-duty tasks.

I started by opening Lightroom and loading in some raw images. Then I launched Final Cut Pro and imported an 8K 30 fps video, and then made three copies and started editing a video in which all four videos could play at once. Next, I loaded Pixelmater Pro and edited a photo. I also installed Chrome and opened 25 tabs (tuned to TechRadar, of course). After that, I installed and started playing Lies of P. Finally, I installed Steam and downloaded Inzoi, a rich, open-world SIM that sort of overwhelmed me with its choices and scope.

The MacBook Air just kept going. At one point, I got a system message indicating that Inzoi was eating a lot of system processes and battery, and that I should consider switching to low power, but when I exited the game the battery was still near 90%. Overall, I found it difficult to stress the M5 and its 16GB of RAM.

Perhaps more exciting for your day-to-day efforts, the MacBook Air line now starts with 512GB of storage, and faster storage at that.

I ran the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test on the new M5 MacBook Air and on the MacBook Air 13-inch with an M4 chip. My M5 test system has a 1TB drive, and the M4 only came with a 256GB SSD; however, I do not believe storage capacity has any bearing on these tests.

As you can see, the differences are stark. The new MacBook Air M5 SSD is faster on both read and write tasks. The payoff should be in system launch, app performance, and other operations.

Overall, the M5 chip, ample RAM, and a larger and faster SSD mean this is a powerful and efficient system that will satisfy most users, and may be enough for quite a few pro users, too.

Connectivity got an upgrade, as well, with Apple's N1 chip bringing WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, two moves that help set itup for the foreseeable future of wireless communication.

• Performance score: 5/5

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Battery life

• 15 and a half hours of battery life (web activities)
• Effectively lasts all day (mixed use)
• Charges to 50% in 30 minutes with the included 40W charger; 100% in just over two hours

The 3-nanometer M5 inside my new 13-inch MacBook Air isn't just faster, it's more efficient, squeezing another hour and a half of battery life out of the system over what the M4 MacBook Air achieved in our Future Labs tests.

What's more, in mixed use, I got closer to the promised 18 hours of video streaming that Apple claims. No matter how you slice it, this is an ultraportable that can sip power and let you leave your 'ABC' (Always Be Charging) worries behind.

When it was time to charge, I used the included 40W charger and MagSafe cable to charge the Air to almost 50% in 30 minutes. It took about two hours to reach 100%.

• Battery score: 5/5

Should you buy the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review: Also consider

If our Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider...

How I tested the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)

• I used the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) for five days
• I worked, played, listened, edited, and wrote this review on it
• I usually ran multiple apps at once

The 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M5 was been my constant companion for several days. I worked, played, edited (photos and videos), and gamed on it.

I ran a wide variety of benchmarks, installed Steam, and ran heavy-duty games. I watched some streaming video, and did my best to tax the M5 chip. I also spent time comparing its performance to that of the M4 chip on my Sky Blue MacBook Air.

I browsed the web, played with Apple Intelligence (it didn't help me write this review), and enjoyed every minute of my time with this splendid machine.

I've been reviewing technology for over 30 years, and I've tested everything from DOS-based word processors to Apple's Vision Pro. I've reviewed laptops of all stripes, including traditional clamshells and convertibles. I regularly work on macOS, but also use the Windows platform almost every day — I like to keep my hands in all the ecosystems.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed March 2026

It’s been years since I last invested in one of the best laptops, but now my trusted Chromebook is looking a little worse for wear. For a while, I’ve been toying with the idea of replacing it with the iPad Air with M3 — until Apple unveiled the rather attractive MacBook Neo.

Apple’s first entry-level MacBook is one of three new models on the way (along with the MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro M5 Pro), marking Apple’s first budget MacBook starting at $599/ £599/ AU$899. Though I’ve gone my whole life without having owned an Apple laptop, the MacBook Neo has me in a trance, and I’m seriously tempted to abandon my initial plan to convert to iPad for a number of key reasons.

The MacBook Neo puts the iPad in a very vulnerable position indeed, especially since more users gravitate towards iPads over MacBooks as a simpler option, primarily because of the laptop's high price point, which also saves them money on advanced features they know will go unused. The Neo shakes this up, not just because of its value, but because of its simple yet plentiful tools — and I like what I see.

1. iPads and its accessories are annoyingly expensive

Price-wise, the MacBook Neo is more or less the same cost as the best iPads, with the exception of the standard iPad range, which starts from a slightly lower price point ($349/ £329/ AU$599). But it adds up even more if you want all the gear, such as the Apple Pencil (starting from $79/ £79/ AU$139), or the Magic Keyboard (starting from $249/ £249/ AU$399).

2. macOS offers a better experience

As far as operating systems, macOS is a lot more flexible than iPadOS for multitasking and app availability, especially when it comes to offering full-featured versions of apps such as Adobe Creative Cloud. More often than not, iPadOS versions of popular apps aren't as extensive in comparison, which isn't a huge setback if you're using an iPad as a tablet, but rings alarm bells if you want to use it like a laptop, as iPadOS is designed to be touchscreen first.

Historically, iPad has also been late to the game with rolling out its own versions of popular apps. It didn’t make its WhatsApp debut until May 2025, and its official Instagram app followed in September 2025.

3. Same size, same fun colors…

The MacBook Neo comes with the same 13-inch screen as most iPad models and, for the first time in forever, comes with a variety of fun color options, just like the standard iPad lineup. Despite the lack of a touchscreen, the MacBook Neo adopts similar design quirks — plus you don’t have to fork out more money to add a keyboard, what more could you want?

4. …and the same Liquid Retina display

Similar to the iPad Air’s screen size and color options, the MacBook Neo also packs Apple’s high-res Liquid Retina display, which could’ve easily been compromised to lower the cost even more.

5. Solid battery life that gets you by

As well as display quality, the battery life on the MacBook Neo is pretty solid for a base-level laptop. Packing an all-day battery life that can run on a single charge (it’s up to 16 hours for continuous video playback), the Neo matches the iPad Air on the battery front.

The newly-unveiled MacBook Neo gives buyers on a budget the opportunity to get an Apple computer — but it's not the only affordable option that's worth considering.

The entry-level iPad 11 (2025) might not seem a natural competitor to this new $599 / £599 / AU$899 device, being a tablet instead of a laptop. But if you bundle it with its Magic Keyboard Folio, it's also a solid device for on-the-go working or creativity.

Moreover, the iPad (128GB, Wi-Fi) and Magic Keyboard Folio bundle costs almost exactly the same as the MacBook Neo at $598 / £578 / AU$998, so they're closer competitors than you'd think.

So if you're in the market for a portable Apple workhorse, which should you buy? I've compared them both below and pulled out their pros and cons to help you decide...

The MacBook Neo is more powerful

If you need raw power, you'll want to pick the MacBook Neo. The same goes if you want lots of storage space without relying on the iCloud.

This laptop has a mobile chipset, but it's a modern one: the A18 Pro, which the iPhone 16 Pro family used. The iPad 11 tablet has the A16, which was used by the iPhone 15 devices.

There's more RAM in the MacBook Neo, offering 8GB, which is a little bit more than the iPad's 6GB. You'll also get more storage for your money with the Neo than the slate, as while both cost the same, the base models have 128GB in the iPad and 256GB in the laptop.

So if you're primarily looking for a productivity tool, the Neo wins here — and that's boosted by the benefits of macOS compared to iPadOS (see 'The iPad and MacBook are very different software experiences' below).

The iPad is more portable

If your priority is buying a device which you can easily carry about, then you'll want to opt for the iPad.

The two devices weigh a similar amount: the MacBook Neo tips the scales at 1.23kg, while the iPad 11 and Magic Keyboard folio is roughly 1.36kg (the iPad is actually only 477g, the folio is heavier). So there isn't a huge amount of difference, weight-wise.

However, the MacBook Neo is bigger. It's 1.3x30x20cm, while the iPad is 0.7x24x18cm, and this is reflected in the screen: the iPad's is 11 inches diagonally, while the Neo has a 13-inch display.

The Magic Keyboard for the iPad counts as a protective folio too, so it's a little more protected.

The MacBook Neo has more ports and edges it on battery

Buyers who need ports to plug in extra accessories (but don't want to buy an adaptor) should pick up the MacBook. The only exception is stylus users, who'll naturally prefer the tablet.

While the iPad only has a single USB-C port, the Neo has two (albeit only one with USB 3 speeds, the other being USB 2) as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. So you can charge the Neo, plug in a hard drive, and listen to music all at the same time.

You can keep those add-ons running for longer with the MacBook, too. It has, according to Apple, a battery life that facilitates 16 hours of video streaming, while the iPad can only achieve that same task for 10 hours.

The iPad and MacBook are very different software experiences

When it comes to software, but the Neo has versatility in its favor. It runs MacOS, Apple's computer software, while the iPad is on iPadOS, a software that's similar to iOS on iPhones.

The name of the game with iPadOS is simplicity. It'll be easy to quickly bring up one or two apps, and have them take up the screen, or shift them around and swap them out if you need. Great if you need to lock in, and focus on a written article or hoard of emails to reply to — and obviously the touchscreen interface is a big differentiator.

However, the flipside of this iPadOS simplicity is that some apps may frustrate you with their limitations. iPad apps aren't the same as their desktop equivalents, usually offering a stripped-down experience with limited features and simpler interfaces. Fine if that's what you want — but if you want a desktop-type experience, maybe not for you.

MacOS may not be as simple, and finding the right apps or program might take a little more work, but it'll be better for more complicated workflows. If you use external storage, or have files in folders you need to juggle in multiple apps, it'll be the better choice for you. If you're trying to edit media on the fly, or mix music, the Neo should have the edge over this iPad — although we've yet to officially benchmark the new laptop.

Bear in mind that the MacBook Neo is navigated via mouse, using the trackpad or a wired / wireless extra. The iPad is touch-first, although you can also use a mouse on it if you want. If you have a preference for mouse or touch navigation, that should help steer your purchase.

Verdict

There's no clear and obvious winner when comparing the MacBook Neo and iPad 11 — deciding between them will come down to the type of mobile computer you want (touchscreen or not) and your main use cases (mostly productivity with a side of fun, or the reverse).

As a tablet, the iPad is designed to be compact, portable and simple, letting you do basic tasks on the go with minimal fuss. It's perfect for people who like to travel light, such as students on a coffee shop coursework crawl, or frequent fliers who need a simple work or entertainment device. The Magic Keyboard Folio offers a comfortable typing experience with similar key travel to the Neo, but it's less good for typing on your lap (being better suited to desks).

The MacBook Neo is a laptop, and this kind of device is naturally a little more advanced. It has more ports, a bigger screen, and a longer-lasting battery. It'll be better for doing involved tasks like file management, photo or sound editing and compiling projects, especially ones where you might be tethered to a desk or work station for long stints. It's also better if you're looking to do lots of typing in different scenarios (on your lap, as well as on desks and tables).

That summarizes the key differences between these two devices, but it's worth bearing in mind that both have more advanced iterations that cost more money. Announced alongside the MacBook Neo was the pricey MacBook Pro 5 Pro, with absolutely loads of power, and the mid-range, larger and more powerful iPad Air M4, with plenty of other members in each range at different price points and specs.

