Best Podcast Episodes About MacBook

“… A new version of the Mac Studio with the M5 Max and presumably an M5 Ultra is expected this year. Meanwhile, Apple also sells three laptops, the MacBook Neo, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro. There are options spanning dramatically different price points, configurations, and form factors. Apple needed to make a decision to either update the Mac Pro or discontinue it. Continuing to sell it with the M2 Ultra at such a high price was a disservice to Mac shoppers. There will undoubtedly be some Mac Pro loyalists disappointed by this news, but they shouldn't be surprised because the writing has …” “… an 80 GPU paired with 256GB of unified memory and 16TB of SSD storage With the discontinuation of the Mac Pro, Apple now sells three desktop Macs, the 24-inch iMac with M4, the Mac Mini with M4 and M4 Pro, and the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and M4 Max. A new version of the Mac Studio with the M5 Max and presumably an M5 Ultra is expected this year. Meanwhile, Apple also sells three laptops, the MacBook Neo, the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro. There are options spanning dramatically different price points, configurations, and form factors. Apple needed to make a decision to either update the Mac Pro or discontinue it. Continuing to sell it with the M2 Ultra at such a high price was a disservice to Mac shoppers. There will undoubtedly be some Mac Pro loyalists disappointed by this news, but they shouldn't be surprised because the writing has been on the wall for a long time.” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's discontinuation of the Mac Pro was inevitable given its outdated hardware and high price point, making the Mac Studio the new 'Pro' desktop option.

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro was inevitable due to its outdated technology and high price point, making way for the Mac Studio as the future of Apple's pro desktop lineup.

Apple's decision to discontinue the Mac Pro was necessary to avoid disservice to consumers by selling outdated technology at a high price.

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro is a long-expected move, as continuing to sell it with outdated hardware was a disservice to consumers.

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9to5Mac Daily · RIP Mac Pro · Mar 27, 2026

“… at any minute, so maybe it'll be out by the time you hear this. But back to Apple. No less an authority than Windows Central says that Apple's new MacBook Neo is a serious threat to OEMs like HP, Lenovo, and Dell, and their $599 laptops seem inferior, and Windows 11's reputation is at an all-time low, a sort of perfect storm. Quote, you can definitely get a more capable, perhaps even more powerful Windows laptop for $599. It would likely have more RAM and storage, but to most mainstream laptop buyers, none of this truly matters. Owning a Mac is less about the raw specs and more about it being a …” “No new Apple products today. I guess that's done for now, though the rumor is a new chat GPT might be dropping at any minute, so maybe it'll be out by the time you hear this. But back to Apple. No less an authority than Windows Central says that Apple's new MacBook Neo is a serious threat to OEMs like HP, Lenovo, and Dell, and their $599 laptops seem inferior, and Windows 11's reputation is at an all-time low, a sort of perfect storm. Quote, you can definitely get a more capable, perhaps even more powerful Windows laptop for $599. It would likely have more RAM and storage, but to most mainstream laptop buyers, none of this truly matters. Owning a Mac is less about the raw specs and more about it being a Mac and not a Windows PC. One of the reasons Windows laptops are so popular is that they're cheap. MacBooks have historically never been considered to be affordable laptops, but that changes with the MacBook Neo. Because of this, someone who had no choice but to buy a mid-range Windows laptop in the past now has the option of buying a MacBook. And …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo is a serious threat to Windows laptops, potentially causing a significant shift as users abandon Windows for Apple's affordable offering.

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Tech Brew Ride Home · Dr. ChatGPT Isn’t Quite There Yet · Mar 05, 2026

“we often went with especially like the ipad air and the macbook air i think that was kind of the two before the neo came out it was like should i get the ipad air and get the the the pencil and the keyboard and or should I just get a MacBook Air? Well, you just kind of said it. Now you can just get both. Get an entry level iPad, get the Apple Pencil, do not get the keyboard. There's your iPad for iPad things. If you want to do the work on there, you can do it. But if you need more and you need your …” “we often went with especially like the ipad air and the macbook air i think that was kind of the two before the neo came out it was like should i get the ipad air and get the the the pencil and the keyboard and or should I just get a MacBook Air? Well, you just kind of said it. Now you can just get both. Get an entry level iPad, get the Apple Pencil, do not get the keyboard. There's your iPad for iPad things. If you want to do the work on there, you can do it. But if you need more and you need your keyboard, you whip out your MacBook Neo. Does it suck to carry two things? No, but you can basically get those two things for a little bit more than a starting entry MacBook Air. That is absolutely insane to me. I mean, it's like a few hundred dollars more, but still, I mean, like what you're getting are two completely different devices that can fulfill …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's potential foldable devices could blur the lines between iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but the iPad may be left in an awkward middle ground.

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The MacRumors Show · 185: MacBook Neo Is Here — Should You Buy Apple’s $599 Laptop? · Mar 13, 2026

“… when we come to the discussion of ARM, which is this tiny British chip company that invented what we now know as the ARM processor that in every MacBook iPhone iPad Apple Watch every single thing in the world billions and billions and billions run this type of processor, very low power, very high speed. And John Scully, the much maligned John Scully CEO for 10 years, found this little company, his guys, and said, wow, this could be something. Let's invest in it. So he bought a big chunk of that company in the 90s. And then fast forward. Sorry. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. The yeah. The early 90s. And …” “It's in there. If you read along, especially when we come to the discussion of ARM, which is this tiny British chip company that invented what we now know as the ARM processor that in every MacBook iPhone iPad Apple Watch every single thing in the world billions and billions and billions run this type of processor, very low power, very high speed. And John Scully, the much maligned John Scully CEO for 10 years, found this little company, his guys, and said, wow, this could be something. Let's invest in it. So he bought a big chunk of that company in the 90s. And then fast forward. Sorry. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. The yeah. The early 90s. And then fast forward a few years, the investment had appreciated something like 8000 and was now worth $800 million at a time when Apple was almost broke. And without that money, Gil Emilio would never have been able to buy Next and bring Steve Jobs back. He literally sold that stock and used it to buy Steve Jobs and begin the second act of Apple. I get …” View more

Ridealong summary

In the early 90s, Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy when CEO John Scully made a pivotal investment in a small British chip company called ARM. This investment skyrocketed in value, ultimately providing the funds needed to buy NeXT and bring Steve Jobs back to the company, marking the beginning of Apple's resurgence. Without this strategic move, Apple might not have survived its darkest days.

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AppleInsider Podcast · MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e and special guest David Pogue on the AppleInsider Podcast · Mar 13, 2026

“… the case. One thing I really do hope and look forward to seeing is like, I hope Apple does rev this thing every year. I mean, this is the worst MacBook and EO will ever have, right? I hope so. If the A19 Pro And it's got more memory and maybe both USB ports or 3.0 speed, whatever. But I do think there's also an opportunity here to use color as a feature, right? If we think of the reason some of us love this computer, I think, is because it reminds us of things like that first iBook or the iPod Nano, which got new colors every year for like six or seven years. like I would love to see this …” “… interesting that it's even hackable in that kind of sense. Or my kid, my kid's laptop burned their skin because it got too hot down there. He's like, yeah, maybe not. Maybe it's good enough. That's not going to help your fleet sales to schools. if that's the case. One thing I really do hope and look forward to seeing is like, I hope Apple does rev this thing every year. I mean, this is the worst MacBook and EO will ever have, right? I hope so. If the A19 Pro And it's got more memory and maybe both USB ports or 3.0 speed, whatever. But I do think there's also an opportunity here to use color as a feature, right? If we think of the reason some of us love this computer, I think, is because it reminds us of things like that first iBook or the iPod Nano, which got new colors every year for like six or seven years. like I would love to see this thing come out with an updated processor and new colors a year from now. Not because this one isn't good. It's great. But Apple, I want Apple to be committed to this, just like we've seen with the iPhone 16E and 17E. Right. It's not like the old iPhone SE that just languished for years. It's like, well, when is when is there going to be another one? …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo is attracting first-time Mac customers, expanding Apple's market reach without cannibalizing existing product lines.

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MacBreak Weekly (Audio) · MBW 1017: We Found a Google, and Put it in - WWDC 2026 Dates Announced! · Mar 24, 2026

“… trying different things to see what worked. And he came back in the morning and had built him this system that ran this Frontier model on his MacBook. It's amazing the fact that, yeah, you can do this for relatively – I mean, brand prices are only going through the roof. But at least right now, at least on the Mac side, relatively inexpensively, you can do all this. And to your point, the fact that you're able to use the models themselves to create their own test cases and their own iterations and improve themselves, that's been the biggest thing, I think, of the last four or five months …” “him to do this project. On the one hand, it was Apple Silicon. On the one hand, it was this highly optimized model. And the third thing was Kapathi Loop. He just got called Code to run its own experiments, to create its own software, running experiments, trying different things to see what worked. And he came back in the morning and had built him this system that ran this Frontier model on his MacBook. It's amazing the fact that, yeah, you can do this for relatively – I mean, brand prices are only going through the roof. But at least right now, at least on the Mac side, relatively inexpensively, you can do all this. And to your point, the fact that you're able to use the models themselves to create their own test cases and their own iterations and improve themselves, that's been the biggest thing, I think, of the last four or five months that we've seen with the way that the AI models have improved so much is that the way that they're able to improve themselves and kind of do things more autonomously and get really good results has really, really improved. And yeah, the fact that he was able to get a model that size running on a MacBook is wild. and is incredibly impressive. And yeah, …” View more

Ridealong summary

A developer successfully ran a Frontier AI model on a MacBook, showcasing the impressive capabilities of Apple Silicon. This breakthrough highlights how Apple's hardware, with its high memory bandwidth and unified memory architecture, allows users to conduct complex AI experiments at relatively low costs. The ability of AI models to improve autonomously is transforming the landscape of artificial intelligence.

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Cult of Mac · Surprise! AirPods Max 2 just dropped? · Mar 19, 2026

“When Apple made repairs for MacBook Neo significantly less expensive with Apple Care Plus versus repairs for other Macs with Apple Care Plus, I really thought it was part of the company's play for the more budget-minded consumer. Make repairs cheaper, so they'll go ahead and sign up. Turns out MacBook Neo is actually significantly easier to repair than other Macs. Mac Rumors has written up a teardown by Australian YouTube repair channel Tech Renew. standard screws less glue zero …” “When Apple made repairs for MacBook Neo significantly less expensive with Apple Care Plus versus repairs for other Macs with Apple Care Plus, I really thought it was part of the company's play for the more budget-minded consumer. Make repairs cheaper, so they'll go ahead and sign up. Turns out MacBook Neo is actually significantly easier to repair than other Macs. Mac Rumors has written up a teardown by Australian YouTube repair channel Tech Renew. standard screws less glue zero tape according to the piece a first from macbooks in memory the piece says the two usbc ports speakers and the headphone jack are all modular so the individual components can be swapped without replacing larger assemblies and while tech renewed didn't entirely disassemble the neo the piece says we already knew that the keyboard could be pulled out …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's MacBook Neo is not only cheaper to repair but also significantly easier to fix than previous models. With modular components and a design that allows individual parts to be replaced, the Neo is a game-changer in repairability. Meanwhile, India's government is pushing for new manufacturing incentives, aiming to make the country a global electronics hub, aligning perfectly with Apple's strategy to reduce reliance on China.

