The $599 iPhone 17E kicked off Apple’s latest round of product announcements, and the $599 MacBook Neo concluded the flurry. In between, we saw updates to both the MacBook Air and Pro lines, a couple of overdue Studio Display monitor refreshes and a new iPad Air. Whew!
It’s a lot to keep track of, so I’ve collected all the news in one place. In reverse chronological order, here are all the new products that Apple announced this week. And yes, everything listed below is available to preorder now and shipping March 11.
MacBook Neo
This was the biggest piece of news from Apple this week, and I’m not just saying that because I review laptops for a living. The new MacBook Neo significantly lowers the entry point for MacBook shoppers. At just $599, it costs $500 less than the cheapest MacBook Air, and students can get it for $499. I expect to see a lot of MacBook Neos in classrooms by next fall, but I think the Neo could be more than just a school laptop.
The MacBook Neo has an iPhone-level processor and only 8GB of RAM, so it’s definitely geared more toward writing term papers than the heavier lifting required by STEM or graphic design students. And even then, you’ll probably want to spend the extra $100 for the larger SSD and Touch ID keyboard. Its 13-inch display isn’t much smaller than the Air’s, and it has a lightweight, all-aluminum body that’s on par with that of Apple’s pricier MacBooks. Plus, it comes in three fun colors (in addition to standard silver).
I expect the MacBook Neo to sell well, and it will probably eat into iPad sales more than the MacBook Air’s. Or maybe the two will eventually merge, sending CNET’s Scott Stein into nirvana.
Apple announced two new Studio Displays this week.
M4 iPad Air
Apple’s midrange iPad tablet received a processor bump this week. The iPad Air was refreshed with the M4 chip while maintaining the previous pricing: $599 for the 11-inch model, $799 for the 13-inch model. Memory was also increased, from 8GB to 12GB. Apple says the new M4 iPad Air is up to 30 percent faster than the M3 model. Scott Stein says Apple updated the wrong iPad.
iPhone 17E
The week started with an update to Apple’s budget iPhone. The new iPhone 17E keeps the same $599 price as last year’s iPhone 16E but offers twice the storage and MagSafe. You can also get it in pink.
The iPhone 17E features the A19 chip, which is similar to but not quite the same as the baseline iPhone 17’s chip. I’ll let my colleague Abrar Al-Heeti explain the chip details and the other changes to the iPhone 17E. And check out why CNET’s Jeff Carlson thinks one feature missing on the iPhone 17E is a good thing.