If you've decided on your preferred form factor but want more in the same shell, it's worth exploring those higher-end options, too.

It's early days in the life of the MacBook Air M5, which Apple unveiled this week along with a new iPhone 17e, a new MacBook Pro, and that wild MacBook Neo, but I can now confirm that it is faster than the MacBook Air M4, one of our favorite laptops.

Granted, I've run just one set of test moments after unboxing and updating the laptop to macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, but it was enough to prove that even in the more mainstream and ultra-popular MacBook Air, the M5 delivers.

After installing Geekbench 6.6 on both the new 13-inch MacBook Air M5 (in Starlight finish) and my 13-inch MacBook Air M4 (in Sky Blue), I ran the core CPU benchmark in a side-by-side test.

Geekbench shows, by the way, that the M5 is clocked slightly higher than the M4, 4.46Ghz on the M5 and 4.41GHz on the M4. Naturally, both chips are also 10 Core with the same number of performance and efficiency cores (4 and 6, respectively). But those numbers don't tell the full story.

Single and multi-core scores are measurably higher on the MacBook Air M5, as you can see from the results photo below (M5 is on the left).

The results are in line with the M5 scores we saw last year on the then-new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip.

The differences are even more pronounced on the GPU score, where the M5 SoC brings a neural accelerator to every GPU Core. The leap is substantial on OpenCL scores and more modest on the native Metal results.

Obviously, all of these results are preliminary. I haven't run Cinebench; I haven't yet tested the speed of the supposedly faster SSD. What I can see, though, even in these early hours, is that the MacBook Air M5 is up to the challenge of some pretty difficult tasks.

I've loaded:

• Lies of P,
• Pixelmator Pro
• Adobe Lightroom
• Safari
• Chrome (25 tabs)
• FinalCut Pro

And the system is still just chugging along, likely assisted in part by the 16GB of RAM.

Basically, we're now seeing Pro-level performance on the MacBook Air, which is obviously why Apple introduced the M5 Pro and M5 Max for its latest line of MacBook Pros. Good old Apple, always aiming higher.

More to come as we work through our full review of the MacBook Air M5.

The MacBook Neo is a sensation. Soon after Apple launched the $599 laptop and I posted quick first looks on various social media, I was stunned at the response. Thousands of likes, hundreds of reshares. People were jazzed, intrigued, confused, and some were put off.

Still, I was shocked at the level of interest. This could be Apple's first true everyperson portable PC, and I realized that the mania reminded me of another hyped product: the netbook.

Remember netbooks? Back in 2008, they were a low-cost revelation, affordable computing saviors amidst a global financial meltdown. Made mostly by Asus, Acer, Lenovo, and MSI, the sub-$500 laptops flew off the shelves. While aimed at kids, teens, and education, they made their way into almost every market sector, including business.

By 2009, I was calling them "the new norm for laptops," despite the fact that the specs were not great. Many featured ridiculously small keyboards, sub-1GHz Intel processors, 4GB of storage (!), half a gigabyte of RAM, and tiny 8- to 10-inch displays.

They were attractive, though, because they were small, light (under 2.3 lbs), and could run the still-popular Windows XP (most eventually shipped with, I believe, Windows 7). They even arrived with enough preloaded software (a Microsoft Office replacement called Star Office) to help you get basic homework (and even office work) done.

I bought a pair for my kids, and they used them for a while. My son even ran iTunes on his — until he sat on the netbook — while my younger child eventually moved on to a larger, more powerful Windows 8 laptop. While I didn't hear many complaints, neither one used these laptops enough to stress them.

What netbooks really did was shift expectations on what you'd pay for an entry-level portable. In many ways, I consider them the parents of the first Chromebooks, and grandparents of sub-$500 Intel Core i3 and Core i5 14-inch laptops. What all these systems have in common, though, is weak performance and generally low-quality builds.

Finally a not-netbook you could love

The MacBook Neo is what everyone wished their netbook could be: a stylish, dependable, and well-performing system that doesn't drain your bank account.

The netbook appealed to the broadest possible market at a time when money was tight, and the future felt uncertain. Netbooks couldn't do much, but they also felt somewhat disposable when you wondered if you'd have a job in a month or be able to afford to buy technology for your kid next Christmas.

Unlike the netbook, there are far fewer trade-offs with the MacBook Neo. Instead of a tiny keyboard and flaky trackpad, you have a full-sized keyboard and what looks like a large, effective mechanical trackpad. Instead of a tiny screen, you get Apple's 13-inch Liquid Retina Display. Instead of a sub-megapixel webcam, you get a 1080p one. For $599 ($499 education), you get 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM (some remain concerned that this is not enough memory). The processor may be an A18 Pro mobile CPU, but it far outstrips not just classic netbooks (naturally) but what you can expect to get with a sub-$600 Windows 11 laptop.

Look, the list goes on. Netbooks had barely enough power to run a single app. I've already seen a MacBook Neo multitasking effortlessly.

Back when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad, he positioned it squarely between the iPhone and a MacBook Pro and made it clear that it was the anti-netbook. The problem with that assertion was that not everyone wanted a touchscreen or could easily work without a keyboard. iPads have always supported keyboard accessories, but they could add hundreds of dollars to the price.

The MacBook Neo fits neatly into that space between iPhone and, say, a $1,100 MacBook Air, as the perfect solution for cash-strapped consumers wishing they could have the quality, ecosystem, and performance of a MacBook without the price or need to give up a keyboard.

In that sense, the MacBook Neo is the netbook perfected — even if it ends up being nothing like one at all.

No, Apple’s brand-new entry-level MacBook Neo doesn’t get the latest and greatest Apple Silicon, the most RAM, or the best display. It likely can’t run Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro X without a few speed bumps.

But with its focus on everyday use, the plenty-capable A18 Pro chip under the hood, and the same build of macOS 26 as the rest of the Mac lineup, I think there’s a case to be made that it might actually be a creator’s dream.

Why? It comes down to three things: design, the Apple ecosystem, and the ever-growing list of macOS features.

For starters, the MacBook Neo simply looks great. It’s extremely chic — almost posh. It’s lightweight at just 2.7 pounds, the same as the MacBook Air, and while it’s a bit thicker, the aluminum build is smooth to the touch, and the rounded corners make it feel plenty modern.

The colors are simply chef’s kiss. Citrus, Blush, Indigo, and Silver will likely be spotted at hip cafés, campuses, and cities across the globe soon enough.

But what I especially like are the color-matched keys. Yes, Apple is finally giving us some expression for our fingertips. It looks cool, premium, and well dressed in a way that most $599 laptops — cough, cough Chromebooks and Windows PCs — simply won’t match.

And then there’s the Apple ecosystem. Whether it’s an iPhone, AirPods, or even an iPad, all of these devices generally work cohesively together. You could start a script or jot down an idea on an iPhone and instantly copy it over to the Mac to live in Google Docs on the web, Pages, or even an email draft.

But here’s where I think the MacBook Neo could really shine for creators: the ecosystem itself, with iPhone Mirroring at the center of it.

Many creators today — myself included — actually edit videos for social directly on an iPhone using apps like CapCut, Edits, or other mobile-first tools. Those apps are powerful, but sometimes you just want a bigger screen to work on.

That’s where the MacBook Neo comes in.

With iPhone Mirroring, I could open CapCut from my phone right on the Neo’s 13-inch Liquid Retina display, suddenly giving those mobile apps a much larger canvas. I’d still be using the same tools I’m familiar with, but now with the added benefit of a trackpad, keyboard, and a proper laptop screen.

And because it’s macOS, the workflow can go further. I could drag in assets from Photos, drop a graphic made in Pixelmator Pro, or grab files directly from Finder to incorporate into a project.

Once the video is finished, the Mac becomes the perfect place to wrap things up — downloading files, organizing assets, or even scheduling a post through TikTok Studio on the web.

In that sense, the MacBook Neo isn’t replacing the iPhone as a creator tool — it’s extending it. The iPhone might still be the camera and editing device, but the Neo becomes the hub that ties the whole workflow together.

Photos will sync across, as will videos, messages, and notes. The MacBook Neo could easily become the springboard for creative ideas.

And if you’re a student, the value proposition gets even more interesting. You can pick up the MacBook Neo with A18 Pro, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $499 / AU$749 with Apple’s education discount ($599 / AU$899 otherwise), and then add Creator Studio for $12.99 / AU$19.99 a month or $129 / AU$199 a year.

That unlocks a boatload of apps — Pixelmator Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro included — along with AI-powered features inside Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Granted, I’m not entirely sure how smoothly the Neo will run the heavier creative apps, but Apple has made it clear that the MacBook Neo can take full advantage of macOS — including Apple Intelligence today — and is built for everyday workflows.

So while it might not stretch for flagship creative apps, I have a hunch iMovie, GarageBand, Pixelmator Pro, and iPhone Mirroring will run without a hitch. I also saw the Neo handle several tasks inside Pixelmator Pro without breaking a sweat.

So no, it might not have all the bells and whistles. But it will still perform like a Mac — for $599 — across most everyday use cases. You also get a 1080p camera, promised 16 hours of battery life, a 1.5-meter USB-C to USB-C cable and 20-watt plug, and two side-firing speakers with Spatial Audio support, among other features.

And that’s really the story here. Not just the sum of the parts, but what happens when everything comes together — the ecosystem, the software, and a laptop design that might be the chicest Mac that Apple has shipped in years.

I’m keen to put these workflows to the test, but between the design, the capable A-series chip, and macOS, I have a feeling the MacBook Neo might end up being the MacBook most people choose — even if it can’t quite keep up with a MacBook Air or Pro when it comes to Final Cut Pro or the full Adobe suite.

Apple MacBook Neo. The name sounded ridiculous to me at first, but then I hadn't seen the colorful, classic, and affordable budget laptop in person. What I didn't know is that it's very likely the look, which includes colors like Citrus and Blush playfully bleeding all the way onto the keyboard, that is probably at least partially responsible for the Neo name.

Think about it: "Neo" is one letter short of "Neon," and these colors, especially Citrus and Blush, have the boldness of neon lights.

It turns out, though, that the gemination for the name (though many were considered) is fairly transparent. "We wanted something that felt fun and friendly, and fresh, and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product," Colleen Novielli, Director, Mac Product Marketing at Apple, told me shortly after the launch event.

The idea was to come up with a name that projected youth and energy, rather like the MacBook Neo colors, which mostly leave subtly behind.

It's also a distinctive name that sets not just this MacBook but most of Apple's other products apart from it, yet I couldn't help but ponder, say, an ultra-affordable iPad Neo or a budget iPhone Neo.

When I asked Novielli about it, while prefacing it with the acknowledgement that she probably couldn't answer, she smiled, "You were right that I can't answer that."

Finding the market

What Noveilli could talk about is the aspirations for the MacBook Neo and some of the challenges Apple faced in bringing MacBook DNA to life in an affordable system.

While she could not offer specifics on the manufacturing process, Novielli did share some insight, mostly by comparing what other laptop manufacturers are doing in the space.