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Mac OS Ken · MacBook Neo Repairability + IDC on RAMnarök = MOSK: 03.13.2026 · Mar 13, 2026

“to run LLMs locally. There was a very, very interesting take in here where he's talking about the Apple MacBook Neo launch, which is $599, I think $499 for education, potentially very disruptive to other laptop makers. You still get discounts, Tyler? or just I think I'm still a student. Oh yeah, you're still a student because you're on lead. That's great. There you go. There are some legendary leave of absences where people have been away for like 10 years and then they go and do so many See the goal is to defer for so long but then also have such a …” “to run LLMs locally. There was a very, very interesting take in here where he's talking about the Apple MacBook Neo launch, which is $599, I think $499 for education, potentially very disruptive to other laptop makers. You still get discounts, Tyler? or just I think I'm still a student. Oh yeah, you're still a student because you're on lead. That's great. There you go. There are some legendary leave of absences where people have been away for like 10 years and then they go and do so many See the goal is to defer for so long but then also have such a meteoric rise that they have to give you the honorary degree before while you still eligible That's a good one. Because they're like, oh, well, we got it. I think Mark Zuckerberg got an honorary degree from Harvard, but he was on delay for like a year. And I think they gave him the honorary degree a couple of years later. So, you know, that's the speed …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo, priced at $599, is poised to shake up the laptop market, especially for budget-conscious consumers who previously avoided Apple due to high prices. With its focus on content consumption, the device challenges traditional PC makers like Asus, who downplay its impact despite acknowledging its potential to attract new buyers. This shift reflects changing user needs, as many seek affordable devices for everyday use rather than high-powered machines.

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TBPN · AI vs. Dog Cancer, Oscars Reactions, How to Lose the AI Arms Race | Kevin Espiritu, Paul Conyngham, Tony Zhao, Drew Oetting, Carina Hong, Cameron Fink, Debra Birnbaum · Mar 16, 2026

“… who has to go to college like i don't think i am that's where that wait also one one more nilai life update did you actually decide to keep your macbook neo i confess i returned mine um we should just i should just say this out loud i took it back i attempted to give it to anna my wife um because i have a mac mini and a macbook air and i thus have no use for a macbook neo but i gave it to anna because she has like a kind of crummy samsung chromebook that is like it works fine for most things but every once in a while she needs proper excel basically and is like annoyed at using a chromebook so …” “… i'm just saying this is the news apple's turning 50 and i'm finally doing the imac project a lot of people said i wouldn't do it here i am is are these two things connected no it was really the like am i gonna am i gonna carry the 3200 box past my baby who has to go to college like i don't think i am that's where that wait also one one more nilai life update did you actually decide to keep your macbook neo i confess i returned mine um we should just i should just say this out loud i took it back i attempted to give it to anna my wife um because i have a mac mini and a macbook air and i thus have no use for a macbook neo but i gave it to anna because she has like a kind of crummy samsung chromebook that is like it works fine for most things but every once in a while she needs proper excel basically and is like annoyed at using a chromebook so i was like look here's here's the neo do you just want this and she basically looked at it and was like i i have no i have no use for this like she reminded me about when whenever you have tried to upgrade becky's kindle and she's just like what do you mean i already have a kindle it does the thing that was anna's response to me trying to give her …” View more

Ridealong summary

Nilay's attempt to give his MacBook Neo to his wife backfires when she shows no interest, leading him to return it instead. Meanwhile, he reflects on the upcoming teardown of his old iMac, which is both exciting and daunting. This segment captures the quirks of tech upgrades and the emotional rollercoaster of gadget ownership.

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The Vergecast · Meta's court losses could be just the beginning · Mar 27, 2026

“… doing some vertical stacking of dyes, which I didn't quite understand, but that's cool. I don't think we have to get into that here, but the but the MacBook Neo is the actual interesting new product line. Yeah. The, the top line on that is that it's a $600, um, uh, MacBook, small MacBook running, uh, an a 18 pro, which is last year's iPhone pro chip. Yeah. Um, like insane that we're at the point where a phone processor can now run a laptop, but I mean, we've been trying to people and try it for more than a decade. It just is kind of always sucked fair. Um,” “… of it, but there's only one actually new thing. I mean, they announced like M5 Pro laptops, but that's just iterative. I mean, there's some interesting stuff with the way they're designing their SoCs now for those, but I don't think we need, they're doing some vertical stacking of dyes, which I didn't quite understand, but that's cool. I don't think we have to get into that here, but the but the MacBook Neo is the actual interesting new product line. Yeah. The, the top line on that is that it's a $600, um, uh, MacBook, small MacBook running, uh, an a 18 pro, which is last year's iPhone pro chip. Yeah. Um, like insane that we're at the point where a phone processor can now run a laptop, but I mean, we've been trying to people and try it for more than a decade. It just is kind of always sucked fair. Um,” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo features a shocking price point of $600, powered by last year's iPhone Pro chip, the A18 Pro. This marks a significant evolution where a phone processor is now capable of running a laptop, challenging the notion of performance in portable devices. Such advancements raise questions about the future of computing and the merging of mobile and desktop technology.

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Brad & Will Made a Tech Pod. · 330: Our E-Cores Are Better Than Your P-Cores · Mar 15, 2026

“… is uh between these two chips and how and the relative sizes of the parts we also need to perform a correction from last week richard allen writes macbook pro storage upgrades didn't actually get any cheaper it only looks this way because the base storage was doubled across the lineup for the m5 or m5 pro this was accompanied by a 100 pound increase to the base models previously a 200 pound build to order in in effect this means that the price for storage is 100 pounds cheaper across all storage configs than the last gen but the gaps between storage tiers remains the same yeah i asked how uh he …” “… to get an idea of like what kind of stuff is in the chip even if this is not how it's arranged or how it's connected to each other this which is basically a repurposing of die shots of earlier m series chips gives you an idea of what the difference is uh between these two chips and how and the relative sizes of the parts we also need to perform a correction from last week richard allen writes macbook pro storage upgrades didn't actually get any cheaper it only looks this way because the base storage was doubled across the lineup for the m5 or m5 pro this was accompanied by a 100 pound increase to the base models previously a 200 pound build to order in in effect this means that the price for storage is 100 pounds cheaper across all storage configs than the last gen but the gaps between storage tiers remains the same yeah i asked how uh he was figuring this out because when i was trying to get this info for the review i made the mistake of missing the deadline to check apple's website for the upgrade prices like the they do the thing where the store goes down anyway i i couldn't go to apple.com and actually use the configurator for the old things so i did what i usually do which is go …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Pro storage prices seem cheaper, but that's misleading due to a base price increase. The base storage was doubled, leading to confusion over actual upgrade costs. This highlights how easily misinformation can spread in tech discussions.

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Accidental Tech Podcast · 682: Medium Core · Mar 12, 2026

“… out. And great headphones, but $550 is insane, in my opinion. Yeah, it's pricey for sure. Now, that being said, for the same price, you can get a MacBook Neo more or less, right? Mm-hmm. It's been how many weeks with a MacBook Neo? Has it been two already? Say it again? It's been two weeks with a MacBook Neo already? Yeah, a little over, I think. Okay. Has it been a month almost? Three weeks? Oh, it's been that way? Oh, okay. Yeah. That just shows you where I am. Time flies. Where I am in the stream of time. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, I wanted to talk about some brief thoughts on this. What are your …” “For sure. Especially with the M5. You've got to do neck exercises to keep that up. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So, yeah, we'll talk about the AirPods Max, too. I've got a video coming out. And great headphones, but $550 is insane, in my opinion. Yeah, it's pricey for sure. Now, that being said, for the same price, you can get a MacBook Neo more or less, right? Mm-hmm. It's been how many weeks with a MacBook Neo? Has it been two already? Say it again? It's been two weeks with a MacBook Neo already? Yeah, a little over, I think. Okay. Has it been a month almost? Three weeks? Oh, it's been that way? Oh, okay. Yeah. That just shows you where I am. Time flies. Where I am in the stream of time. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, I wanted to talk about some brief thoughts on this. What are your overall thoughts so far? Have you still been using this day to day? Are you going back to your MacBook Pro? What's your situation there? Yeah. No, I'm still using it every day. The perfect example for me, the way that I personally use it, I woke up really early one morning and I tend to wake up earlier than the rest of the family. And, you know, …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo's lack of a backlit keyboard is a major oversight, as it affects daily usability more than expected. Even in dim lighting, having illuminated keys is crucial for efficient work. This realization highlights how overlooked features can impact user experience significantly.

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9to5Mac Overtime · 9to5Mac Overtime 066: Every time I breathe there’s a new Claude update · Apr 08, 2026

“I'm going to lean Air still, but I think the MacBook Neo is going to surprise people and absolutely make an impact. And if we just jump over to the, so yeah, it's a great Apple. That is the smartest business decision Apple has arguably made from a product standpoint in, ooh, from a price and performance. I don't know. I don't know. It's hard. When was there a bargain or entry-level product that was this good? this might be the smartest business decision and actual quality product that Apple's …” “I'm going to lean Air still, but I think the MacBook Neo is going to surprise people and absolutely make an impact. And if we just jump over to the, so yeah, it's a great Apple. That is the smartest business decision Apple has arguably made from a product standpoint in, ooh, from a price and performance. I don't know. I don't know. It's hard. When was there a bargain or entry-level product that was this good? this might be the smartest business decision and actual quality product that Apple's made that I can remember in at least 20 years. I'm really trying to think hard and out loud right now. It might even be more than that. It's really that major of a shift in philosophy, but also bringing a true MacBook experience to that price. It's amazing. um let's touch upon really quickly the m5 macbook air the quintessential the foundational …” View more

Ridealong summary

The M5 MacBook Air is Apple’s smartest business move in decades, offering unmatched performance at an entry-level price. With increased base storage to 512GB and doubled SSD speed, it’s a powerhouse for everyday users, starting at just $1,099. This shift brings a true MacBook experience to more people than ever before.

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Apple Bitz XL w/ Brian Tong · MacBook Neo, M5 MacBook Air & M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro Reviews! Plus, New AirPods Max 2?! (Apple Bitz XL, Ep. 371) · Mar 19, 2026

“gone apple announced the macbook neo obviously and i have to know what was your reaction because i i messaged you right away i was in new york i had the price i i messaged you right away and i said 5.99 what was your reaction when you saw that i was surprised i really didn't think they going to go that cheap you were thinking like 799 at the lowest yeah around like with a number starting with seven for sure yeah um especially when in the days prior they made the macbook air …” “gone apple announced the macbook neo obviously and i have to know what was your reaction because i i messaged you right away i was in new york i had the price i i messaged you right away and i said 5.99 what was your reaction when you saw that i was surprised i really didn't think they going to go that cheap you were thinking like 799 at the lowest yeah around like with a number starting with seven for sure yeah um especially when in the days prior they made the macbook air more expensive at the base level right um because they gave it the higher storage but they took away the base Like the MacBook Air used to be Now it starts at what $1099, yeah. Yeah. So they were like making room for a $700, $799 laptop there to have like a differentiation from the Air. And then they're like, bang, $599. So yeah, I was surprised. I …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo launched at an unexpected starting price of $599, surprising many who anticipated a higher entry point. This strategic pricing aims to attract schools and everyday users, especially as the MacBook Air's base price increases. Despite some missing features like Touch ID, the MacBook Neo is set to become a popular choice, evidenced by its record launch week.

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9to5Mac Happy Hour · WWDC announced, iOS 27 Siri, AirPods Max 2 · Mar 26, 2026

“MacBook Neo got in just under the wire, I guess, right? Like that's part of the first 50 years. So now we, and the next 50 years starts without, see Roman, I can transition, without the Mac Pro, which has been around. So it's been around for 20 years under this name. It's really been around much longer than that because there was the Power Mac and the Power Macintosh. Like that type of machine has been around for a long time. and uh 2006 was when the …” “MacBook Neo got in just under the wire, I guess, right? Like that's part of the first 50 years. So now we, and the next 50 years starts without, see Roman, I can transition, without the Mac Pro, which has been around. So it's been around for 20 years under this name. It's really been around much longer than that because there was the Power Mac and the Power Macintosh. Like that type of machine has been around for a long time. and uh 2006 was when the mac pro made its debut it was um the first tower with the um with with an intel processor the pet the uh the uh the g5 jason did you test it no i was i was great what what year was that oh six 2006 2006 was the first mac pro the power mac g5 existed obviously but not Yeah I trying to think I don think I was at PC World yet I think I was still with …” View more

Ridealong summary

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro marks the end of an era for Apple's high-end computing machines, reflecting a shift towards more accessible and versatile technology.