"If you think about many of the comparable personal computers that you can get in this price range, what you will find is that it is very easy to make a computer that has features and experience that is just okay," she told me, adding that Apple has "a relentless focus and attention to detail," and "an obsession with making sure that the user experience is perfect in every way."

It's true, there are a lot of laptops in this price range made of plastic and not that many $599, 2.7 lb laptops featuring relatively durable (and mostly recycled) aluminum.

I think, though, the real challenge here was marrying Apple's obsession with design and materials quality with a product that would still sell for $599 or less ($499 in the education market). To do so, Apple had to build a new product from the ground up and make early decisions that would allow it to fit within that relatively narrow price box.

The magic here is that most consumers might not even notice the sometimes subtle but impactful differences, like the swapping of a haptic touchpad for a physical trackpad (that works and feels a lot like the trackpad on a MacBook Air) and using a standard sleep button (Touch ID will cost you an extra $100 but also net you double the storage).

Even the decision to go with just 8GB of RAM, though that choice may have been partly steered by the decision to use the A18 Pro, which was paired with 8GB of unified memory on the iPhone 16 Pro.

Addressing the RAM in the room

Thinking about that RAM, I was less concerned about the amount (8GB on a budget laptop is actually pretty good) than about how Apple would manage dwindling RAM supplies (and skyrocketing prices), especially if the MacBook Neo is, as I expect it might be, a huge hit.

Novielli, though, was sanguine, refusing to comment on product demand but assuring me, "We are very confident that we will be able to put this amazing new product in the hands of many, many more customers worldwide.”

Apple, she assured me, is well aware of the global situation. "Of course, all of the things that you are asking about are things that very intelligent teams at Apple are thinking through on a regular basis," she said, adding, "We understand what's going on in the world, and we have a hyper focus on making sure that we can deliver with the right products to the right customers at the right time."

I reminded Noveilli that the last time I'd seen such a singular Apple MacBook was the MacBook 12-inch, which launched more than a decade ago. It looked like the MacBook Air, but if you were viewing it through the wrong end of a telescope. It only had one USB-C port (a novelty at the time, Novielli reminded me) and cost $1,299. The product was not a success. Still, I saw echoes of the effort in this new MacBook Neo. Perhaps, though, I shouldn't

"I think some may draw parallels to the MacBook product that you're referencing, but really, you know, MacBook Neo is an entirely new product that was, again, reimagined from the ground up," she explained.

Finally, we got to the buying decision question; not whether you should get the MacBook Neo or a MacBook Air, but choosing between 256GB and 512GB. Look, some might want that Touch ID, but I asked Novielli how consumers should think about their storage choices. She offered a simple, and I'd say useful, rule of thumb.

You should look at your current storage needs, she told me. "So, whether you're using a Mac or a PC, or whether you have your iPhone, you probably have some idea of the amount of storage you're using in terms of your files, your photos, or committed to major things, and anything else you have stored on your current devices. And so, that's a really good way to kind of gauge what your needs are today and for the future."

Hmmm. I might need that 512GB.

The MacBook Neo is here, with the laptop having just been revealed at Apple's big March event. Yes, the budget laptop exists, and just as rumored, the Neo is built around an iPhone chip (the A18 Pro).

The Neo has a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, along with some smartly striking color schemes. It also comes with a surprisingly low price tag that, on first glance, offers incredible value. But what doesn't the MacBook Neo have?

To get that price down, Apple has obviously had to make some compromises, and to that end, here's a roundup of notable omissions with the MacBook Neo.

1. Display downers

You get a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with the MacBook Neo (packing a resolution of 2,408 x 1,506), plus an anti-reflective coating.

What you don't get, though, is the Display P3 color gamut found on other contemporary MacBook screens, which provides more vibrant colors (reds and greens). Similarly, the Neo doesn't have a True Tone display, a feature that allows the laptop to adjust the screen intelligently based on ambient lighting levels.

It's not really surprising to see that some corners have been cut with the screen, though, given that $599 / £599 / AU$899 entry-level price.

2. No notch

There's another change for the screen in terms of Apple not cutting out a small notch in the top of the display to house the camera. Instead, the 1080p FaceTime webcam is embedded in the top bezel – but that means the MacBook Neo has thicker bezels as a result.

And okay, that does give the Neo a slightly dated look – but this isn't supposed to be a device with a premium appearance, it's a budget laptop. I think it's a fair enough compromise, and indeed some people are even glad to see that there's no notch with the MacBook Neo.

3. No backlit keyboard

Apple has provided a Magic Keyboard with the MacBook Neo, but a less magical touch is that the keyboard deck isn't backlit.

With the primary target audience being students wanting an affordable notebook for school or college – who are likely to be using the laptop in the evenings, or at night – lacking a backlight for key visibility could be an irritating drawback.

That said, this won't bother everyone by any means, and it's obviously a situational disadvantage.

4. No Apple N1 chip

Apple's N1 chip arrived late last year with the iPhone, and it was revealed as part of the new MacBook Air M5 yesterday. Sadly, the wireless chip – which provides Wi-Fi 7 – isn't an ingredient in the recipe of components for this new affordable laptop, and you'll be left with Wi-Fi 6E if you buy a MacBook Neo. Still, that isn't the end of the world, especially not with an affordable device, and the Neo does have Bluetooth 6.

5. The camera isn't Center Stage

While you get a 1080p FaceTime camera with the MacBook Neo, it doesn't benefit from Apple's Center Stage feature.

This is functionality that uses AI to keep you in the shot, panning or zooming to match your movement (if you move about, of course). It's a neat touch and one present on many modern Apple devices (iPads included). But again, losing this is all part of the cost-cutting measures for Neo in terms of a cheaper camera solution.

6. No MagSafe — and no charger in the UK or EU

You don't get MagSafe charging with the MacBook Neo – it's USB charging only (there are two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack, and that's it for connectors).

If you're in the European Union or the UK, unfortunately there's another missing piece of the puzzle with the MacBook Neo: you won't get a charger included. This is a situation that'll probably be familiar to you by now if you live in Europe, brought about by regulations in the EU to cut down on e-waste. (Note that the EU isn't directly preventing the inclusion of chargers – it's a more complex matter than that).

With no charger supplied in the box with a new MacBook Neo, you'll either have to buy a charger unit separately, or use an existing solution. The good news is that it should work fine with a standard (fast) phone charger – as the laptop is built around that iPhone chip – so you should simply be able to use the same one that charges your smartphone. Phew.

To be clear, in the US (or elsewhere outside of Europe), you get a 20W USB-C Power Adapter with the Neo (plus a USB-C cable – and you do get the cable in Europe).

7. USB-C caveats

If you thought the MacBook Neo had a pair of USB 3 ports, sadly it doesn't – one of them is USB 3, but the other is USB 2 and therefore missing out on some key functionality.

This secondary USB port is a lot more sluggish, with around 20x slower data transfers, in fact, and it also can't be used to pipe out a (DisplayPort) monitor signal. In other words, you must use the USB 3 port to hook up an external display – and it doesn't seem like the ports are labelled, either.

This is a somewhat awkward nuance for the MacBook's wired connectivity, then, as if you have a monitor attached to the Neo, and you want to use a USB thumb drive, you'll be forced into having the latter in the slowcoach port.

While I've mentioned that some of the above corners which have been cut by Apple are understandable in a budget-oriented laptop like the Neo, this particular decision around ports is a bit of a mystifying one.

Apple has unveiled its most budget-friendly MacBook yet — say hello to the MacBook Neo.

Today (March 4) the tech giant announced its new range of laptops during its Apple Experience event, which also includes the new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max, and MacBook Air M5, but it was the MacBook Neo that stole the show.

Pre-orders for the new models are now open with availability from March 11, but how does Apple's first budget-friendly laptop compare to its advanced siblings price-wise? Here are all the iterations of the new models and their prices side-by-side.

Price comparisons for the MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air

The MacBook Neo has a lower starting price than any other Apple laptop at $599 / £599 / AU$899. That modest price tag doesn't mean compromising on handy features though, and you'll still have access to tools such as Apple Intelligence, the Multi-Touch Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard.

Although it doesn't pack the same storage as the new MacBook Pro lineup (the Neo is available in either 256GB or 512GB) and it runs on a different chip (Apple's A18), the MacBook Neo is a solid budget option on paper ideal for those who want an above surface-level laptop to get them by. This is where the main price differences between the Pro and Air come in.

The MacBook Pro M5 offers significantly more storage than the MacBook Neo, which is part of the reason for the price difference. The Pro and Air are powered by Apple's next-generation M5 chip, which also makes them more expensive than the MacBook Neo, and depending on which size and chip you opt for, you could pay up to $2200 more if you went whole hog with the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max.

Apple MacBook Neo is probably the most important new consumer electronics product of this still-new year. It's not the most powerful laptop Apple has ever produced, but few products have thrown open the door to a new market and buying possibilities in quite the same way.

The MacBook Neo arrives as a budget-laptop-busting portable that starts at just $599 / £599 / AU$899 ($499 / £499 / AU$749 for the education market) and rewrites the rules for a budget laptop.

With a 256GB hard drive and 8GB RAM, it may not sound like it's packed with possibilities, but Apple also equipped the MacBook Neo with the still impressive A18 Pro — and if you haven't had any experience with Apple Silicon, you are in for a treat.

In the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, the chip always had tons of power and what I like to call headroom. These chips are almost too powerful for your pint-sized pocket PC, but the MacBook Neo should make ample use of the chip.

Is this the MacBook you've been waiting for?

It should be noted that $599 will not get you the Touch ID power button, and if you want that and 512GB, you will pay $699 / £699 / AU$1,099. Now, that's still an excellent price, and it reminds me a bit of the Walmart sales on those MacBook Air M1 laptops. Any time the deal approached $699, they would fly off the shelves.

Now imagine a 2.7-lb / 1.23kg, recycled aluminum laptop with a high-resolution Liquid Retina Display, spatial-audio speakers, two USB-C ports (only one is a fast USB-3), an HD webcam, and a large physical trackpad for $599 — and it's a MacBook, running MacOS.

In my experience, people shopping for low-cost laptops for students (grade school, high school, college) are often not considering MacBooks because of the cost. $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799 (16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage to start) is a fair value for the MacBook Air, but it's not a budget system.

Those shopping at big box retailers and online are often looking at $300 (or cheaper) Chromebooks and then suffering the consequences of underpowered systems. If they want more local power and storage, they're usually paying $400-to-$700 anyway. Apple's MacBook line was not in that range.

Rewriting the rules

The MacBook Neo changes that equation, and in style no less. I've seen and touched the new MacBook Neo (at Apple's March Experience event), and it is every bit an Apple product.

Budget laptops can feel plasticky (because they often are) and feature dull screens and muffled audio. The MacBook Neo features all the materials and tolerances you expect from an Apple product.

It's attractive and colorful, with hues that bleed all the way onto the keyboard.

Now, I can't yet speak to the performance of the A18 Pro with 8GB of RAM on a 13-inch laptop. But in my brief experiences with it thus far, it looked relatively peppy, even playing a new Oceanhorn 2 Apple Arcade game with some pretty nice-looking atmospheric effects.

I'm sure we'll test one in short order and know the full capabilities and deficits of Apple's new budget laptop, but my prediction is that the MacBook Neo is the hottest product of the back-to-school season, Apple's gonna sell them by the boatload, and supplies will be very limited.

• Apple's finally made its more affordable MacBook official
• It's powered by Apple's A18 Pro chip
• This new MacBook starts at $599 / £599 / AU$899

After countless rumors, Apple has finally made its new entry-level MacBook Neo official. The iPhone 17e and iPad Air with M4 might have kicked off Apple's week of launches, but this new $599 / £599 / AU$899 MacBook will likely be the one that gets folks talking.

As expected, this MacBook doesn’t feature an M-series chip from Apple but is instead powered by an A18 Pro chip. Yes, Apple-made silicon that first debuted in an iPhone is now inside a Mac and running macOS.

It most closely resembles Apple’s classic wedge-design MacBook Air — a look I’m still pretty fond of — and this laptop comes in a range of four sweet colors (blush, indigo, silver, and a "fresh new citrus"). The invites for the March 4, 2026, Apple Experience were likely hinting at these colors.

The MacBook Neo comes with two USB-C ports, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera and a headphone jack. The screen is a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and Apple is claiming a 16-hour battery life, only two less than the new MacBook Air. The MacBook Neo also has a Multi-Touch Trackpad and the Magic Keyboard, although unlike the MacBook Air this one isn't backlit.

The $599 / £599 / AU$899 version comes with 256GB storage and 8GB RAM and no Touch ID (with a lock button instead), while the $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 version has 512GB storage with 8GB RAM and Touch ID.

So what's missing?

The MacBook Neo packs in a lot for its $599 / £599 / AU$899 base price tag, so what corners has Apple had to cut?

Firstly, that cheaper model has no Touch ID on the keyboard — that only comes with the $699 / £699 / AU$1,099 512GB version. There also aren't any 1TB or higher storage options, just the 256GB and 512GB options.

The absence of a backlit keyboard could be one of the bigger practical limitations, making it harder for students (its main target market) to type away late in the evenings. There's also no MagSafe charging and no Apple N1 chip (which is now standard on Apple's latest MacBooks), which means you only get Wi-Fi 6E.

Elsewhere, the 1080p FaceTime camera doesn't have Center Stage, so it can't pan around to follow you as you move, and in the UK and Europe the laptop also won't ship with a charger or cable.

Still, while these are all nice-to-haves, the MacBook Neo certainly has its charms, particularly in those bright colors, and it's likely to a strong Chromebook rival at that $599 / £599 / AU$899 starting price. Considering it starts at $499 / £499 / AU$749 for education, we can see this being a popular laptop in 2026.

I cannot believe I am saying this out loud, but the $100 / £100 / AU$100 more expensive 13-inch MacBook Air M5 is wonderful news, not because I like paying more, but because the base model promises to solve my biggest pain point: lack of storage.

For months now, I have been struggling with low storage space messages and functional roadblocks on the MacBook Air 13-inch M4.

The $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 system, which I still admittedly love, shipped with a 256GB SSD, which I once considered ample space for most of my work. But over time, I chewed through all but a few gigs of it, causing the system to send me alarming out-of-storage-space messages and "make space before installing this macOS update" alerts.

In Adobe Photoshop 2026 — my go-to image-editing platform — I struggled with out-of-space errors on the scratch disk and kept running purges to mitigate the issue (they worked for a few hours, and then I had to do it all over again). That's not a memory issue, it's a storage one. For what it's worth, the 16GB of unified memory has never been much of an issue.

Finding space

Where did all my space go? It was largely hidden in a giant 162GB system file on the MacBook's drive, and looking inside it is almost impossible. I tried all sorts of ways to search for large files, but nothing showed me exactly what was eating all the space. What I did find were usually inscrutable files that, if I did trash them, would likely trash the system.

I got a lot of online advice about what to do. None of them worked, including trying sketchy third-party utilities to clean up the drive.

So I kept my downloads folder empty, looked for screenshots to delete, and regularly emptied the digital trash. I also did what I could to find large files in my email accounts.

I also tried to minimize the number of installed apps, but when your OS takes up another almost 35GB, leaving me 50GB to play with for files, images, videos, and, yes, almost 10GB for Apple Intelligence, it's no wonder I kept running out of space on the 256GB SSD.

Working this way began to feel like I was wearing a digital straitjacket that was slowly squeezing the air out of me. Free-floating anxiety propelled my workdays as I wondered how long my scant gigabytes would last. Every time I ran out, it was like when, after just so many turns, the jack-in-the-box popped up on Buddy the Elf.

Starting over or a fresh start?

A week ago, I took the nuclear option with my 13-inch MacBook Air M4 and reset it. This didn't necessarily solve my storage issues, but let me take stock of how I set it up (maybe I'd leave out the optional, not all that useful Apple Intelligence this time) and of the impact of my Cloud-based files on local storage. One of my theories is that my OneDrive was duplicating itself locally and, perhaps, eating up 40 to 50GB. Apple does tend to hide file storage information in that big "System" area.

What if, however, I didn't have to worry about how many files were stored locally or in the cloud? What if I could stop thinking about the larger videos I had in my Photos library?

That's the exciting prospect of the new MacBook Air M5. Yes, it's $100 more than the last model, but with double the storage (512GB). I always loved that storage works this way; you can't simply add a few GBs. Hard drives always grow exponentially, doubling or nothing.

A potentially faster 13-inch MacBook Air M5 with double the storage space will instantly solve my storage issues.

Of course, I would've liked to see the price hold firm, but given what's going on with RAM prices, it's shocking that the MacBook Air M5, which still starts at 16GB of RAM, didn't get even more expensive. Adding storage space with a relatively minor price hike should be considered something of an accomplishment.

So now I sit here literally celebrating a price hike because I know that it comes with the one thing I asked for: more base storage. I'm so excited I don't even care about the M5 chip. I know it'll be faster, but the M4 is plenty fast and easily handles every Photoshop task I throw at it. So a faster piece of Apple Silicon is just icing on the cake.

I can't wait to try out the 13-inch MacBook Air M5 and perhaps retire the MacBook Air M4 and its too tiny 256GB drive.

• Apple has announced the new MacBook Air M5
• Its gets improved wireless connectivity and the base storage has doubled
• You can pre-order the MacBook Air M5 from March with prices starting at a slightly higher $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799 for the 13-inch version

The MacBook Air M4 has reigned supreme at the top of our guide the world's best laptops for months — and now Apple has replaced it with an even more powerful M5 version.

As the rumors predicted, the MacBook Air M5's new chip is its main upgrade, with that excellent design and build remaining unchanged. It also has the same ports, with twin Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side with support for up to two external displays.

Apple says that new M5 chip will give you four times faster performance for AI tasks than the M4 version, and 1.9x faster performance in the likes of Topaz Video when doing AI video enhancement. However, as we've said previously, the M5 isn't a massive leap over the M4 in everyday performance, so adjust your expectations accordingly.

The other main change is that the MacBook Air M5 now comes standard with 512GB storage (twice as much as before) and can be configured up to 4TB for the first time. The downside is that this is reflected in the pricing — the MacBook Air costs $100 / £100 / AU$100 more than the previous version.

While the MacBook Air M4 started at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699, the M5 version starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799 for the 13-inch version and $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$2,199 for the 15-inch model. You can pre-order them from tomorrow March 4, with delivery expected from March 11.

Building on a strong foundation

Aside from its new M5 chip, higher base storage and higher starting price tag, the MacBook Air M5 is largely the same as the M4 version, aside from a few connectivity boosts and an SSD speed injection.

Like the new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Pro Max, the new MacBook Air gets Apple's N1 wireless chip — and that means Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity. Its new SSD also apparently gives you twice as fast read/write performance compared to the M4 model, which should be handy if you're dealing with large image libraries in the likes of Adobe Lightroom.

Otherwise this MacBook Air will feel very familiar to fans of the series, and that's no bad thing. We branded it our 'laptop of the year' last year, hailing its "potent combination of quick speeds and a long battery life".

Apple claims the MacBook Air M5 has the same 18-hour battery life as its M4 predecessor — and while we got more like 14 hours for web-based activities in our tests, it's still effectively an all-day battery life. You also get the same 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display as before, with 500 nits of brightness, which we called a "fantastic display for everything from gaming to streaming to content creation" in our M4 review.

Perhaps the only slight disappointment is that there's no new color this year — the MacBook Air M5 is available in the same sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver colors as before. But that's a small grumble and, on paper, Apple's new MacBook Air looks a strong bet to claim the title of our favorite laptop again. We'll be testing it very soon to let you know if that's the case.

• Apple has announced the new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Pro Max
• Both laptops are available in 14-inch and 16-inch versions
• Pricing starts at $2,199 / AU$3,499

Apple has announced new MacBook Pro laptops with M5 Pro and M5 Pro Max chips, to replace last year's M4 Pro and M4 Pro Max versions.

The new high-end MacBooks are available in 14-inch and 16-inch versions and, as the rumors predicted, the major change is those new latest-generation chips. The new MacBook Pro models look identical to their M4 predecessors, but they do also get a wireless networking upgrade with Wi-Fi 8 and Bluetooth 6, thanks to Apple's N1 chip.

Apple says you can expect four times faster AI performance compared to the previous-generation MacBook Pro, and eight times faster AI power compared to the M1 chip. Pricing for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199 / AU$3,499, while you'll be able to buy 14-inch with M5 Pro Max from $3,599 / AU$5,799. That's a $200 / AU$200 on the M4 Pro and a $100 / AU$700 step up compared to the M4 Max.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro, meanwhile, starts at $2,699 / AU$4,299, while the M5 Pro Max version starts at $3,899 / AU$6,299. Pre-orders will open from tomorrow March 4, with availability from March 11.

Improved performance

Apple highlighted the new AI capabilities of the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, saying they are "engineered from the ground up for AI" and provide "tremendous performance boosts" compared to the previous generation.

In terms of large language model (LLM) prompt processing, the M5 Pro and M5 Max give you four times the performance compared to the entry-level M5 chip and up to eight times faster image generation compared to the M1 Pro and M1 Max. There's also a faster Neural Engine and improved memory bandwidth, both of which can benefit AI projects.

As for non-AI CPU performance, Apple says the chips deliver up to 30% better output compared to the M4 Pro. And when it comes to graphics, Apple declares that the M5 Pro and M5 Max result in a 50% graphics performance uptick versus the M4 Pro and M4 Max. In gaming, you can expect 1.6 times faster output in Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the M4 Pro, Apple says.

That's partly thanks to an increased core count in the new chips. The M5 Pro has up to an 18-core CPU and a 20-core GPU compared to the M4 Pro with an up to 14-core CPU. The M5 Pro also boasts Neural Accelerators (which the M4 Pro lacks) and 307GB/s of memory bandwidth versus the 273GB/s in the M4 Pro.

The M5 Max, meanwhile, also has an 18-core CPU and complements it with a 40-core GPU. That's a two-core CPU increase on the M4 Max. The M5 Max's memory bandwidth has also stepped up from 546GB/s to 614GB/s.

Finally, Apple has renamed the performance cores in its chips to "super cores." It describes these as "the highest-performance core design with the world’s fastest single-threaded performance, driven in part by increased front-end bandwidth, a new cache hierarchy, and enhanced branch prediction."