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro marks the end of an era for Apple, reflecting its shift away from high-end, customizable machines towards more consumer-friendly products.

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Macworld Podcast · Episode 978: Requiem for the Mac Pro · Apr 08, 2026

“… M5 running a 30 billion parameter model capable of drafting legal briefs, debugging code, synthesizing research in under three seconds on a standard MacBook Pro. 18 gigabytes of memory, no internet, no subscription, no API key. The trick is an architectural advance called Mixture of Experts. The model carries 30 billion parameters, but fires only 3 billion per query. With 2.5 billion active devices prowling the planet, the journal P says Apple has already distributed its existing data center, one device at a time, into the pockets and onto the desks of a quarter of the world's connected population. …” “… Check your laptop, your desktop, and or your pocket. Edge AI is the answer. The journal piece sings the processing praises of last October M5 Apple Silicon with a neural accelerator in every GPU core The journal says Apple own benchmarks show the M5 running a 30 billion parameter model capable of drafting legal briefs, debugging code, synthesizing research in under three seconds on a standard MacBook Pro. 18 gigabytes of memory, no internet, no subscription, no API key. The trick is an architectural advance called Mixture of Experts. The model carries 30 billion parameters, but fires only 3 billion per query. With 2.5 billion active devices prowling the planet, the journal P says Apple has already distributed its existing data center, one device at a time, into the pockets and onto the desks of a quarter of the world's connected population. Again though, this seems to borrow heavily from Didier, who five days earlier posted Apple turned two billion devices into the data center. Every iPhone, Mac, iPad gets distributed AI at a scale no server farm can match, while its rivals burn cash, Apple, is doing the opposite. The thinking is our devices should be able to do a lot of what we want …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's strategic focus on edge AI and customer ownership positions it to lead in AI without massive infrastructure spending.

Apple's strategic focus on edge AI and customer ownership positions it to lead the AI revolution without the massive infrastructure spending of its rivals.

Apple's strategy of integrating AI capabilities directly into its devices positions it as a leader by leveraging its massive customer base rather than investing heavily in infrastructure.

Apple's strategic focus on edge AI and customer ownership positions it to lead in AI advancements without massive infrastructure spending.

Apple's strategic focus on edge AI and customer ownership positions it as a leader in the AI revolution, contrasting with rivals' heavy infrastructure spending.

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Mac OS Ken · MacBook Neo News and Two Stories or One on Apple and A.I. - MOSK: 03.16.2026 · Mar 16, 2026

“… a year. That's an insane amount of phones. And they sell around and it been pretty steady around 23 million Macs The vast majority of those are MacBooks right Yeah And that like its 10 to 1 ratio Right. If it's very, very possible that Apple will more than double their share of how many Macs they sell a year by being in this completely different price band, especially as everything else is getting a price hike. Everything in Windows laptop land is getting more expensive because of all the RAM shortages and chip shortages and everything. So if a year or two from now, Apple is selling 100 …” “… what's going to be exciting to watch with the NeoTrend is Apple sells, they don't give the numbers, but people do their analysis. And the best ones I could find, say Apple sells between 230 and 250 million iPhones a year. A quarter of a billion iPhones a year. That's an insane amount of phones. And they sell around and it been pretty steady around 23 million Macs The vast majority of those are MacBooks right Yeah And that like its 10 to 1 ratio Right. If it's very, very possible that Apple will more than double their share of how many Macs they sell a year by being in this completely different price band, especially as everything else is getting a price hike. Everything in Windows laptop land is getting more expensive because of all the RAM shortages and chip shortages and everything. So if a year or two from now, Apple is selling 100 million Macs a year because they're in this price band where most laptops are sold, most laptops are sold well under $1,000 in the world. that's going to really change how much emphasis the company puts on the Mac and Mac OS and everything else. We may all be the beneficiary of the MacBook Neo, even if we don't want one, just because it's going to make …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo could significantly increase Apple's Mac sales, forcing the company to prioritize Mac development and innovation.

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Macworld Podcast · Episode 975: Reviews of the M5 Max MacBook Pro and M5 MacBook Air · Mar 18, 2026

“… as much as my current 2019 27 inch 5K iMac. But alas, like all of us, it is getting old. There are some features of Tahoe, which I am running on my MacBook Pro that I like. And also the system is feeling slower and slower, although I keep convincing myself that it is just a desire to get the next new shiny ball. But I am starting to look at getting a Mac Mini, although I might just wait a little if there's an M5 Mini waiting in the wings. But that also means getting a monitor. Clearly, I want a 27-inch 5K monitor. Why would I go backwards? But which one? I am not willing to spend the money on the …” “Larry? Yeah, Larry has a great question. He says, hi, I'm in my 40 plus years of using Macs. There are none that I have enjoyed as much as my current 2019 27 inch 5K iMac. But alas, like all of us, it is getting old. There are some features of Tahoe, which I am running on my MacBook Pro that I like. And also the system is feeling slower and slower, although I keep convincing myself that it is just a desire to get the next new shiny ball. But I am starting to look at getting a Mac Mini, although I might just wait a little if there's an M5 Mini waiting in the wings. But that also means getting a monitor. Clearly, I want a 27-inch 5K monitor. Why would I go backwards? But which one? I am not willing to spend the money on the Apple monitor. LG appears to have discontinued theirs but there are now several on the market as far as i can find asus benq samsung vsonic ktc aoc and quite quick quick on quite sure not from the k-u-y-c-o-n uh does anybody have any experience that would push me towards or away from any of these any thoughts or advice is appreciated um i do have …” View more

Ridealong summary

The best 5K monitor for your Mac Mini is the refurbished LG UltraFine 5K, now priced at $799. This option provides incredible value compared to its original price and is ideal for those looking to upgrade without breaking the bank. With multiple brands available, this monitor stands out as a top choice for Mac users seeking quality and performance.

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Mac Geek Gab · Healthier Than Doomscrolling – Mac Geek Gab 1136 · Apr 06, 2026

“completely how about just to shake it up we instead go to iphone components such as the processor in the macbook neo because i love this story i have so many friends that are considering the macbook neo who either weren't mac users before or or they would be except the mac was so expensive for it so they were putting up with junk pcs really i mean i'm not like i will often knock pcs i'm not knocking there it's these ones the affordable cheap ones were junk budget pcs are actual garbage they actual trash okay i was trying to be fair there but uh no let not …” “completely how about just to shake it up we instead go to iphone components such as the processor in the macbook neo because i love this story i have so many friends that are considering the macbook neo who either weren't mac users before or or they would be except the mac was so expensive for it so they were putting up with junk pcs really i mean i'm not like i will often knock pcs i'm not knocking there it's these ones the affordable cheap ones were junk budget pcs are actual garbage they actual trash okay i was trying to be fair there but uh no let not that yeah no i I kind of had this challenge putting feelers out various places discords things of just show me anything that competes with the MacBook Neo and it is impossible without at least getting to $1,000 and even then their processor is junk. Someone presented this ZenBook something. Oh, yes. The MacBook Neo beats it in single core by …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's MacBook Neo is a surprise hit, so much so that they're running low on their stockpile of binned A18 Pro chips. These chips, originally deemed unfit for iPhones, are now powering a laptop that outperforms many competitors, making Apple rethink its chip production strategy. As demand skyrockets, the question remains: will Apple raise prices to sustain this success?

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AppleInsider Podcast · iPhone Fold, MacBook Neo, and iPhones in Space, on the AppleInsider Podcast · Apr 10, 2026

“… in order to move on. Okay. The analogy that's coming to mind, and I want to see if this clicks for you, Antoine, is I can – with GPT, I have a new MacBook I bought a year ago or something. And for some reason, something's happening with the power charger. I can just talk into my phone what's going on and it'll tell me the 15 steps to test it and where the local Apple store is and all that stuff. But obviously there's a million billion people with MacBooks and there's a million billion articles and videos about MacBooks. But this factory floor where we make these engines for John Deere, like this …” “… the knowledge that you have in your factories is so specific. It's so unique to who you are that everybody says the AI has all the knowledge in the world. That's not true. You need those Roberts. You need that knowledge to be kept and fill that gap in order to move on. Okay. The analogy that's coming to mind, and I want to see if this clicks for you, Antoine, is I can – with GPT, I have a new MacBook I bought a year ago or something. And for some reason, something's happening with the power charger. I can just talk into my phone what's going on and it'll tell me the 15 steps to test it and where the local Apple store is and all that stuff. But obviously there's a million billion people with MacBooks and there's a million billion articles and videos about MacBooks. But this factory floor where we make these engines for John Deere, like this is one of only two factories and there's no YouTube videos about this. There's no public anything. So like you had said, AI doesn't know everything. There are these corners and pockets where context has to be vacuumed out of the few humans that get it. And then I can ask the machine in the way that you had said, hey, I ran into this. This thing …” View more

Ridealong summary

AI can rapidly analyze factory knowledge to solve complex problems, but it requires specific contextual information from experienced workers. For instance, while troubleshooting a MacBook is easy due to abundant resources, resolving issues on a unique factory floor demands insights from veteran employees. This highlights the importance of capturing specialized knowledge to fully leverage AI's capabilities in manufacturing.

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The AI in Business Podcast · Solving the Expertise Gap with AI in Manufacturing - with Antoine Bisson of Poka · Apr 06, 2026

“… you know let's go in chronological i mean the two big products i want to talk about and i think that you have opinions on are the 17e iphone and the macbook neo there are new ipads ipad what air yeah new ipad air i actually forgot well that which Which is kind of the problem, right? Yeah, there's new iPads. And then the new regular Mac Pros, right? The Maxes and whatnot, which are screaming and seem like they're incredible machines. But the ones that I think are interesting outside of the norm are the E and the Neo, of course. Right. And I think that they are clearly, and I tried to write about it, …” “… it wasn't even at the beginning of the month. It's like it was on March 9th when I published my 17e review. so it wasn't even you know it was at second week of march already but it feels so long ago that i was writing about the 17d and i guess you know let's go in chronological i mean the two big products i want to talk about and i think that you have opinions on are the 17e iphone and the macbook neo there are new ipads ipad what air yeah new ipad air i actually forgot well that which Which is kind of the problem, right? Yeah, there's new iPads. And then the new regular Mac Pros, right? The Maxes and whatnot, which are screaming and seem like they're incredible machines. But the ones that I think are interesting outside of the norm are the E and the Neo, of course. Right. And I think that they are clearly, and I tried to write about it, but I feel like this is their theme for the show. And I feel like you are the perfect person, guest, to come and talk about it, to sort of see it. They are like sibling products. I mean, they could call. I love the name Neo, especially now that it's sort of sitting on my tongue for a couple of weeks after they've announced it. I think it's a great …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's discontinuation of the Mac Pro reflects a broader neglect of professional users in favor of consumer products, leaving high-end users with subpar options.

Apple's discontinuation of the Mac Pro highlights the company's past missteps and delays in transitioning to Apple Silicon, which could have been done years earlier for better performance.

Apple's decision to discontinue the Mac Pro highlights years of missteps and underperformance during the Intel era, suggesting a delayed transition to Apple Silicon that could have happened much earlier.