Faster SSDs, at a cost

While the CPU and GPU bring notable improvements, other areas also benefit from the new releases. Battery life, which Apple silicon has long excelled at, has been tweaked, for instance. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max lasts up to 20 hours compared to 18 hours in the M4 Max model, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max will go strong for 22 hours as opposed to 21 hours from last year's model. The M5 Pro battery life remains unchanged against the M4 Pro.

Apple's already rapid storage has been ramped up too, with double the read/write speeds in the new MacBook Pros compared to last year's offerings.

The base storage capacities have been increased. The MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip now starts with 1TB of storage (up from 512GB), while the M5 Max edition has 2TB as standard (again, doubled from the previous 1TB).

And at a time of vast memory shortages around the world, it's heartening to see more generous RAM configurations with the latest MacBook Pros. While the starting amounts remain the same, Apple's M5 Pro laptops can now be equipped with a maximum of 64GB of memory, up from 48GB. M5 Max models remain unchanged compared to the M4 Max.

Still, Apple fans haven't entirely escaped the effects of the RAM crisis, as Apple has increased prices for the MacBook Pro range. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199 / AU$3,499, a $200 / AU$200 increase over the $1,999 / AU$3,299 M4 Pro model, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro is $2,699 / AU$4,299. That's a $200 / AU$300 hike.

As for the M5 Max, you'll pay $3,599 / AU$5,799 for it in the 14-inch MacBook Pro and $3,899 / AU$6,299 for it in the 16-inch version. Those are both $100 rises over last year's 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and M4 Max, but in Australia, that's a much higher AU$700 difference.

The base-level M5 MacBook Pro has seen a $100 / AU$200 price increase, and it now starts at $1,699 / AU$2,699. In return, its default storage capacity has been raised from 512GB to 1TB.

Apple's rumored cheaper MacBook is now expected to be aired (ahem) at the early March event that the company just announced. This device is going to be affordable, and could pitch in at around $699 in the US (maybe a bit more, some even argue a bit less), with Apple obviously having to cut corners with the spec to achieve a price tag in that kind of ballpark.

The main cutbacks Apple will run with, if the rumor mill is correct, is dropping down to a cheaper processor, and saving on the system RAM. The theory is the affordable MacBook will actually use an iPhone CPU, in fact – the A18 Pro – rather than an M-series chip. And if you're concerned about that, I think you're worrying about the wrong thing here – for me, it's the purported drop to 8GB of unified RAM which makes me more nervous about this wallet-friendly MacBook.

Why am I not concerned about the use of a mobile processor rather than a desktop chip here? Well, don't get me wrong – expectations will certainly have to be managed with the A18 Pro.

Plenty of comparisons have been drawn in the past between this mobile CPU and Apple's M-series silicon, and the consensus is that the A18 will be able to keep up well in terms of single-core performance. For multi-core tasks, though, the lesser chip is going to fall away considerably – but to me, all this does is spell out exactly what this new low-tier MacBook will be.

The affordable MacBook is set to be a laptop that's designed for basic computing tasks – a bit of web browsing, email checking, document editing and other relatively lightweight duties. It's a machine aimed at the everyday user, one that offers a cheap entry point into the world of the MacBook without breaking the bank, in a time when PC prices are going to continue to spike upwards in a possibly disconcerting manner (due to rising RAM and storage costs, among other factors).

The A18 Pro should hold the computing fort just fine in terms of those basic tasks, and even with multi-tasking, it's not going to get completely bogged down too easily.

Longer-term memory

As noted, what's more of a concern for me is that 8GB of RAM is just too lean a loadout for a modern laptop. Although granted, much like the A18 Pro, 8GB of memory is not going to be a drag when it comes to basic computing tasks.

My main worry is that 8GB just isn't good enough in terms of future-proofing. How will this affordable MacBook perform in a few years' time with just 8GB of RAM? I'm not sure that's going to hold up nearly as well as the CPU will, especially given Apple is now focusing heavily on AI (as is the entire computing world, of course).

I expect a laptop that I buy to last me a good five years – preferably longer (my Surface Pro is still going seven years after I purchased the device) – and in that timeframe, I can see AI tasks coming much more to the fore.

Sadly, I think the timeframe for 8GB being 'good enough' (just) is simply shorter than an expected decent lifespan for a laptop – even an affordable one (it's not like this will be a 'throwaway' budget purchase, either).

Now, Apple may yet release this affordable machine with 16GB – or perhaps even 12GB of RAM – but the rumor mill seems fairly sure it'll be 8GB, and it's an obvious, indeed arguably necessary, compromise to make to keep the cost down in the current raging RAM crisis. Further remember that given Apple's rumored shipment expectations – which are eye-opening in terms of how large-scale they are – this device will presumably be priced to sell.

We shall see, but I fear the danger is that Apple is going to build in far more obsolescence than is ideal here with a drop to 8GB – a move that runs against its recent policy of 16GB for all Macs, let's remember, and that was a decision made for a reason.

Apple has just announced a press event – well, technically an 'experience', which suggests something slightly lower-key – taking place on March 4, 2026, in New York, as well as London and Shanghai.

As ever, the company is keeping tight-lipped about what product launches we might see at the event, with nothing specific mentioned in the press invite itself.

However, we have a pretty good idea of what might be coming already based on the very active rumor mill when it comes to Apple. Indeed, one of the main fonts of speculation, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, has already tweeted that a clue in the invite points to a new affordable MacBook.

I'll come back to that shortly, but as well as that lower-tier MacBook, further laptops are expected to be launched by Apple, namely new MacBook Pro models.

Remembering that the iPhone 16e was launched around this time last year, we are also anticipating the successor to that handset, the iPhone 17e. On top of that, we may well witness the revelation of new iPads.

Let's break down the likely revelations for the March event, which Gurman believes is going to consist of online announcements and hands-on previews at the three locations. Then we'll look at what we might not see at this event (sorry – 'experience', which again hints at a hands-on feel).

1. MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

There have been strong rumors that Apple will release new MacBook Pro models with more powerful processors early this year, and tipster Mark Gurman has previously suggested these laptops would debut in the first week of March. Obviously, that lines up perfectly with this event.

Also, don't forget that we've recently seen that new MacBook Pro M4 Max orders are delayed substantially, which is normally the case with an outgoing model, as stock is run down to prepare for its successor. So, all signs point to these new portables being imminent.

Of course, the new processors in the MacBook Pro will be the M5 Pro and M5 Max, but there might be something very different about them this time around – namely that both CPUs may be built on the same base chip. The M5 Max, a recently aired theory runs, would effectively be the higher-binned silicon, and the M5 Pro would be a lower-binned variant with a lesser amount of CPU and GPU cores based on the configuration chosen.

Take that with some seasoning, but it might mean MacBook Pro buyers are going to benefit from more customization options with these higher-end processors.

2. A cheaper MacBook with A18 chip

Another much-rumored possibility is a new bottom-tier MacBook that's much more affordable than the MacBook Air.

Apparently, Apple's plan with this is to use an iPhone processor – the A18 Pro, seemingly – to cut the cost of making such a device, as well as dropping down to 8GB of system RAM. (Which notably would defy its recent stance to deploy 16GB with all its Macs).

The idea with the price is obviously to make it affordable, possibly around the $699 to $799 mark in the US, or so runs the latest speculation – which has also put forward the belief that Apple's going all-in with this one. We're told shipments could be in the order of 5 to 8 million units, which would represent about a quarter of last's years total sales for Macs.

The clue I mentioned at the outset, flagged by Gurman on X, is that the colors on the press invite are light green, blue and yellow – which just happens to be the same colors seen on the test laptops for the affordable MacBook. It could mean nothing, of course, but I think that's a pretty heavy hint.

3. iPhone 17e

As noted at the outset, the iPhone 16e arrived at a press event a year ago, and there were already firm rumors that the iPhone 17e is 'imminent' – in fact we heard that last week. With this press event now revealed, we can put two and two together and, erm – actually, maybe we should be putting 8.5 and 8.5 together to get 17.

Again, it's Mark Gurman who believes this mid-range iPhone is close on the horizon, but the bad news is that the leaker isn't anticipating the device to be much of an upgrade on the existing model.

The main move will simply be upgrading the engine from the A18 chip to A19, which will obviously help the smartphone to be peppier – and another neat extra could be the introduction of MagSafe support.

While it may not be a hugely exciting new launch, and more of an iterative upgrade, the better news is that Apple is expected to hold the price of the iPhone 17e steady at $599 / £599 / AU$999 for this punchier handset. That's particularly good to hear given that we're in a full-blown RAM crisis (and storage is facing serious price hikes, too).

4. iPad Air (8th-gen)

We're expecting a couple of new iPads, including a refreshed Air model. A bit like the rumored iPhone 17e, this iPad Air is not supposed to be a major step forward, but it will get a chip upgrade – from the M3 in the current model to the M4. A tablet packing the M4 chipset would be quite something in terms of power and portability, of course.

5. iPad (12th-gen)

Along with the iPad Air, we're expecting a new iPad (which would be the 12th-gen incarnation). Again, this is expected to be a modest revamp, with the key move being Apple upgrading the A16 chip to an A18.

That's a sizable leap, and one that should see the iPad incorporate Apple Intelligence – with the current model not able to do so. Those keen on AI, then, will be glad to see that happen – if it does.

As ever, take all these rumors – all this iPad speculation again comes from Mark Gurman – with a suitable dose of seasoning.

What we're less likely to get – although you never know…

A revamped Studio Display, or Mac Studio, is a possibility that some people are certainly keeping their fingers crossed for. These devices are rumored for a refresh in the first half of 2026, but I'm not sure we'll see them just yet.

The same is true for the MacBook Air M5, which has also been rumored for early this year. But the new MacBook Pro models, and affordable MacBook, feel like more likely inclusions – and Apple surely won't be launching too many MacBooks at once.

Some folks are hopeful for a new Apple TV, but that seems unlikely to happen just yet, and Gurman explicitly pours cold water on the idea of Siri's big AI overhaul taking center stage here (though we'll likely hear something about it, or be treated to some teasers at least – or maybe a bit more).

• Apple could ship its affordable MacBook in quantities of up to 8 million
• New rumor notes this would represent 25% of Mac sales in 2025
• In short, the company could have big plans for its wallet-friendly device, and the wherewithal to price it temptingly in this unfavorable climate

Apple's rumored affordable MacBook could be a huge piece of the firm's laptop sales strategy based on the latest chatter from the grapevine.

Mac Observer spotted a post from yeux1122 dropping new info about the MacBook. This is a Korean tech blogger with links to the supply chain who has got things right in the past, but should obviously still be taken with a good deal of seasoning.

The leaker claims Apple has big plans for this cheaper MacBook, and that (as translated by Google): "Annual shipments of this model are expected to reach around 5.5 million units [to] 7.9 million units, accounting for about 25% of last year's total Mac series sales."

In short, this will not be a relatively niche release, an equivalent to an iPhone SE – rather, it's framed as a major push to drive Mac sales forward.

As we've heard before, this MacBook is expected to cut down its price by using an iPhone processor (likely the A18 Pro chip), and also dropping to 8GB of system RAM, which would be an obvious cost saving in the current memory crisis.