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The Talk Show With John Gruber · 444: ‘You’re Going to Have the Niggles’, With Christina Warren · Mar 29, 2026

“… with those displays back to the mac pro but uh it's done it's over but as we move on because there's always new stuff to talk about you know the macbook neo is the new neo it was like hello neo goodbye pro and we had this was really interesting because tim cook obviously put out a tweet talking about you know how the state of the mac and you know what the funny thing about it is i didn't include that tweet in here but essentially he said like this is the best mac for first time owners that has ever sold of course apple will not reveal the numbers because they don't but first time mac owners and …” “… a sign of kind of the without us a hundred percent knowing a little bit of a sign of the end of the mac pro the pro display xdr kind of goes away they lean to this new studio display they don't call it pro anymore right there's nothing really associated with those displays back to the mac pro but uh it's done it's over but as we move on because there's always new stuff to talk about you know the macbook neo is the new neo it was like hello neo goodbye pro and we had this was really interesting because tim cook obviously put out a tweet talking about you know how the state of the mac and you know what the funny thing about it is i didn't include that tweet in here but essentially he said like this is the best mac for first time owners that has ever sold of course apple will not reveal the numbers because they don't but first time mac owners and apple we know historically apple doesn't hype up stuff or say anything like that if it's actually not meaningful for example we never heard them say all-time sales for apple vision pro that was like they like were like hey we're doing it but they never they've never actually come out and bragged about vision pro tim cook throwing that little …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple is struggling to retain talent as employees are lured by higher compensation and innovative opportunities at AI companies like OpenAI.

The end of the Mac Pro signals a shift towards consumer-focused products, but the success of the MacBook Neo suggests Apple's strategy is resonating with new customers.

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro signals a shift towards newer products like the MacBook Neo, reflecting Apple's strategic evolution and focus on first-time buyers.

The discontinuation of the Mac Pro marks a shift towards newer, more popular products like the MacBook Neo, reflecting Apple's strategy to cater to first-time buyers.

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Apple Bitz XL w/ Brian Tong · The Mac Pro Is Dead & WWDC26 Is Official So What Does Apple Need To Do ? (Apple Bitz XL, Ep. 372) · Mar 28, 2026

“Normally on a MacBook, the battery is a full two-thirds of the internal space. There's a little thin strip of computer around the function keys in the top row of the keyboard. if you were to imagine that. And then the rest of the computer, the other two-thirds, is entirely battery. It's much smaller inside here. There's a motherboard along the top, and the battery is 50% of the interior. And then the bottom area is a big empty space for the speaker on the left and …” “Normally on a MacBook, the battery is a full two-thirds of the internal space. There's a little thin strip of computer around the function keys in the top row of the keyboard. if you were to imagine that. And then the rest of the computer, the other two-thirds, is entirely battery. It's much smaller inside here. There's a motherboard along the top, and the battery is 50% of the interior. And then the bottom area is a big empty space for the speaker on the left and right, and then a big empty space underneath the trackpad. Well, the empty space is functional for a speaker, isn't it? Because isn't that what a traditional speaker does? It's kind of like the iPad Pro, where it's presumably a cheaper speaker, and they can sort of make up for that by giving it like a big sound chamber on each side. So it has a …” View more

Ridealong summary

The new MacBook's speakers outperform expectations, with surprising sound quality despite their unique placement. Additionally, its blazing-fast performance challenges the notion that affordable laptops can't deliver high-end capabilities, outperforming even the impressive M1 MacBook Air. This shift shows how far Apple has come in making powerful machines accessible to everyday users.

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Cult of Mac · Hands-on with the Studio Display XDR, MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e · Mar 12, 2026

“Thank you very much, Rich. Listen, I've got an iPhone and a MacBook Air. And I took the MacBook Air into the Apple store, and they identified some problems that they told me that they needed to do a hard reset on the computer to get everything back to functioning. Sure. And that was successful. But what they failed to tell me is that all my music, several thousand songs on the hard drive of the phone, were now deleted and could not be replaced because I didn't purchase them from Apple. Now, I still have the …” “Thank you very much, Rich. Listen, I've got an iPhone and a MacBook Air. And I took the MacBook Air into the Apple store, and they identified some problems that they told me that they needed to do a hard reset on the computer to get everything back to functioning. Sure. And that was successful. But what they failed to tell me is that all my music, several thousand songs on the hard drive of the phone, were now deleted and could not be replaced because I didn't purchase them from Apple. Now, I still have the music on my iPhone, but I no longer have a backup or a way to sync the two because they tell me that the music on the phone cannot be transferred back onto the computer because I didn't pay for it through Apple. Well, okay. Officially, that's the case, right? Because it's music that is on your phone. So you basically need a third-party app to do this. …” View more

Ridealong summary

If you think your music is safe on your iPhone, think again! After a hard reset on my MacBook Air, I discovered that thousands of songs could no longer sync back from my iPhone because they weren't purchased through Apple. To recover them, I had to turn to third-party apps like iMazing, but this highlights a major flaw in Apple's syncing system.

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Rich On Tech · Best ways to back up your digital life, ChatGPT comes to your car & Samsung adds blood pressure tracking (Episode 168, April 4, 2026) · Apr 04, 2026

“… recently, and now some initial reviews are out. Now that we're recording, they announced the iPhone 17e, the iPad Air with M4, m5 pro and max macbook pro the studio display and studio display xdr and the macbook neo so a ton of devices all came out i did buy a couple uh did anything attempt you from these announcements david not really i it's just you know they're just not really in my wheelhouse i you know i know a lot of my nerd friends are buying neos as experiments but uh i number one i guess i'm too cheap but i i don't need it and i i don't think i could add anything to the conversation …” “I do have some more powerful automations we're going to talk about with Finder and Hazel and some other things and shortcuts in a bit. But Apple had some huge announcements recently, and now some initial reviews are out. Now that we're recording, they announced the iPhone 17e, the iPad Air with M4, m5 pro and max macbook pro the studio display and studio display xdr and the macbook neo so a ton of devices all came out i did buy a couple uh did anything attempt you from these announcements david not really i it's just you know they're just not really in my wheelhouse i you know i know a lot of my nerd friends are buying neos as experiments but uh i number one i guess i'm too cheap but i i don't need it and i i don't think i could add anything to the conversation that isn't going to get added anyway but the uh but i do think the neo is the big announcement we talked about it a little bit after sean it was really actually the day before that neo got released so um what are your general thoughts on the neo so i i got one to experiment and as we record it's arriving tomorrow but all the videos that I've been …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo is surprisingly powerful for its price, running demanding software like Final Cut and DaVinci Resolve efficiently. With an entry-level price of $500, it's perfect for students and enthusiasts looking to step into video editing without breaking the bank. This marks a significant shift for Apple, making high-performance computing accessible to a broader audience.

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Mac Power Users · 840: Finder is More Powerful Than You Think · Mar 15, 2026

“… end to end uh was we had these scripts. I think maybe even using Selenium or Selenium, just like QuickStream. But they're running on originally a MacBook that was in a server closet, or I guess not even a server closet, really a janitorial closet at the office. It was running on that laptop until the battery became what a friend calls a spicy pillow, started to expand. We had to trash out a laptop replace it with a mac mini um but yeah like that testing method you know is is obviously pretty inconvenient um you can only run uh like maybe one the suite of tests maybe every 15 minutes or so maybe …” “… as as it usually runs i guess oh yeah yeah right yeah totally and i guess this sort of maybe even goes into uh you know your guys's um the company you guys work at but yeah no it was very horrible uh the way to test it the only way to test things from end to end uh was we had these scripts. I think maybe even using Selenium or Selenium, just like QuickStream. But they're running on originally a MacBook that was in a server closet, or I guess not even a server closet, really a janitorial closet at the office. It was running on that laptop until the battery became what a friend calls a spicy pillow, started to expand. We had to trash out a laptop replace it with a mac mini um but yeah like that testing method you know is is obviously pretty inconvenient um you can only run uh like maybe one the suite of tests maybe every 15 minutes or so maybe even longer um so it's just running in the background and posting updates to slack definitely super inconvenient yeah that's fun browser tests are known for being like flaky and hard to maintain, but not for like battery exploding issues. Yeah. But yeah, maybe that's that as well. I imagine it also had that sticky note on top that said, don't close …” View more

Ridealong summary

Testing UIs can be a nightmare, especially when your testing laptop is in a janitor's closet and starts to explode. Jonathan Chan shares the hilarious and inconvenient reality of stress-testing Figma's React UI on a MacBook that became a 'spicy pillow.' This chaotic setup led to the creation of FuzzMap, a solution to automate and simplify UI testing.

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The BugBash Podcast · The Dollar Bet that Fuzzed Figma: Exploding Laptops and UI Reliability with Jonathan Chan · Mar 25, 2026

“… there's seven here yeah i'll just go through the seven just real quick ipad air got the m4 chip iphone 17e studio display studio display xdr m5 macbook air m5 pro and m5 max macbook pros yeah and macbook neo yeah now when you say rank them are we ranking them based on how good of an update they are are we ranking them based on just how good they are period i would just say like excitement of the launch excitement of the launch yeah okay i can do that like people being stoked for this product to come out and exist oh i can do that right now or even you being stoked for this product oh that's …” “… reviews online everywhere. we put a couple out we're still working on a couple but i think that we're going to go through all seven of them and we're going to rank them from best to worst so i had a question about that yeah when you say rank them because there's seven here yeah i'll just go through the seven just real quick ipad air got the m4 chip iphone 17e studio display studio display xdr m5 macbook air m5 pro and m5 max macbook pros yeah and macbook neo yeah now when you say rank them are we ranking them based on how good of an update they are are we ranking them based on just how good they are period i would just say like excitement of the launch excitement of the launch yeah okay i can do that like people being stoked for this product to come out and exist oh i can do that right now or even you being stoked for this product oh that's different people i care more about your i care more about your thoughts i think marquez's number one is probably i'm gonna guess the studio display xdr i'm interested to hear what marquez is 17e my personal i can do both i can do both my excited air m4 and i've seen a lot of commentary online on these so i can do both my excitement level and the …” View more

Ridealong summary

The studio display XDR takes the top spot in excitement for Apple's latest devices, surpassing even the new MacBook Neo. This is due to its impressive specs and affordability compared to its predecessor, making it a highly anticipated upgrade. The discussion dives into public excitement levels, revealing the MacBook Neo as a close contender, but ultimately, it's the studio display that steals the spotlight.

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Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast · The Apple Release Tier List · Mar 13, 2026

“They had the MacBook Neo next to a $600, like, Windows machine. And, dude, the difference in just, like, the look. The look of the laptops, one was made of, like, that black plastic that IBM ThinkPads were made out of. It was creaky. It looked like the panel was, like, was going to, like, fall apart. And then you have the MacBook Neo, which looks like any other high-quality Mac. You know, like, if you took somebody who didn't know what they each were, it's kind of …” “They had the MacBook Neo next to a $600, like, Windows machine. And, dude, the difference in just, like, the look. The look of the laptops, one was made of, like, that black plastic that IBM ThinkPads were made out of. It was creaky. It looked like the panel was, like, was going to, like, fall apart. And then you have the MacBook Neo, which looks like any other high-quality Mac. You know, like, if you took somebody who didn't know what they each were, it's kind of like the iPad situation. Like you don't really know, oh, this is a $600 laptop and this one's a $2,500 laptop. They look and feel the same, you know. And that's, I think, what the superpower is. It's just like how much value you're getting at the price point and then the new standard that Apple's setting at $600.” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo outshines a $600 Windows laptop in both aesthetics and build quality, setting a new benchmark for budget devices. While the Windows machine feels cheap and creaky, the MacBook Neo maintains a sleek, high-quality design that could easily be mistaken for a premium product. This comparison highlights the immense value Apple brings to the table at an affordable price point.

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9to5Mac Overtime · 9to5Mac Overtime 063: The new standard · Mar 17, 2026

“… virtual display plus other windows and it's great because i can have a i can have a i can have an xdr display in front of my face you can have your macbook neo as an xdr display i have not tried that yet i'm curious actually if i could do that i mean i would not be able to it's got it's got an a18 pro which is It's essentially an M4. Well, let me try it. I'm curious. But it can what? What can it do? I don't know. I don't know. Do the ultra-wide? I don't know if the MacBook Neo can do the virtual ultra-wide display. I don't know. I don't know. Let me know. Test for next time. Let me do that right …” “… really really good it just looks like my face yeah did uh do you still like just read and research on it i use it as so i started out before the mac virtual display was good having like windows open and right but now i use it most frequently as mac virtual display plus other windows and it's great because i can have a i can have a i can have an xdr display in front of my face you can have your macbook neo as an xdr display i have not tried that yet i'm curious actually if i could do that i mean i would not be able to it's got it's got an a18 pro which is It's essentially an M4. Well, let me try it. I'm curious. But it can what? What can it do? I don't know. I don't know. Do the ultra-wide? I don't know if the MacBook Neo can do the virtual ultra-wide display. I don't know. I don't know. Let me know. Test for next time. Let me do that right now. Oh, yeah, go ahead. All right, last couple of things. I have a Samsung Galaxy S26, which we'll just talk about a little later. But Clay was very nice. Sent me a long screen recording of how he customizes and how he uses his Galaxy S26. And there were a lot of things I was not aware of, as you can imagine. So appreciated that. I'm, I'm keeping …” View more

Ridealong summary

Rumors swirl that Apple is distributing MacBook Neos through a mysterious 'Creator Access Program,' but there's no evidence to support this claim. One Instagram creator's assertion has raised eyebrows, leading to questions about media literacy and the validity of such statements. Without confirmation from Apple or other creators, this speculation remains unverified and intriguing.

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Primary Technology · Is Apple Giving Away MacBook Neos? iOS 26.4 Features, AI Generated Dead Actors is Too Far · Mar 19, 2026

“… successful. But you could also kind of see the influence of Johnny Ive leaving and the sort of new design language of Apple products I think the MacBook Pro is a really good example of the design language at Apple changing Going from being super thin and sleek too thin for its own good in thermal throttling and keyboard issues because of the butterflies, which is all this stuff, and now being like thicker, having real ports, being super powerful, and Apple Silicon coming up and being super important. So a lot of good stuff happened under Tim Cook, But now I think it's it's even more exciting …” “… all what do i say about a mouse yeah and the word he came up with was ergonomics nothing against tim cook possible thing yeah like that's that's not it like it was kind of a meme but so nothing against Tim Cook. He has his leadership style, it was very successful. But you could also kind of see the influence of Johnny Ive leaving and the sort of new design language of Apple products I think the MacBook Pro is a really good example of the design language at Apple changing Going from being super thin and sleek too thin for its own good in thermal throttling and keyboard issues because of the butterflies, which is all this stuff, and now being like thicker, having real ports, being super powerful, and Apple Silicon coming up and being super important. So a lot of good stuff happened under Tim Cook, But now I think it's it's even more exciting for product focus. For sure.” View more

Ridealong summary

Tim Cook's resignation was anticipated despite his recent denials, and his legacy at Apple is considered highly successful.

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Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast · Tim Cooked and Now it's John's Ternus! · Apr 24, 2026

“… has been time for a few years. And this is going to be a breath of fresh air. And I will be very excited to see the change of direction. And if the MacBook Neo is anything to go by, I am really excited for the future. Yep, me too. And we would love to hear from you, of course. So let us know in the comments down below. all the other usual aspects social media podcast at macrumors.com the email address and yeah let us know what you think about this huge breaking news and we will catch everybody in the next episode” “… grown the company into something way bigger than Steve Jobs ever did and probably would have. So that is a very good achievement. But I think that Tim Cook is, I think that his time is clearly over. Yeah, it's time. And it's time to move on. And it has been time for a few years. And this is going to be a breath of fresh air. And I will be very excited to see the change of direction. And if the MacBook Neo is anything to go by, I am really excited for the future. Yep, me too. And we would love to hear from you, of course. So let us know in the comments down below. all the other usual aspects social media podcast at macrumors.com the email address and yeah let us know what you think about this huge breaking news and we will catch everybody in the next episode” View more

Ridealong summary

Tim Cook's resignation is timely, and John Ternus's leadership will bring a much-needed breath of fresh air to Apple.

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The MacRumors Show · 191: Tim Cook Is Out as Apple CEO · Apr 24, 2026

“… You made a face when I said 13 inches. What's your problem with 13 inches? Well, I didn't realize that I had recycled this, but I had a 12-inch MacBook, which was one of my very favorite computers. In fact, hilariously brought up Dieter. I bought it from Dieter. And I... He really screwed you on that one. He did. In a very Minnesota way, at one point, I was like, do I remember to pay you for this? And he was like, of course you did. And I don't know if that's true or not. So maybe I paid him for it. Maybe I did. But it was like very Minnesota, like, yeah, you're fine. Don't worry about it. I …” “… what that computer would look like now. It would look like Microsoft declaring war on its PC partners and never doing it. This is the problem. Right. They're always in between the big parts of the market with the Surface. Right. Yeah, that's very true. You made a face when I said 13 inches. What's your problem with 13 inches? Well, I didn't realize that I had recycled this, but I had a 12-inch MacBook, which was one of my very favorite computers. In fact, hilariously brought up Dieter. I bought it from Dieter. And I... He really screwed you on that one. He did. In a very Minnesota way, at one point, I was like, do I remember to pay you for this? And he was like, of course you did. And I don't know if that's true or not. So maybe I paid him for it. Maybe I did. But it was like very Minnesota, like, yeah, you're fine. Don't worry about it. I just wanted this thing out of my hands. It was ages ago. And I love that computer. I think I finally recycled it. But that computer was the perfect size And when the Neo was announced I was really sad they hadn gone one tick smaller And now that I have it and we had this conversation I completely understand why they didn They made the most …” View more

Ridealong summary

Microsoft's Surface Go struggles with its 10-inch size, while Apple nails it with a 13-inch design. The right size can make or break a laptop's usability and appeal, as evidenced by the differences between these two giants. Ultimately, Apple's focus on mainstream sizes gives it an edge in the competitive laptop market.

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The Vergecast · The MacBook Neo is a winner · Mar 13, 2026

“… things like you know various electron apps and things like that so like apple does care a lot No one else does Yes the 8 gig RAM constraint in the MacBook Neo keeps macOS lean but macOS wasn your problem Your problem is everyone else, and they're going to do whatever they're going to do. And the best thing macOS can do is have really good swap and virtual memory support. And it does. MacOS can use a lot of memory, especially when things run away. But the real question is, and this was the question when the Neo came out when we were discussing it. if you're going to roll out a brand new computer …” “… use all the ram in the world should we maybe put a second of effort into not duplicating this thing over here nope nope no one thinks that way at all no one pays attention not a single software developer ever cares about that kind of stuff when making things like you know various electron apps and things like that so like apple does care a lot No one else does Yes the 8 gig RAM constraint in the MacBook Neo keeps macOS lean but macOS wasn your problem Your problem is everyone else, and they're going to do whatever they're going to do. And the best thing macOS can do is have really good swap and virtual memory support. And it does. MacOS can use a lot of memory, especially when things run away. But the real question is, and this was the question when the Neo came out when we were discussing it. if you're going to roll out a brand new computer in 2026 with eight gigs of ram how long will mac os run on that computer because that's the question like i don't think their apple will feel constrained to keep mac os lean because they needed to run on the neo i think they'll decide based on wherever mac os is going how long the neo will be supported and i'm sure it'll be supported for years …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo's 8GB RAM may soon limit its software support, raising questions about its longevity. As macOS evolves, the Neo risks being the first Mac to fall off the update list, especially compared to its contemporaries with more RAM. This could leave users stuck with outdated software while others thrive.

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Accidental Tech Podcast · 684: It’s Not What Young People Do · Mar 26, 2026

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo, priced at just $599, combines the power of an iPhone chip with Mac OS, making it a compelling option for travelers. With impressive features like Touch ID and dual side-firing speakers, it promises a great user experience and long battery life. This could redefine what we expect from budget laptops.

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Diggnation (Rebooted) · Hard Truths: Layoffs, Bots, and What's Next for Digg · Mar 18, 2026

“… just been hanging on to for the apple tv update um i'm not sure they've got another scope to do it on on the map and to you know leftovers for the macbook neo they might mention something to do with some of the earnings call because it is like direct financials and the macbook is their new their new favorite but again it's like secondary to iphone sales right so they can kind of mask it i kind of right now would think that what colpin suggested is that they might have to restart a18 production but then it would have to be like a more expensive configuration of the macbook neo so like maybe it …” “… crossed 2000 days old so they do have some other products i guess they could shove shovel chips that i really care about into but i mean the last we heard about the apple tv is it runs on a7 pro so i think they've already got leftover chips they've just been hanging on to for the apple tv update um i'm not sure they've got another scope to do it on on the map and to you know leftovers for the macbook neo they might mention something to do with some of the earnings call because it is like direct financials and the macbook is their new their new favorite but again it's like secondary to iphone sales right so they can kind of mask it i kind of right now would think that what colpin suggested is that they might have to restart a18 production but then it would have to be like a more expensive configuration of the macbook neo so like maybe it would only be in the 699 config rather than the 599 config so they discontinue the 599 configuration yeah like that one would fall off the bottom in the interim at least yeah until next year or they'd like do it as like a special edition right they could do it in a new color or something yeah but i think i think that's trivializes how easy it is for …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's supply chain issues with memory and chips are causing significant production challenges, potentially impacting their sales strategy and product availability.

Apple's MacBook Neo faces supply challenges due to limited A18 Pro chip availability, impacting production and potential sales growth.

Apple's production delays are partly due to a RAM shortage and partly due to strategic decisions about product launches, not just supply chain issues.

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9to5Mac Happy Hour · iPhone Fold visualized, HomeKit Adaptive Temperature, MacBook Neo shortages · Apr 09, 2026

“and then a year later the headphone jack was gone from every phone in the world Apple kept setting the standard even with the 2015 MacBook the single USB-C port back when USB-C wasn't normal for most people and only one how do I charge it and use a dongle how does that work? exactly it sounds like Apple's been doing that for years they have they'll promote some jack you know, SCSI or DisplayPort. And then, or remember the series of laptops where the power adapter connector would change with every new model? Yeah. That's really ridiculous. But I was just remembering, you know, the …” “and then a year later the headphone jack was gone from every phone in the world Apple kept setting the standard even with the 2015 MacBook the single USB-C port back when USB-C wasn't normal for most people and only one how do I charge it and use a dongle how does that work? exactly it sounds like Apple's been doing that for years they have they'll promote some jack you know, SCSI or DisplayPort. And then, or remember the series of laptops where the power adapter connector would change with every new model? Yeah. That's really ridiculous. But I was just remembering, you know, the iMac, I did not know this until I interviewed John Rubenstein, was originally meant to be an NC, a network computer. This was all the rage in the late 90s that now there was the internet, you wouldn't need a hard drive. You wouldn't need software on your machine. Everything would live on the internet, just like Google Docs now or Google Drive. So …” View more

Ridealong summary

The original iMac was designed as a network computer with no hard drive or CD drive, reflecting the internet's early promise. However, a heated debate between John Rubenstein and Steve Jobs led to the inclusion of essential hardware, transforming it into a real computer. This pivotal change not only saved the iMac but also set the stage for its iconic status in tech history.