We're told that Apple's 'strong' supply chain management – contracts for parts and existing component inventory – means it'll still be able to mass-produce this cheaper MacBook, even with current RAM (and other) pricing and supply headwinds.

This sentiment was echoed by another recent report from Taiwan's Mirror Daily, highlighted by leaker Jukan on X, which claims that rising RAM prices won't stop Apple's new entry-level MacBook from launching this year. Again, we're told it'll use the A18 CPU and 8GB of RAM, and be priced around $699 to $799 in the US (and in line with that in other currencies).

This other report also mirrors the buoyant sales forecasts as floated by yeux1122, and it all lends further weight to the idea that this MacBook could be ready to pitch up soon. Previous rumors have indicated a spring 2026 launch, so that could be as soon as next month, in theory, and likely before May.

Analysis: a big opportunity for Apple – but is 8GB still tenable?

It seems Apple has plenty of reserve inventory for MacBook production, so it can theoretically carry on with the launch of this new entry-level model without batting an eyelid at the now-raging RAM crisis. That's not hugely surprising, given the MacBook maker's clout, but even so, the purported quantity for this launch, as aired here, is a shock, if true.

Another surprise here is yeux1122 noting that the price of this MacBook "may be lower than expected", although it's difficult to imagine Apple shooting for, say, a $599 model with the state of the PC industry right now (with the prices of everything going up). It seems likely Apple could settle on an MSRP of more than that and still look like a great value for money.

Of course, everything depends on the quality of this affordable MacBook. As well as the iPhone chip and 8GB of RAM loadout, we can also expect corners to be cut with the screen, and the chassis and overall build won't likely be as premium as other MacBooks. There must be comprises, of course, but it's a question of what effect these might have – and we don't have a clue in that regard at this stage of mere rumors.

One thing is clear enough, though: if Apple is reverting to 8GB with a MacBook, it's reversing course on its recent policy of not having any Mac with less than 16GB. As you probably haven't failed to notice, 8GB is viewed rather dimly in the world of contemporary laptops. Indeed, I wrote a long article about this quantity of RAM and how suitable it is, or isn't, for a notebook in 2026 if you want to explore that in more depth.

In a nutshell, at least for everyday computing, you can still get by with 8GB in 2026, but it's far from ideal – particularly when it comes to considerations around any kind of future-proofing. And interestingly, yeux1122 observes that thanks to the way Apple has macOS and its hardware tightly integrated, you can expect a "smooth user experience even with 8GB of RAM" (again, translation nuances may have to be taken into account, but you get the gist).

Especially when it comes to AI features going forward, which, after all, are supposedly the next big thing, I find it difficult to believe that 8GB of RAM will be enough – but seemingly the affordable MacBook will happily support Apple Intelligence, yeux1122 tells us. (Although in truth, it'll have to, really).

There are some conflicting ideas with the (rumored) design and reality of this laptop, then, and I don't think the path is at all clear for a MacBook with 8GB going forward into 2030 – you'll want the laptop to last a few years, of course. But that said, there's no doubting that a very temptingly priced MacBook could really spark Mac sales, and if Apple puts the device out in the quantity theorized here, it's not unfeasible that the notebook could account for a big chunk of the company's PC sales, given the current climate of rising prices elsewhere with laptop manufacturers.

With a release seemingly on the horizon now, it shouldn't be long before we start to get more rumors pouring in – and we find out more of the likely truth about this purported entry-level MacBook. If Apple really is planning to go all-in with this device as suggested, it'll mean interesting times are ahead, for sure – and some much-needed relief on the value front in the laptop space this year.

• Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBooks are imminent, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman
• Gurman claims both MacBooks may arrive 'as early as the week of March 2'
• Both are rumored to be using the same chip

Apple's M5 lineup isn't complete yet, as fans await MacBook M5 Pro and M5 Max chip launches, and fortunately, it looks like that silicon may be closer than ever.

The MacBook M5 Pro and M5 Max are set to launch 'as early as the week of March 2', according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This comes after a noticeable delay in shipping for MacBook M4 Max orders, indicating a short supply, and Gurman believes that it's 'a telltale sign new models are coming'.

It's also worth noting that a recent leak reported by 9to5Mac suggests both the M5 Pro and M5 Max models may, in fact, run on the same chip. This claim comes directly from tech enthusiast Yadim Yuryev, who stated that there is no sign of a distinct M5 Pro chip found in a beta code leak.

We've seen a similar case with Nvidia, which has used the same die on the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 GPUs, and the former offers performance fairly close to its elder.

Apple's choice to use the same base chip (if rumors are legitimate) points to a potential case of 'chip binning' for manufacturing, which is a process that sees semiconductors examined and sorted immediately after initial production, with partially defective (but still functional) chips used for lower-end or less powerful products – in this case, the M5 Pro.

To bin or not to bin

To be clear, there's no immediate need to panic about dodgy MacBooks here; binning is a common industry practice, ensuring chip manufacturing is kept resource- and cost-efficient, thought it does effectively mean that M5 Pro buyers may ultimately end up buying the lower-quality chips that didn't make the cut for M5 Max devices.

But that shouldn't sway consumers away from the upcoming M5 Pro Macs. Apple's MacBooks typically ship in excellent condition with a high degree of quality control, and the chip binning process reduces waste, increases product availability, and improves consumer affordability.

Gurman's claims of a March 2 launch date tell us it shouldn't be too long until both MacBook M5 Pro and M5 Max models are reviewed and analyzed, and it will be interesting to see the potential differences, especially with how high the M5 Pro's performance ceiling is expected to be.

Both the M3 and M4 Pro and Max chips use different base silicon dies, so we could be set for a significant change for high-end MacBooks in the M5 lineup.

• New MacBook Pro M4 Max orders are being delayed by up to two months
• Orders for the 128GB RAM configuration placed today won't ship until March
• It's likely due to the impending launch of M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBooks, which are rumored for early 2026

The PC hardware market is in a state of turmoil due to the RAM crisis, with prices skyrocketing across the board, but while this doesn’t seem to have impacted Apple just yet, some people ordering a new MacBook are facing delays for an altogether different reason.

As reported by MacRumors, new MacBook Pro M4 Max orders are seeing delays of up to two months, particularly in the US, with estimated delivery for the 36GB RAM and higher configurations showing as early February. Customers ordering the 128GB memory configuration are facing the longest delays, with these orders showing March delivery dates.

While it might appears that these delays could be due to the ongoing RAM crisis, it's more likely due to Apple's focus on the M5 Pro and M5 Max, and the MacBooks running them. Apple may have curtailed or halted production on M4 MacBook Pros to allow stocks to run down ahead of the new models' launch.

Both chips are scheduled to launch in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, which would explain why delivery dates for M4 Max MacBook Pro models are delayed.

Now, that's not to say Apple is immune to any potential impact from rising prices and component shortages due to RAM. However, Apple is expected to absorb DRAM costs in 2026 to avoid increasing prices for customers, and hopefully that extends to the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBooks once they launch.

Apple's MacBooks also use unified memory, which is on the same chip as the GPU and CPU, so while this doesn't mean the company is immune to the current instability, it's certainly safer than manufacturers who are having to make major compromises on hardware.

Analysis: Apple might be safe, but other PC manufacturers are in trouble

It looks like this RAM crisis may indeed run on throughout 2026, as the focus on AI is showing little to no signs of slowing down. I'm glad Apple is safe for now, because MacBook Pros are already costly as it is – but the rest of the PC hardware market is in such an unstable state.

It's worth noting that Nvidia hasn't completely abandoned its efforts to provide for RTX GPU users, especially with the recent launch of DLSS 4.5. However, the shift to a focus on AI is very evident, and the same goes for third-party manufacturers.

Desktop and laptop GPUs are one thing, but Micron recently shut down its popular brand, Crucial, to focus on selling RAM to AI companies. While that doesn't mean Crucial RAM is forever gone, it's an indication that the AI bubble is massive, and it seems as though some manufacturers will stop at nothing to profit from it.

I still fear that the longer this crisis continues, the more collateral damage will continue, and that's not great news for any consumer.

• The OLED MacBook Pro could arrive way before the end of 2026
• Mass production has apparently already started on the displays
• The upgraded screens are rumored to be touchscreen-capable too

Rumors have long been swirling that Apple is going to give its MacBook Pro line-up of laptops an OLED display upgrade in the not-too-distant future, and now it seems that the upgraded models could be appearing sooner than we thought.

According to well-known tipster Yeux1122 (via 9to5Mac), Samsung has now started mass production of its latest 8.6-th generation OLED panels – and Apple's OLED MacBook Pros are being tipped to be the first beneficiaries.

These panels weren't expected to hit the mass production stage until the second quarter of 2026 (April, May, or June), and so it follows that the laptops themselves might make an earlier-than-expected appearance sometime later this year.

Previous predictions pointed to a launch window around the end of 2026, but if the timetable can be shifted forward, perhaps there's scope for an unveiling sometime around September or October. However, this is all pretty speculative for now.

Touchscreen capable too

As well as carrying OLED technology – which in theory offers a superior viewing experience to the LCD displays currently used in MacBooks, with deeper blacks and excellent contrast – these panels are also touchscreen-capable.

Your mileage may vary on whether or not a touchscreen MacBook is something that you're interested in. What we can certainly say is that it'll blur the lines between MacBooks and iPads even further, if both are able to use touch input (and perhaps the Apple Pencil).

If previous rumors are correct, however, only the top-tier MacBook Pros will get the OLED upgrade: those running the as-yet-unannounced M6 Pro and M6 Max chipsets. The less expensive options are apparently going to stick with the current display tech.

Before the M6 revolution starts, we think there will still be room for M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros to be unveiled – perhaps even this month or next month – following on from the refreshed M5 Apple laptops launched last year.

If you know Apple, you’ve almost certainly heard of the phrase “one more thing.” It’s been Apple’s favorite way to introduce an unexpected new product or feature at its events for decades, and its mere utterance is enough to send fans into bouts of frenzied excitement.

Back when Apple’s events were still in person, Steve Jobs would take to the stage and deliver the keynote address – also known as a 'Stevenote' – to highlight all of Apple’s latest updates. They became known for their ending flourishes, where Jobs would pretend to wrap things up, before pausing and uttering his signature phrase: “actually, there is one more thing.” Cue the rapture.

This week marks the 28th anniversary of the first-ever “one more thing” moment, so what better time to revisit some of the most famous instances of Apple’s favorite catchphrase? Here are some of the top times Apple did the unexpected over the years.

The first ‘one more thing’ … sort of (January 1998)

The moment that kickstarted an iconic trend found its origins at the MacWorld San Francisco event in 1998. After showcasing various apps that would work with the latest Mac software, Steve Jobs thanked attendees for coming and feigned walking off stage.

Before leaving, though, he stopped himself, announcing, “I forgot something. There is one last thing I gotta tell you.” He thanked all of Apple’s teams for their efforts, before revealing that the company was finally profitable again.

This was big news at the time. Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy when Jobs returned in 1997, and he took a machete to its extraneous products and services, cutting the company back to a lean, profitable machine.