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9to5Mac Overtime · 9to5Mac Overtime 065: Untelling parts of the story w/ special guest David Pogue · Mar 27, 2026

“… life my Power Mac 9600 350 which is a long time ago That was an amazing computer but yeah that was the last time you were in that market Yeah I been MacBook as my desktop I think ever since And you were obviously different, but I remember, but I'm excited by Power Macs and Mac Pro hardware. Just knew that they weren't really for me. And I remember being excited about the Trashcan Mac Pro. I was like, wow, that's a cool idea. Yeah, it was. I was excited about it, too. They tried something new. Yeah, and I guess the argument is if you don't occasionally have a dud of an idea, hopefully not like a …” “I don't know about you. And I was already not in the market. I haven't bought a Pro Mac desktop since... I think I only ever bought one in my life my Power Mac 9600 350 which is a long time ago That was an amazing computer but yeah that was the last time you were in that market Yeah I been MacBook as my desktop I think ever since And you were obviously different, but I remember, but I'm excited by Power Macs and Mac Pro hardware. Just knew that they weren't really for me. And I remember being excited about the Trashcan Mac Pro. I was like, wow, that's a cool idea. Yeah, it was. I was excited about it, too. They tried something new. Yeah, and I guess the argument is if you don't occasionally have a dud of an idea, hopefully not like a severe dud, but like, let's backtrack. And, you know, there was only one fat Nano, right? It's like, well, all right, let's backtrack and go back to the other. One buttonless shuffle. Let's, all right, forget about the one. Yeah, but didn't they try to say it had no buttons? I forget. Yeah, no, I said they did the one buttonless shuffle. Oh, okay, …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's current approach under Tim Cook lacks the exciting, rebellious spirit that defined the company during Steve Jobs' era. While the company remains incredibly successful, there's a sense that they're playing it safe rather than taking bold risks, as seen in their product launches and development timelines. This shift raises questions about the future of innovation at Apple and whether they can recapture the creative spark that once made them a trailblazer in tech.

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The Talk Show With John Gruber · 445: ‘Apple at 50’, With John Siracusa · Apr 01, 2026

“… I sort of go back and forth, like the pros and cons of each. This was before iPadOS 26 with the freeform multi-windowing. And it was also before the MacBook Neo, which is much cheaper. So both of the two biggest points, you know, the Mac is better at multitasking and the iPad is cheaper are no longer true. But there are still a number of limitations on iPadOS. For example, iPadOS can still only play one thing at a time. They can now do like big tasks in the background. But like files and QuickLook are much more basic compared to their Mac counterpoints of Finder, Preview and Disk Utility. iPad apps …” “… it really better to use a Mac than an iPad? I wrote an article on this, on Cult of Mac, which is now, of course, a few years old. A lot of things have changed since then. I wrote an article comparing, you know, should you buy an iPad or a Mac? And I sort of go back and forth, like the pros and cons of each. This was before iPadOS 26 with the freeform multi-windowing. And it was also before the MacBook Neo, which is much cheaper. So both of the two biggest points, you know, the Mac is better at multitasking and the iPad is cheaper are no longer true. But there are still a number of limitations on iPadOS. For example, iPadOS can still only play one thing at a time. They can now do like big tasks in the background. But like files and QuickLook are much more basic compared to their Mac counterpoints of Finder, Preview and Disk Utility. iPad apps are sandbox, so you can't have system-wide utilities like backup tools, clipboard managers, context-aware, note-taking and to-do apps, app launchers or keyboard macros. You can't compile open source software yourself. You can't virtualize Windows on an iPad or macOS for that matter. So those are the big things that I meant when I said macOS is …” View more

Ridealong summary

Many users prefer the iPad for its simplicity and durability, even after years of using laptops. One user shared how their wife transitioned from a stack of broken laptops to solely using an iPad, highlighting its resilience and ease of use. This raises the question: Is the iPad really a better choice for everyday tasks compared to a Mac?

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Cult of Mac · What the new Siri will actually do · Mar 26, 2026

“… way. It is really lovely. And the way the animations work are really nice. And it is technically very impressive in the way that like the 12 inch MacBook was really thin. Right. And it turns out that has very little to do with the actual experience of living with these products. I can take it further, too, because the 12-inch – look, the butterfly keyboard, for people who don't remember, I would suppress that memory if I could. It's for the best. It is that they designed this super low-travel keyboard for this super small laptop that they made, the Retina MacBook, which was underpowered and it …” “… butterfly keyboard comparison is that it does feel like the same thing is happening right now in which a group of people has decided that some pursuit of aesthetic perfection is what matters. Like liquid glass is beautiful in a very certain specific way. It is really lovely. And the way the animations work are really nice. And it is technically very impressive in the way that like the 12 inch MacBook was really thin. Right. And it turns out that has very little to do with the actual experience of living with these products. I can take it further, too, because the 12-inch – look, the butterfly keyboard, for people who don't remember, I would suppress that memory if I could. It's for the best. It is that they designed this super low-travel keyboard for this super small laptop that they made, the Retina MacBook, which was underpowered and it never really went anywhere. They're trying to replace the MacBook Air. It didn't really work. And it was one of their failures of the 2010s. but the big mistake with that butterfly keyboard is once they designed it to fit in this teeny tiny laptop they're like great we made a new keyboard let's put it everywhere let's shove it in every product even …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's recent software design choices echo the infamous butterfly keyboard disaster, revealing a troubling disconnect between aesthetics and usability. After Steve Jobs' death, the company prioritized visual appeal over practical functionality, leading to products that look great but frustrate users. This trend raises concerns about whether Apple can regain its focus on user experience in a competitive tech landscape.

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The Vergecast · Apple at 50: the good and the bad · Mar 31, 2026

“… things get wider, the menus change. So, yeah, I think Jason's probably right about that. Yeah, I'd worry about it. But you're right, especially with MacBook Neo, macOS needs some love. They're going to get – I think there's a very good chance that a year from now there's twice as many Mac users as there are now. No doubt. Yeah because everybody wants a laptop So yeah I mean Tim Cook said like this was our biggest our biggest biggest Mac launch for non users which I don know how they measure that so quickly After a week, that is meaningless marketing fluff. But it's still notable in the sense that …” “… for the touch. So I feel like be careful what you wish for when you ask to change macOS a lot because it might go the wrong direction. You can kind of get a glimpse of that with iPadOS 26. There's kind of some of that in there where if you hover, things get wider, the menus change. So, yeah, I think Jason's probably right about that. Yeah, I'd worry about it. But you're right, especially with MacBook Neo, macOS needs some love. They're going to get – I think there's a very good chance that a year from now there's twice as many Mac users as there are now. No doubt. Yeah because everybody wants a laptop So yeah I mean Tim Cook said like this was our biggest our biggest biggest Mac launch for non users which I don know how they measure that so quickly After a week, that is meaningless marketing fluff. But it's still notable in the sense that it's immediately attracting people who aren't previous Mac users. Yeah. I've been watching college baseball with my son and like every single ad break has a Mac Neo commercial. Oh, really? They're targeting the audiences that we thought they would. Yep. So that's going to be the ads for that are going to be huge. Come like supply will have rebounded …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's upcoming macOS update may sacrifice information density for touchscreen compatibility, causing potential frustration among users. As the tech giant prepares to launch touchscreen Macs, the interface might shift to accommodate wider touch targets, leading to a less compact design. This change could attract new users but also risk alienating current Mac enthusiasts who prefer the existing layout.

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Macworld Podcast · Episode 976: WWDC26 news, Apple TV rumors, and more · Mar 25, 2026

“… I guess, and that fan was just always on no matter what you were doing. and it was loud it was like an airplane taking off going from that to the m1 macbook air be like oh this is just so much better it just feels like going from a spinning hard drive to an ssd for the first time to a solid state drive for the first time so if this is 47 faster than that macbook air the m1 macbook air then i don't think i would feel like oh this is even compared to like the what i'm using which is the m4 macbook air 60 slower you know and and then the multi-core stuff you You know, that's when, yeah, 4% faster than …” “They moved to 16 inches, but it just had a terrible time with thermals, I guess, and that fan was just always on no matter what you were doing. and it was loud it was like an airplane taking off going from that to the m1 macbook air be like oh this is just so much better it just feels like going from a spinning hard drive to an ssd for the first time to a solid state drive for the first time so if this is 47 faster than that macbook air the m1 macbook air then i don't think i would feel like oh this is even compared to like the what i'm using which is the m4 macbook air 60 slower you know and and then the multi-core stuff you You know, that's when, yeah, 4% faster than the M1 MacBook Air Virtual Ti, 10% slower than the M2. For the M4 that I'm using, 41% slower. I don't have a, I don't think a lot of what I, I think so much of what I do is the web. Yep. In single core, that there's just not a lot of tasks that aren't, I'm doing this thing this one time right now. Or like I'm doing this thing for a few minutes …” View more

Ridealong summary

If your MacBook feels sluggish, it might not be the RAM but rather a rogue website causing the slowdown. Despite having 16GB of RAM, a single bad actor can spike CPU usage and bog down performance. Using Activity Monitor can help identify and resolve these issues quickly.

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9to5Mac Happy Hour · MacBook Neo review, Apple leadership changes, iPhone Fold rumors · Mar 12, 2026

“… to that and then triage from there what they should do. Yeah, do you need to upgrade? Yeah, or something like that. So, you know, if you're using a MacBook Air and you're like, oh, I spent too much on this laptop, take a look at this one. You know, maybe the MacBook Air might be too much for what you need. If you're using a MacBook Pro, you're probably not going to want this laptop. But maybe you will because you want to use it in a certain situation. Like, for instance, I want one because, and I wrote about this, I use, when I travel, I bring a really old MacBook with me. So if I lose it or it …” “… the top of the list. I'll ask more questions about what they do. Sure, right. But, you know, usually when people ask me, I parse that information. I parse the Macs in my head more. But I think this is going to be a go-to from now on. Immediately go to that and then triage from there what they should do. Yeah, do you need to upgrade? Yeah, or something like that. So, you know, if you're using a MacBook Air and you're like, oh, I spent too much on this laptop, take a look at this one. You know, maybe the MacBook Air might be too much for what you need. If you're using a MacBook Pro, you're probably not going to want this laptop. But maybe you will because you want to use it in a certain situation. Like, for instance, I want one because, and I wrote about this, I use, when I travel, I bring a really old MacBook with me. So if I lose it or it gets stolen or it gets damaged or something like that, I'm not going to sweat it. But it is a 15-year-old MacBook Pro, so it'd be nice if I could have something a little more modern. Not that this is a disposable computer, but... It's also a lot lighter than a 15-year-old MacBook Pro. It's also a lot lighter. But I won't stress over it like I would …” View more

Ridealong summary

If you're considering a MacBook but find them too expensive, the new MacBook Neo could be your perfect entry point at just $600. It's lightweight, modern, and ideal for casual users or those looking to upgrade from older models without breaking the bank. This laptop is a game-changer for anyone hesitant about diving into the Mac ecosystem.

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Macworld Podcast · Episode 974: MacBook Neo review · Mar 11, 2026

“… phone as their every device. And so this is just a larger kind of canvas to do that The other thing is by the way my wife is still using the M1 MacBook and the MacBook Air and it fine She surfing the web She doing her emails She buying stuff on Amazon It a perfectly fine computer for that. Yeah. Those things are still running. People are still using those without issue, and this one's even more powerful. But like you said, I run into so many creators that are doing so much video production on iPhones, and now it's just in a laptop form factor. They shouldn't be scared because it's an iPhone …” “I edit on Premiere on my phone. Now, if I want to do something a little higher end, of course, I'll use Final Cut. But the point is, a lot of people are using their phone as their every device. And so this is just a larger kind of canvas to do that The other thing is by the way my wife is still using the M1 MacBook and the MacBook Air and it fine She surfing the web She doing her emails She buying stuff on Amazon It a perfectly fine computer for that. Yeah. Those things are still running. People are still using those without issue, and this one's even more powerful. But like you said, I run into so many creators that are doing so much video production on iPhones, and now it's just in a laptop form factor. They shouldn't be scared because it's an iPhone chip. It's still just Apple silicon, and it's really powerful. So they also updated the MacBook Air. Anything new about that that we should know? Because I've got one in the shopping cart. I've got an M3 right now. This is an M5. Anything that's super new about this? Nothing crazy new. I love the MacBook Air. I prefer to use it instead of my MacBook …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's latest product updates introduce significant enhancements, especially with the new M5 MacBook Air and iPhone 17E. The M5 boasts improved storage and Wi-Fi 7, while the iPhone 17E offers great value with its A19 chip and MagSafe features, making it ideal for first-time Apple users. These updates show that even entry-level devices can provide a powerful experience without breaking the bank.

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Rich On Tech · Hands-on with Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo, the AI personality test everyone’s taking & Android helps airlines track lost luggage (164, March 7, 2026) · Mar 08, 2026

“… yeah. They was like talking about continuity and handoff and like starting in one thing and starting one thing on your phone and ending it on the MacBook. And they made the Apple ecosystem a feature of the MacBook Neo, which is the first, I'm not going to say the first time they've done that, but it's like the first time they've truly emphasized it as like a feature of the MacBook I think in my opinion Yeah I mean just think of all the stuff that been sort of gatekeeps away from ones who just didn have the circumstances or didn want to pay that much money to get in that ecosystem fully. Maybe …” “… marketing material and their ad. They were, sure, they talked about that, like three minute ad that they had the video. Yeah, they mentioned the Neo and they showed off all the things that it can do, but they were big on the ecosystem. Ecosystem, yeah, yeah. They was like talking about continuity and handoff and like starting in one thing and starting one thing on your phone and ending it on the MacBook. And they made the Apple ecosystem a feature of the MacBook Neo, which is the first, I'm not going to say the first time they've done that, but it's like the first time they've truly emphasized it as like a feature of the MacBook I think in my opinion Yeah I mean just think of all the stuff that been sort of gatekeeps away from ones who just didn have the circumstances or didn want to pay that much money to get in that ecosystem fully. Maybe they already have an iPhone. I know plenty of people with iPhones that have like Windows tablets or cheaper laptops and stuff like that because they just don't want to pay the premium, not completely understand that. but now this gives them the choice and now they get to benefit too from that ecosystem like having your airpods automatically switch …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo is an unprecedented move by Apple into the budget laptop market, offering unparalleled build quality at an affordable price point.

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9to5Mac Overtime · 9to5Mac Overtime 062: MacBook Neo lets the iPad be an iPad · Mar 07, 2026

“… laptops Mr. Ives has an outperform rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $350. I joked about Apple calling the low-cost laptop MacBook Loco. But where'd they get that Neo name? According to MacRumors, they just thought it sounded cool. Asked about the name, Colleen Novielli, a Mac product marketing director, said the company wanted something that felt fun and friendly and fresh. and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product. I will say, it has had me listening to the soundtrack to The Matrix a lot this week, which in retrospect should have been called Songs of Woe. …” “… Thinking similarly was Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives With nearly half of Mac buyers still new to the platform, writes the analyst We believe this will provide incremental upside to Mac estimates As it addresses all consumers looking to upgrade their laptops Mr. Ives has an outperform rating on Apple shares. His price target on the shares is $350. I joked about Apple calling the low-cost laptop MacBook Loco. But where'd they get that Neo name? According to MacRumors, they just thought it sounded cool. Asked about the name, Colleen Novielli, a Mac product marketing director, said the company wanted something that felt fun and friendly and fresh. and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product. I will say, it has had me listening to the soundtrack to The Matrix a lot this week, which in retrospect should have been called Songs of Woe. Here's something you probably never thought you'd hear again, if you thought about it at all. Are these things going to sell out? With four colors and two configurations each, One has actually started slipping past release date.” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo name was chosen simply because it sounded 'fun and friendly,' according to product marketing director Colleen Novielli. With four colors and two configurations, the excitement around this model is palpable, leading to speculation about potential sellouts. This playful branding reflects Apple's aim to connect with a broader audience, especially as many Mac buyers are new to the platform.

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Mac OS Ken · MacBook Neo Could Reshape the Global Laptop Space - MOSK: 03.06.2026 · Mar 06, 2026

“… expose the tweet. All right, it says right here. It says this. Is it possible I used Claude code so much somehow my USB connectors burned out of my MacBook Pro? Two of mine are dead and won't charge, and now the third maxes out at 15 watts. Now I'm afraid my code Tamagotchi is about to die. I just... So basically he's... I'm going to keep this tweet forever now. I'm going to put it on my super special meme site. I guess I don want to say anything too specific here because I mean I don work with MacBooks but what is he imagining would have occurred like what there a lot of using those connectors …” “… tweet. I don't know how true that part is, but I do have a story about lines of code. Yes. Okay. Just let me finish my lines of coding. Okay. Oh, by the way. Yes, I found the tweet. Okay, I think I have it. Here it goes. Okay, here we go. I'll just expose the tweet. All right, it says right here. It says this. Is it possible I used Claude code so much somehow my USB connectors burned out of my MacBook Pro? Two of mine are dead and won't charge, and now the third maxes out at 15 watts. Now I'm afraid my code Tamagotchi is about to die. I just... So basically he's... I'm going to keep this tweet forever now. I'm going to put it on my super special meme site. I guess I don want to say anything too specific here because I mean I don work with MacBooks but what is he imagining would have occurred like what there a lot of using those connectors more because you were using clawed code is it just because when he says burned out but is he did he use those to plug into the network and he thinks that the like network packets were going so fast to clawed code or something what What is the thing? Can I explain it? Please. I'm very confused right now. Is that Claude Code, especially during that …” View more

Ridealong summary

A programmer tweeted about potentially burning out USB ports on his MacBook Pro from heavy usage while coding with Claude. He claimed two ports were dead and the third was underperforming, fearing his computer would soon fail. This sparked a discussion on whether intensive coding could physically damage hardware, revealing the strain modern software can put on devices.

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The Standup with ThePrimeagen · Why is Microsoft updating their text editors!? · Mar 06, 2026

“… in Google Yes It definitely was When I okay foreshadowing some of the pushback Lots of people were like why wouldn you just buy a refurbished M2 MacBook Air And I was like, because the A18 Pro is actually better. And so I literally just typed in compare A18 Pro to M2 and Stephen's face pops up. It's amazing. So that was super fun. That, and then also, as I normally do with YouTube videos, you can do A, B title tests. And I got a text from Jason being like, that's not the price of the computer. So because the three titles I tested was MacBook Neo, Apple's cheapest laptop ever. I tested Apple's …” “you sent me the picture Apparently it was like the AI overview in Google Yes It definitely was When I okay foreshadowing some of the pushback Lots of people were like why wouldn you just buy a refurbished M2 MacBook Air And I was like, because the A18 Pro is actually better. And so I literally just typed in compare A18 Pro to M2 and Stephen's face pops up. It's amazing. So that was super fun. That, and then also, as I normally do with YouTube videos, you can do A, B title tests. And I got a text from Jason being like, that's not the price of the computer. So because the three titles I tested was MacBook Neo, Apple's cheapest laptop ever. I tested Apple's $500 MacBook is here, but should you buy it? And then the last title, MacBook Neo versus MacBook Air, every difference explained. Now, YouTube will automatically, an A-B test can go on for like weeks or hours, depending on how quickly YouTube identifies the winning combination. And so typically my A-B test will go for at least several days. This one …” View more

Ridealong summary

In just three hours, my A-B test revealed that 'MacBook Neo versus MacBook Air' outperformed other titles with a 40% watch time share. This quick turnaround surprised me, especially with pushback on my other title claiming a $500 MacBook. The results showed how crucial the right title is for video success on YouTube.

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Primary Technology · Who MacBook Neo is For, Studio Display XDR, Anthropic, Nothing, and More! · Mar 05, 2026

“… what the Xcode thing does, but I think, honestly, a little bit better. um anyway uh so i think this is this is great and i it is not the 12-inch macbook replacement that nerds like us were kind of wishing for but also that was never really rumored for this release this was always rumored to be a lower cost 13-inch macbook of some kind and they delivered possibly you know none of us have this thing yet but it sure looks like they delivered really well on that product brief. And I think it's going to be good for Mac. One more thing. So this is also a cost-saving thing, obviously, because you know …” “And it does pretty much what the Xcode thing does, but I think, honestly, a little bit better. um anyway uh so i think this is this is great and i it is not the 12-inch macbook replacement that nerds like us were kind of wishing for but also that was never really rumored for this release this was always rumored to be a lower cost 13-inch macbook of some kind and they delivered possibly you know none of us have this thing yet but it sure looks like they delivered really well on that product brief. And I think it's going to be good for Mac. One more thing. So this is also a cost-saving thing, obviously, because you know everything is about cost with this thing But there two options 256 or or 512 Those are your only choice and color There color and 256 or 512 And obviously that saves cost because you don't need to make lots of varieties, although Apple does have to make the colors and whatever ratios, they have to kind of guess about that. But the really important …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's MacBook Neo offers impressive single-core performance, surpassing even the current $7,000 Mac Pro, showcasing Apple's continued dominance in hardware innovation.

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Accidental Tech Podcast · 681: The Price of Your Nightmares · Mar 05, 2026

“… weren't just for people who could spend more money. The rebel rebel in me says that the greater privacy protection and convenience of Touch ID on MacBook Neo shouldn't cost more either. I worry about the people who will default to password as their password. They might go with something more complex if they didn't actually have to remember it and type it in every time. It's not an unforgivable transgression, just something I wish was cooler. If you care about the whole environmental thing, MacBook Neo may be your machine. A piece from 9to5Mac says it sets a new record for recycled content in an …” “I said when we were talking about iPhone 17E earlier this week that it was nice that safety features like emergency SOS by a satellite and crash detection weren't just for people who could spend more money. The rebel rebel in me says that the greater privacy protection and convenience of Touch ID on MacBook Neo shouldn't cost more either. I worry about the people who will default to password as their password. They might go with something more complex if they didn't actually have to remember it and type it in every time. It's not an unforgivable transgression, just something I wish was cooler. If you care about the whole environmental thing, MacBook Neo may be your machine. A piece from 9to5Mac says it sets a new record for recycled content in an Apple product. According to Apple's press release, MacBook Neo features 60% recycled content, the highest percentage of any Apple product. That includes 90% recycled aluminum overall and 100% recycled cobalt in the battery. The enclosure is manufactured with a material forming process that uses 50 less aluminum compared to traditional machining …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's new MacBook Neo offers impressive environmental credentials but raises concerns about privacy features being tied to higher costs.

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Mac OS Ken · Saying Hello to MacBook Neo - MOSK: 03.05.2026 · Mar 05, 2026

“But this is like an entirely new piece of hardware, the MacBook Neo, and it was super casual. Yeah. So let's actually start with this. So the announcements that they talked about were the 17E, the iPad Air, the new MacBooks with M5 chips, the new Studio Display and Studio Display XR, all of which were around and we could touch them and it was the first hands-on experience anybody had had with them. And then the Neo. And I would say even before, all anybody cared about was the Neo, right? Like this thing has …” “But this is like an entirely new piece of hardware, the MacBook Neo, and it was super casual. Yeah. So let's actually start with this. So the announcements that they talked about were the 17E, the iPad Air, the new MacBooks with M5 chips, the new Studio Display and Studio Display XR, all of which were around and we could touch them and it was the first hands-on experience anybody had had with them. And then the Neo. And I would say even before, all anybody cared about was the Neo, right? Like this thing has been rumored for a while. The name came out, I think either yesterday or the day before, it was like, this was clearly coming. And there was a minute during that presentation where I was like, oh my God, they're not going to announce a new product at all because he said like turn this is up there and he said something to the effect of you know …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's introduction of the MacBook Neo is a strategic move to reclaim the education market by offering a competitively priced laptop that can rival Chromebooks.