Sure, he didn’t quite say “one more thing,” but all the key elements were there: the fake conclusion, the Columbo-esque turn to the audience, the exciting secret revealed. It was a classic move that Jobs refined and perfected over the subsequent years.

Mac OS X Aqua design and Jobs as CEO (January 2000)

Two years later, we got a “one more thing” double whammy at January 2000’s MacWorld San Francisco event. The show saw the unveiling of Mac OS X, and after explaining how it worked, Jobs said there was “one more thing” – which in this instance was the visual design, which he dubbed Aqua.

Instead of the grey boxes and scrollbars prevalent in operating systems at the time, Aqua was bright and shiny, a heady mix of brushed metal effects and glossy blue bars. It was unlike anything else and a worthy highlight.

Yet that wasn’t the last “one more thing” of the year – it wasn’t even the last one of this Stevenote. About an hour later, just as he was finishing things off, Jobs dropped another surprise into the mix: no longer would he be the company’s interim CEO, but instead its full-time chief. The statement was met with a standing ovation – considering how Jobs and his team had turned Apple’s fortunes around, this perhaps came as no surprise.

Power Mac G4 Cube (July 2000)

The year 2000 was a good one for “one more thing” moments, as another followed in July at the MacWorld New York expo. This time it was the turn of the Power Mac G4 Cube, one of the most visually arresting Macs to have ever launched – but also one of the most unsuccessful.

Jobs explained that the G4 Cube took the performance of the Power Mac G4 and shrunk it down to a quarter of the size, giving you impressive output in a tiny footprint, all without needing a fan. Yet the G4 Cube never really took off thanks to its high price and middling performance for the cost. Today it’s a beautiful collector’s icon, and Apple has never quite done anything like it again – and it was made all the more memorable thanks to Jobs’ famous introduction.

iPod Shuffle (2005)

The iPod was one of Apple’s greatest hits, and it revolutionized the way people listened to music, from enjoying tracks on a portable device to downloading and managing them on their computers. Apple had already shaken up the market with the iPod and the iPod mini, but it followed that up in 2005 with the iPod Shuffle.

On the face of it, the Shuffle seemed like a risky move for Apple. It ditched the screen entirely, giving you no way to browse your tunes. But Jobs’ “one more thing” announcement at MacWorld 2005 revealed that shuffle was the most popular way that iPod users listened to their music. Why not lean into that with a dedicated device? In the end it all paid off, with the Shuffle proving to be highly popular and helping Apple sell iPods at a lower price point.

MacBook Pro (January 2006)

Today, the MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops you can buy, and it made its debut at the MacWorld expo in 2006 – 20 years ago this week, in fact. That saw Apple move on from the PowerBook line into a new Intel-based era.

The switch to Intel chips gave Apple much more performance-per-watt – up to four times that of its previous PowerPC chips, in fact – ensuring the MacBook Pro could output far more performance without consuming too much power.

Aside from Intel processors, the first MacBook Pro introduced the beloved MagSafe connector, was even thinner than the PowerBook, and had a built-in iSight camera for video calls and conferences – the last of which drew huge cheers from the crowd. Not a bad reception for a little lens.

Apple Watch (September 2014)

Think of all the best smartwatches and the Apple Watch will surely be near the top of the list. Apple’s wearable has dominated the space since it launched in 2014, with several models to choose from and tons of class-leading features.

Steve Jobs was the master of the “one more thing,” but the Apple Watch was successor CEO Tim Cook’s first attempt at the turn of phrase – and it went pretty well.

Borrowing Jobs’ flair for the theatrical, Cook concluded his keynote by revealing that he’d been wearing an Apple Watch under his sleeve the entire time. That’s not a bad way to present an all-new device to the world, especially when it goes on to become such a key part of Apple’s product lineup.

iPhone X (September 2017)

Apple has a habit of overhauling its devices in major ways when it thinks it’s got a great new idea. That time came again in September 2017 with the launch of the iPhone X, the first all-screen iPhone, the first to go without the Home button, and the first to feature the instantly recognizable notch.

Given the scale of the transformation, the iPhone X had to succeed. Thankfully for Apple, it did, with every major iPhone following its design blueprint. Another measure of its success was how it changed the entire industry, with almost every one of Apple’s rivals ditching physical buttons and adopting its “black slab” look within a few years. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Apple silicon (November 2020)

What do you do when “one more thing” has become so well known that the audience comes to expect it every year? Well, why not name your whole show after it? That’s what Apple did in November 2020, and its One More Thing event took the phrase’s concept and applied it to the entire keynote.

That’s because this event was used to reveal Apple silicon to the world. It found its way into the MacBook Air, Mac mini and MacBook Pro at the show, and Apple also took the time to explain how macOS Big Sur would benefit from the new chips. It was the first – and, so far, only – time that every new product at an Apple event deserved a “one more thing” callout. Yet funnily enough, the company did not mention the phrase once during the show’s entire duration.

Vision Pro (June 2023)

Every previous “one more thing” had come at a live event, but WWDC 2023 was the first time the routine was tried at a pre-recorded event. While that must have been a touch disappointing for Apple – no cheers from the in-house audience this time – it didn’t stop an especially momentous product from taking to the stage.

That device was the Vision Pro, Apple’s first mixed-reality headset. Apple touted it as a paradigm shift in the company’s product roster, one that would chang the way you interacted with hardware and software forever.

The reality has been much less successful, with the Vision Pro reportedly selling in such disappointing numbers that Apple has drastically cut back production. Still, there’s no doubting that Apple thought it was a significant product – and deserving of the latest “one more thing” moment.

• A cheaper MacBook is expected to arrive soon
• Analysts have now predicted when it may appear
• It could come in at around the $600 price point

Rumors around a cheaper MacBook from Apple – possibly landing at around the $599 price in the US – have been swirling for months now, and a fresh report sheds some more light on what might be coming in the next few months.

The analysts at TrendForce (via MacRumors) are confident that there will be a more affordable Apple laptop arriving in "spring 2026" in the northern hemisphere. That's March, April, or May, though the report doesn't get any more specific than that.

What's more, the laptop is said to have a 12.9-inch screen and will target the "entry-to-mid-range segment". Even with pressures on the supply chain and pricing, the laptop should find plenty of interested buyers, the TrendForce team says.

These predictions aren't completely new, but line up with what we've already heard about this laptop – and given that they're coming from a well-connected analyst company, it makes us more ready to believe that they're accurate.

Here's what's coming

As per previous leaks, the cheaper MacBook is going to come running an iPhone chipset – quite possibly the A18 Pro – and come in a variety of colors. Silver, blue, pink, and yellow have been mentioned as possible shades we'll see.

A lower-end LCD display will also be used to keep costs down, according to reports, and there has been talk that the laptop will use a design that's different to both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops that Apple already sells.

The pricing is the most intriguing aspect here. If Apple does manage to launch this device at less than $600, it would be significantly cheaper than the current range of MacBooks – which today start at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air.

It would mean Apple going head to head against the best Chromebooks and the Windows laptops down towards the cheapest end of the market – perhaps enough to get even more people to invest in a Mac computer, but time will tell.

• We can expect some fresh Apple devices early in 2026
• A more affordable MacBook has been mentioned
• The successor to the iPhone 16e is also likely to appear

We've already heard that 2026 is likely to be a busy year for Apple product launches, with rumors of a shake-up to the iPhone launch schedule too, and now we may have a little more clarity over when some of these devices are launching.

According to analyst Jeff Pu at GF Securities (via MacRumors), Apple is going to launch both a cheaper MacBook and a cheaper iPhone early next year. We'll apparently get a 12th-gen iPad around the same time, too.

That cheaper MacBook has been previously rumored, and it would put Apple laptops within the reach of people on lower budgets. It's thought that the price could be around $599 in the US – the most affordable MacBook you can currently get from Apple brand new is the $999 / £999 / AU$1,599 MacBook Air.

Pu says the new Apple laptop will have a 13-inch display, use the A18 Pro chipset introduced with the 2024 iPhone 16 Pro, and be available in silver, blue, pink, and yellow, which all fits in with earlier rumors.

Phones and tablets

As for the more affordable iPhone, it's expected to be the iPhone 17e, following on from the iPhone 16e that Apple introduced to the world in February 2025. The starting price is again expected to be around the $599 / £599 / AU$999 mark.

Pu predicts that a lot of the specs will remain unchanged, though there will be a faster A19 chipset inside, an 18-megapixel selfie camera supporting Center Stage that always keeps you in shot, and a switch to Apple's new C1 modem. This phone range was previously known as the iPhone SE series.

There won't be many surprises with the 12th-gen iPad, this report says, which could be said about the 11th-gen iPad too. It will apparently, however, get a speed bump via an A18 chipset – enabling the entry-level iPad to support Apple Intelligence for the first time.

It's likely that we'll see more iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks over the course of 2026, but these three devices are apparently going to be leading the way. We will of course let you know as soon as Apple makes anything official.

Five years ago, I unboxed and reviewed my first Apple Silicon laptop, the MacBook Air M1. That laptop and SoC would change the course of laptop history, especially MacBook history, and my own computing experience.

It all started, though, with the announcement.

It's been five breakneck years since Apple unveiled Apple silicon during its first virtual WWDC keynote amid a global pandemic. Even without the visceral on-stage moment of CEO Tim Cook emerging from the shadows to unveil a huge helping of Apple platform excitement, this was momentous.

As I wrote back then:

"One world, one universe, one platform, unification. Apple’s momentous Worldwide Developer’s Conference keynote just painted a picture of a world in which the walls come down and, from the silicon underneath to the pixels in front of your face, Apple’s ecosystem becomes one."

Apple switching hardware platforms was not unheard of – after all, only 14 years earlier, it had migrated its systems from IBM and Motorola's PowerPC to Intel.

This time, though, was different. Like an 'A' student preparing for finals, Apple was deeply prepped for this new transition. It used XCode to rewrite all its first-party apps, and worked with major partners like Microsoft and Adobe to ensure that core third-party apps were able to run on the revolutionary new hardware. There was even a Developers Transition Kit ready to go for app partners.

Rosetta 2, a software compatibility layer, was also released, promising to ease the transition for non-Arm-ready apps.

Silicon promise

Back then, I was well aware of the potential benefits of a five-nanometer, power-saving platform. It was the holy grail of mobile computing, one that Microsoft had already approached, though less successfully, with Windows on Arm in the Surface X Pro, which ran on the SQ2 chip.

Apple silicon would transform MacBooks from decent battery performers to 17-hour marathoners. I had my concerns about the integrated graphics, but also knew that graphics performance on Apple's bespoke A-series chips on the iPhone and iPad was always stellar, so I also had reason for hope.

I saw the potential, writing, "What Apple’s doing is switching all its systems from running on a variety of fuels, like wind, solar, and gas, to just one that might arguably be described as rocket fuel."

And yet, I had no intention of switching from Windows to Mac.

I had my reasons

It's not that I was unfamiliar with the Mac. I'd used the OG Macintosh in the 1980s but switched for good to Windows when I joined PCMag in the early 1990s.