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The Vergecast · MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e, and iPad Air: The Vergecast Livestream · Mar 04, 2026

“… already know what the remaining schedule is. But my interpretation of things is Tuesday morning will be a press release for the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models. Wednesday will be the low-cost MacBook. The question is whether they do anything else tomorrow alongside those MacBook Pros. I'm going to be optimistic and say that also tomorrow morning will be the new Studio Displays. That's the scope, I think. The fact they did the iPad and the phone together today suggests to me there's no more iPads coming this week. Yep. Because I think they would have done the other iPads if there was going …” “… quarter and be happy with it. So I think it's thumbs up, not the most exciting updates in the world, but nothing outrageously bad. So for the rest of the week, we're recording this on Monday night. So if you're listening to this on Tuesday, you might already know what the remaining schedule is. But my interpretation of things is Tuesday morning will be a press release for the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models. Wednesday will be the low-cost MacBook. The question is whether they do anything else tomorrow alongside those MacBook Pros. I'm going to be optimistic and say that also tomorrow morning will be the new Studio Displays. That's the scope, I think. The fact they did the iPad and the phone together today suggests to me there's no more iPads coming this week. Yep. Because I think they would have done the other iPads if there was going to be other iPads. So the other iPads will come later. I think the iPad Air is the only iPad for this week, which would be quite funny when we come to tomorrow and they do the other ipads but i don't think that's good yeah they did the phone and the ipad tomorrow they do the macbook pros and the scope is possibly external displays and maybe mac …” View more

Ridealong summary

The new low-cost MacBook is set to be a game-changer, potentially priced at just $699. With a thinner design and less power consumption thanks to its A-series chip, this model could redefine affordability in Apple's lineup. As excitement builds for its release, hands-on impressions are just around the corner.

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9to5Mac Happy Hour · March Apple event week kicks off with iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air · Mar 03, 2026

“All right. Comic Corner, last week and on this show, we talked about the cheap MacBook, and people have a lot of thoughts on this in response to our discussion how much RAM the laptop would have. Ivan Marshall 9806 on YouTube said, why don't you connected experts remember that Apple said that in the future, their Macs will be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which they stated would require 16 gigabytes of RAM. I don't think that was said, was it? No, so I was looking this up. Yeah, okay. I couldn't find Apple saying what …” “All right. Comic Corner, last week and on this show, we talked about the cheap MacBook, and people have a lot of thoughts on this in response to our discussion how much RAM the laptop would have. Ivan Marshall 9806 on YouTube said, why don't you connected experts remember that Apple said that in the future, their Macs will be capable of running Apple Intelligence, which they stated would require 16 gigabytes of RAM. I don't think that was said, was it? No, so I was looking this up. Yeah, okay. I couldn't find Apple saying what you needed to run Apple Intelligence. There's no way Apple would ever say that, because why would you buy any gigabyte? Well, they did say that you needed 16 gigabytes of RAM to use Xcode with Apple Intelligence. Correct. Sure. So they didn't specifically say that the consumer needed 16 gigabytes. Well, listen, man, anyone's buying this MacBook to …” View more

Ridealong summary

The debate over whether Apple's MacBooks should have 8GB or 16GB of RAM has sparked heated discussions. While some argue that 16GB is necessary for running advanced applications like Xcode, others point out that current tools function well on 8GB models. Ultimately, the push for 16GB stems from a need for better performance, especially in pro-level machines.

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Macworld Podcast · Episode 972: What to expect at Apple's March 4 event · Feb 25, 2026

“… not gonna broadcast, oh, we're using the same CPU as the iPhone, but they might be able to flex that into, we have the longest battery life of any MacBook we've ever made. They're gonna basically be pushing every single button they can push to say that this is a special experience, that you're not getting a lesser than, you're getting a different MacBook, you're not getting a lesser than MacBook. And the opportunities that they have at this moment, Microsoft has handed Apple a big opportunity in discontinuing Windows 10 and suddenly rendering entire collections of older, perfectly functioning …” “They're not gonna broadcast, oh, we're using the same CPU as the iPhone, but they might be able to flex that into, we have the longest battery life of any MacBook we've ever made. They're gonna basically be pushing every single button they can push to say that this is a special experience, that you're not getting a lesser than, you're getting a different MacBook, you're not getting a lesser than MacBook. And the opportunities that they have at this moment, Microsoft has handed Apple a big opportunity in discontinuing Windows 10 and suddenly rendering entire collections of older, perfectly functioning Windows machines, Windows laptops, basically non-tenable. So now, not that they're gonna scoop up every single Windows user and convert them into Mac users, but a lot of them are gonna be saying, well, I haven't bought a laptop in four or five years, I wonder what's out there. That's probably gonna be another Dell, probably gonna be another Lenovo or …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's 'Special Experience' event is more about marketing hype than revolutionary product launches, with incremental updates rather than groundbreaking innovations.

Apple's budget MacBook is a strategic move to capitalize on Microsoft's discontinuation of Windows 10, but it faces stiff competition from high-quality Windows laptops available at similar price points.

Apple's new low-cost MacBook is positioned as a unique offering rather than a lesser product, leveraging opportunities from Microsoft's discontinuation of Windows 10.

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MacBreak Weekly (Audio) · MBW 1013: Boopgate - Steve Jobs' 71st Birthday · Feb 24, 2026

“… that's the route that they're gonna take this. And there's a lot here. There's the iPhone 17E, there's the base iPad, there's the M4 iPad Air, the MacBook, the M5 MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, the M5 Pro and Max, the M5 Max Studio, the Apple Studio Display 2 and a second Mac display, which could possibly be the update to the new Pro Display XDR. Out of all those things, what stands out to you the most? Because we don't have time to talk about them all in depth, but is there something on there that really stands out to you more so than the others? I definitely have one. I'm not gonna say it yet. …” “… be like a big keynote happening. Yeah. I could be wrong though. Yeah, it seems like they've done, well, they have done this before where they have like a little press release and they'll have little mini videos related to the update. So I'm thinking that's the route that they're gonna take this. And there's a lot here. There's the iPhone 17E, there's the base iPad, there's the M4 iPad Air, the MacBook, the M5 MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, the M5 Pro and Max, the M5 Max Studio, the Apple Studio Display 2 and a second Mac display, which could possibly be the update to the new Pro Display XDR. Out of all those things, what stands out to you the most? Because we don't have time to talk about them all in depth, but is there something on there that really stands out to you more so than the others? I definitely have one. I'm not gonna say it yet. I'll let you go first. Yeah. I mean, for me, it's the low cost MacBook. Yes, absolutely. Not because I'm the target audience for it or the market for it, but I'm just so curious how, A, I'm curious to know what it looks like. Is it gonna be rivaled to the 12-inch MacBook or kind of like bring that back? How's Apple gonna position it so it doesn't …” View more

Ridealong summary

The low-cost MacBook is the most intriguing announcement, raising questions about its design and market positioning without cannibalizing MacBook Air sales.

The low-cost MacBook is the most intriguing product in Apple's upcoming event, raising questions about its design and market positioning.

The new low-cost MacBook is intriguing and exciting, raising curiosity about its design and market positioning without cannibalizing MacBook Air sales.

The low-cost MacBook is an exciting development, sparking curiosity about its design and market positioning without cannibalizing MacBook Air sales.

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9to5Mac Overtime · 9to5Mac Overtime 060: The perfect testbed for cellular Macs · Feb 20, 2026

“… see new Mac minis to run Clawed by, I'm just kidding. No, no, no. I'm only kind of kidding. But there are all these rumors of the new Apple A-series MacBook that we've been talking about for many, many, many months now. And this seems to actually be the thing that people are saying might come out because the invitation that went out for people with there's this March 4th event that's happening that is apparently just going to be sort of an experience event. And people are saying that there's not gonna be like a keynote. They're gonna release that stuff separately. But the colors in that launch …” “… peak. The Galaxy phone finally launches. Galaxy speaker. Anyway, but the Apple event we actually don't know also, but we kind of probably also do know. Yeah, we can guess. What do we hope gets announced at these types of things? Well, I wanted to see new Mac minis to run Clawed by, I'm just kidding. No, no, no. I'm only kind of kidding. But there are all these rumors of the new Apple A-series MacBook that we've been talking about for many, many, many months now. And this seems to actually be the thing that people are saying might come out because the invitation that went out for people with there's this March 4th event that's happening that is apparently just going to be sort of an experience event. And people are saying that there's not gonna be like a keynote. They're gonna release that stuff separately. But the colors in that launch event poster are the colors that people are saying that these MacBooks might be colored as. It's like a light green, a light yellow, sort of a really cheap $700 model. Can I just say, every time we do the speculation about what the event invite means, I always wish that someone had done like a how close were we about previous event invites and what it …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple is rumored to launch a new, budget-friendly MacBook powered by an A-series chip, potentially priced at $700. This move aims to compete with Chromebooks in the education sector, where Google currently dominates. With the A-series chip's capabilities, this could be a game-changer for entry-level laptops.

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Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast · Why Bother with the Pixel 10a? · Feb 20, 2026

“… of what, you know, when you started talking about sort of breakthrough products that are connected to Ternus, I actually started to think about the MacBook Neo, which I've written a lot about. And it's a strange product in that you'll say, well, what's innovative about that? Well, it takes all of the things that you love about an Apple laptop, a MacBook, and puts them in a price that puts it within reach of virtually every consumer out there. And it's a real major shot across the bow for every Windows manufacturer and Chrome laptop company that could not seem to deliver that same level of quality …” “… to a place we didn't know was possible. that gets exciting. I don't know what, you know, I don't think they're not going to do TVs. They're not going to do cars, you know, they're just areas I don't think Apple's going to go into. And so I'm not sure of what, you know, when you started talking about sort of breakthrough products that are connected to Ternus, I actually started to think about the MacBook Neo, which I've written a lot about. And it's a strange product in that you'll say, well, what's innovative about that? Well, it takes all of the things that you love about an Apple laptop, a MacBook, and puts them in a price that puts it within reach of virtually every consumer out there. And it's a real major shot across the bow for every Windows manufacturer and Chrome laptop company that could not seem to deliver that same level of quality at that price. You basically sort of have to, if you're going to get a $600 Windows laptop, you usually get something big and heavy and plastic. And I'm not even exaggerating. I've been to a lot of stores I've seen. If you want something kind of sexy and cool with some metal on it and lightweight and maybe even some decent battery life and …” View more

Ridealong summary

The MacBook Neo is revolutionizing Apple's market strategy by offering high-quality laptops at an accessible price of $599. This move not only challenges Windows and Chrome laptop manufacturers but also opens the door for younger consumers to join the Apple ecosystem with a complete setup for around $1,200. It's a significant shift from Apple's traditional premium pricing model and could reshape the competitive landscape.

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Apple Bitz XL w/ Brian Tong · Tim Cook Is Out And John Ternus Is In As Apple CEO - Whats Next For Apple? (Apple Bitz XL, Ep. 375) · Apr 24, 2026

“… ratings based on official government criteria in Europe have found that Apple gets the worst ratings for repairability of both iPhones and MacBooks. However, in the laptop rankings, the MacBook Neo was found to be an exception, so perhaps there is hope for the future. The French government imposes a legal requirement on manufacturers to display their repairability ratings according to a set of criteria intended to allow for like-for-like comparisons between brands. The European Union has very similar criteria, and the United States Consumer Organization Public Interest Research Group uses …” “Next up today, repairability ratings based on official government criteria in Europe have found that Apple gets the worst ratings for repairability of both iPhones and MacBooks. However, in the laptop rankings, the MacBook Neo was found to be an exception, so perhaps there is hope for the future. The French government imposes a legal requirement on manufacturers to display their repairability ratings according to a set of criteria intended to allow for like-for-like comparisons between brands. The European Union has very similar criteria, and the United States Consumer Organization Public Interest Research Group uses it for those rankings. In the latest report, there are repairability grades for four smartphone brands and eight laptop brands, and Apple gets the lowest scores in both categories. The PIRG organization says that it reviewed detailed repair information for a total of 105 devices Factoring in repair documentation ease of disassembly spare parts …” View more

Ridealong summary

Apple's foldable iPhone is on track for a September launch despite earlier reports of production delays, but the MacBook Neo's repairability suggests a potential shift in Apple's design strategy.

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9to5Mac Daily · New CarPlay apps, iPhone Fold reports · Apr 08, 2026

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