Windows was for me like an old but beloved car. It could be clunky and even sometimes break down in the middle of the road, but I knew every control and contour. It molded to me, and I, a bit, to it. I knew its foibles, but also knew how to work around them. That no Windows laptop could ever give me more than five hours of battery life (on a good day) was something I accepted, along with the fact that I felt like the blue screen of death was always lurking around some unforeseen corner.

Barely five months after the announcement, and developers got their hands on the transition kit, which, among other things, helped them build Universal apps for all systems running Apple silicon. I reviewed the first Apple MacBook Air with the M1 chip. I called it "an astonishing breakthrough."

Benchmarks made a mockery of even Intel Core i7 systems, especially in the area of integrated graphics. Battery life was incredible, ranging between 15 and 20 hours. I knew, intuitively, that such a system could transform my life.

Even so, the idea of switching from Windows to macOS (the operating system Macs run) was daunting. I think I worried that, with time, I might discover that most of my key apps didn't work on Apple silicon or that Apple wouldn't meet its two-year deadline of fully transitioning away from Intel, and that it might even abandon the project altogether and return to Intel.

I needn't have worried. By 2023, even the Mac Pro had switched to an M2 Ultra. I was impressed with Apple's innovative approach to producing ever more powerful Apple silicon chips, often by clustering them together (the M2 Ultra really is two M2 Max chips). What's more, I never found an app that wouldn't run on Apple silicon.

Making the change and what might have been

Three years into the Apple silicon journey, I switched to the M2 MacBook Air and documented the effort in a journal. There were some struggles, but almost all of them revolved around long-standing differences between macOS and Windows. I was forced to learn many new keyboard commands and shortcuts.

Two weeks into my journey, I wrote:

"Becoming second nature to use the Mac. Will I ever go back?"

Spoiler alert: I never did.

If Apple had failed to deliver on the Apple silicon promise it made on June 22, 2020, this would've been a different story (one that might more closely resemble Apple Intelligence). The fact that it made the effort early on to make the hard stuff look easy (supporting all those apps, making different platform apps work on different systems, making it rock-solid stable, and providing industry-leading efficiency) put the wind at Apple silicon's back. Apple showed immediate commitment by unveiling the MacBook Air M1, along with an iMac and a Mac Mini in those first six months.

Apple has never looked back and continues to build and innovate on the Apple silicon platform to deliver more powerful mobile CPUs. It's only in the last year or so that, with the help of Qualcomm, the Windows world has started to catch up, nearly matching Apple silicon in performance, efficiency, and stability.

Apple silicon changed the computing world, but it also changed me. I walked away from a platform I loved (and still have affection for) and have not looked back. Apple's market share has grown on the back of Apple silicon, and, and least in that Mac space, I think the best is yet to come.

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• Edge Light brings a ring light feature to the MacBook
• It's part of the next macOS Tahoe 26 update
• The dev beta drops today with early access to the new feature

We've all been there: the last-minute video call on our MacBooks where we park ourselves in front of a window and end up looking like our shadow selves. A ring light could've solved the issue, but who has time to scramble for one and set it up? But what if the screen could be your light? The next macOS Tahoe update introduces Edge Light, and as the name suggests, it turns your best MacBook screen into a rectangular ring light.

Coming to the macOS 26.2 Dev beta today (Nov. 12) and shipping later this year, Edge Light creates a band of light around the edge of your MacBook, provided it's running an Apple Silicon CPU.

As you might expect, the effect, which comes as part of Apple's MacBook Video Effects Suite (which also includes Portrait Mode, effects, voice isolation, and Studio Light), illuminates a wide border around the outer edge of your MacBook screen. It does not cover the menu bar at the top, thereby avoiding the notch.

For MacBooks made after 2024, Edge Light can be set to turn on automatically, say, when the system detects that the ambient room lighting has dropped and you're in shadow. As you can imagine, this might come in handy for late-afternoon, post-Daylight-Savings, calls when the sun sets earlier and earlier and, by 4 PM, you're thrust into darkness.

There's no word for now on if and when Edge Light might also come to iPadOS 26 and Apple Silicon iPads.

There is a smattering of controls, mainly to slide between warm and cool light; if you want the harsh brightness of whiter light or the complexion-pleasing warmth of a slightly more orange hue.

Using the system's integrated Neural Engine, Edge Light can detect where your face is and even multiple faces and adjust the Edge Light accordingly.

It's not clear how Apple manages the balance between the screen display and the Micro LED backlight on, say, the new and excellent MacBook Pro 14-inch M5. However, the intent is not harsh, to the full-nit capabilities of the screen, brightness, and instead leans toward pleasing illumination and less eye strain.

Edge Light is also smart enough to know that this is still a laptop screen and will move itself out of the way if you push your cursor over it, so as not to block important on-screen information.

Since we don't know the lumen level, it's not clear whether Edge Light can be a true substitute for a decent Amazon-purchased ring light or even a small one that clips to the top of your screen. That said, it does sound like it'll shed enough light on your smiling video conference face to ensure you're heard and seen.

• SanDisk's Extreme Fit is a tiny new thumb drive offering a 1TB capacity
• It's a compact 'plug and stay' drive designed to be a (more or less) permanent fixture in your laptop
• With Apple's pricing on storage pushing up the price of a MacBook Air massively if you boost SSD capacity, this SanDisk thumb drive could be a good compromise

SanDisk has a new USB-C thumb drive out called the Extreme Fit, and it's compact, affordable, and yet offers a 1TB capacity in the top model – and it could be the perfect complement to a MacBook Air purchase this Black Friday.

Why? Because this new drive is part of SanDisk's new 'plug and stay' range (plug and play and stay, technically), meaning it's a product designed to be stuck in the USB-C port of your laptop and remain there as a fixture (at least much of the time).

To that end, we have those large storage capacities of 512GB and 1TB (as well as smaller models of 128GB and 256GB), and these USB-C drives (USB 3.2 Gen 1 to be precise) offer read speeds of up to 400MB/s.

On top of that, the drive has an L-shaped design to keep it as flush to the side of the laptop chassis as possible.

As for the MacBook Air side of the equation here, in case you didn't notice – and you almost certainly did – Apple charges a heck of a lot for storage, and buying its most budget-friendly laptop can soon turn rather more wallet-hostile if you crank up the drive space and get a big SSD.

So, with SanDisk's Extreme Fit costing $118 (that's the recommended price) for the 1TB model, you could get a MacBook Air with the minimum of storage, and use this USB-C drive as an extension of that system drive.

Currently at SanDisk, the Extreme Fit is actually $110 (at the time of writing), though it isn't in stock yet direct from the maker, plus I can't see it available anywhere else yet either – but presumably it's imminent.

Analysis: cheapness and compromises

Obviously, this solution applies to any laptop as a cheap way of getting 1TB of storage, when going for a 1TB SSD will doubtless push up the price considerably – it's just that Apple's storage tax is particularly eye-watering.

Remember that the MacBook Air is supposed to be nicely affordable, and the base current-gen 13-inch model is certainly palatable at $999 in the US (and its equivalent pricing elsewhere), but you really don't get much in the way of storage. 256GB is enough to get by with, certainly, but it's rather thin on the ground these days.

If you want to expand that SSD size, you'll quickly pay a lot more, and for a new MacBook Air 13-inch with 1TB of storage, you're looking at $1,399, a 40% leap in price. Compare that to the MacBook Air 256GB with a SanDisk Extreme Fit 1TB drive, and you're spending a total outlay of $1,109, only just over a 10% bump (with a quarter more storage space in total, of course, at 1.25TB). That's a saving of almost $300.

All that sounds well and good, but there are compromises in this SanDisk solution. Firstly, the USB drive's read speeds of 400MB/s aren't exactly quick, and certainly nowhere as speedy as Apple's built-in SSD, of course, but this is a solid enough level of transfer speed to be fine for many use cases.

What worries me a bit more is that while SanDisk has designed this accessory to be flush with the laptop, as you can see from the images, it still sticks out a bit – and there's a concern about the possibility of the drive snapping (and maybe damaging the USB port in the process, too).

For that reason, if you're going to be keeping your MacBook Air on your desk a lot – and let's face it, many folks do – a "plug and stay" philosophy with a thumb drive is obviously fine. But I wouldn't chuck a laptop in a backpack with this drive still plugged in, despite what the promotional imagery suggests, as in my opinion, that's just asking for trouble.

Still, the Extreme Fit is tiny for a 1TB USB-C drive with palatable read speeds, and it comes with a five-year warranty from SanDisk. It's worth considering as an alternative way to afford a MacBook Air with plenty of storage, with the above caveats in mind (MacBook Pro owners can, of course, use an SD card – but that slot isn't on the Air). Considering we may see some great deals on Apple's laptops for Black Friday, this could be a way of getting a high-quality notebook with plentiful storage at a seriously bargain basement price.

The drive should be available by the time Black Friday week rolls around, with any luck, though you could always buy it as a later addition to the MacBook Air bargain you might secure at the end of this month. And yes, there are already some good MacBook Air deals around even now, in case you were wondering.

• Reputable Apple watcher states M6 Pro and M6 Max MacBook Pro models will be the only ones with OLED redesign
• Both models are slated between late 2026 and early 2027
• The base M6 MacBook Pro may be stuck with the current mini-LED technology

We're in the final stages of 2025, which means Apple's rumored M5 Pro, Ultra, and Max chips may be edging closer, with an expected early 2026 release. However, there's not great news for fans anticipating Apple's M6 launch, regarding a major redesign coming to all models.

As reported by Wccftech, Apple's M6 Pro and M6 Max MacBook Pro models will be the only ones receiving the rumored OLED redesign, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. These models are slated to launch between late 2026 and early 2027, with Apple making a major departure from its usual mini-LED technology, a thinner chassis, and touch support.

Wccftech states it's been aware of this exclusivity plan from Apple, and since Gurman's credibility is solid, it looks like this could very likely be the case – and that's bad news for many Apple fans.

We may be seeing base variants of M6 MacBooks launch without any redesigns, so if fans want an OLED viewing experience, the only way to do that may be via purchasing expensive M6 Pro or M6 Max models (at least with the initial launch) – and if I'm honest, it will be a little bit of a surprise to see if Apple takes this route.

It's not unlike Apple to adhere to exclusivity, but considering how big a leap it is going from mini-LED to OLED, it's a bold move and one that will certainly annoy some of its consumers. Many Apple fans may not need the power that the anticipated M6 Pro or M6 Max chips will provide, nor be able to afford them.

Analysis: This looks like it could be a case of gatekeeping, and I don't think it's fair

While I'd say it's possible OLED will come to the next MacBook Pro model (after M6), it feels as if this is Apple's way of enticing consumers to pay more for M6 Pro and M6 Max models, gatekeeping the OLED upgrade from those who can only settle with base models.

As much as I've given Lenovo criticism with its new Lenovo Legion Go 2 handheld due to its price, it's at least given every consumer who purchases the device an OLED display – and yes, I'm fully aware that MacBooks and handheld gaming PCs are very different, but it's the point of gatekeeping that matters here.

Fortunately, though, the mini-LED technology Apple has been using for years still holds up very well, especially without concerns of burn-in or any form of OLED maintenance. We'll just have to wait and see when Apple decides to make OLED the main display type for all of its MacBook models – and hopefully that doesn't take too long.