Apple unveils MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e, and several new products this week

From a more affordable MacBook to a newly introduced iPhone, Apple unveiled a broad lineup of new products this week.

The company kicked off its announcements on Monday with the debut of the iPhone 17e and the M4 iPad Air. On Tuesday, Apple followed that up by introducing the M5 MacBook Air, refreshed MacBook Pro models, the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, and updated Studio Display and Studio Display XDR monitors. Then, on Wednesday, Apple wrapped up the week’s announcements by revealing a lower-cost MacBook called the MacBook Neo, powered by a chip similar to those used in the iPhone and iPad.

For anyone who did not have time to keep up with everything Apple announced, here is a full roundup of the week’s new products.

iPhone 17e

Apple introduced the newest entry in its lower-cost iPhone family, the iPhone 17e, priced at $599 andgoingo on sale on March 11.

The device is powered by the A19 chip, the same processor used in the standard iPhone 17. The base model starts with 256GB of storage, double the entry-level storage offered with the iPhone 16e.

One of the biggest updates compared with Apple’s earlier budget iPhone is the inclusion of MagSafe and Qi2, which support wireless charging up to 15W. On the camera side, the iPhone 17e has the same 48-megapixel camera as the iPhone 16e.

The phone also features C1X, Apple’s latest cellular modem, which the company says is up to twice as fast as the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e. Apple also says the C1X uses 30% less energy than the modem in the iPhone 16 Pro, which helps improve battery life.

The iPhone 17e comes in black, white, and a new soft pink finish.

iPad Air M4

Apple also announced a new iPad Air powered by the M4 chip, which the company says is 30% faster than the M3 iPad Air and 2.3 times faster than the M1 iPad Air. Pricing remains unchanged: the 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599, and the 13-inch version starts at $799. Education customers can also get a $50 discount.

The new iPad Air is faster and more capable, thanks to an improved Neural Engine and additional memory, making it better suited for AI-related tasks.

The device features an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, making it a solid option for gaming and photo editing. It also comes with 12GB of unified memory, a 50% increase over the previous generation, and memory bandwidth now reaches 120GB/s. Apple says these changes allow users to run AI models faster than before.

The iPad Air is available in four colours: blue, purple, starlight, and space grey. Storage choices include 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max

Alongside the unveiling of its new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, Apple also introduced updated MacBook Pro laptops built around those processors. The company said the chips were specifically engineered to improve laptop performance on demanding AI workloads. According to Apple, the new MacBook Pro models can complete AI tasks up to four times faster than their M4-based predecessors.

Apple says the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are up to 4x faster than the M4 Pro and M4 Max for large language model prompt processing, and up to 8x faster than the M1 Pro and M1 Max for AI image generation.

The latest MacBook Pro models also offer up to twice the read and write speeds of the previous generation. Storage now starts at 1TB for the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and 2TB for the MacBook Pro with M5 Max. Battery life reaches up to 24 hours, and with a 96W or higher USB-C power adapter, users can recharge the battery to 50% in 30 minutes. The laptops also support Thunderbolt 5 and include a six-speaker sound system.

The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro start at $2,199 and $2,699, respectively. Versions equipped with M5 Max begin at $3,599 and $3,899. Buyers can choose between black and silver finishes.

M5 MacBook Air

Like the updated MacBook Pro lineup, Apple’s new MacBook Air has also been positioned as better suited for AI-focused workloads.

The new MacBook Air offers up to 18 hours of battery life, which Apple says is 6 hours longer than that of Intel-based Apple laptops from 2020. It also includes a 12MP Centre Stage camera for video calls, a three-microphone array, and a sound system that supports both Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.

Ports on the MacBook Air include two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging connector, and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Pricing starts at $1,099 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch model. The laptops come in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver. Apple has also doubled the starting storage, with the new MacBook Air now beginning at 512GB.

MacBook Neo

Apple also introduced a lower-cost entry-level laptop called the MacBook Neo, positioned as the company’s answer to Google’s Chromebook. Starting at $599, the MacBook Neo is designed for students and users whose everyday tasks do not involve demanding workflows like video editing or 3D rendering.

The 13-inch MacBook Neo is available in four colours: silver, blush, citrus, and indigo. The standard version comes with 256GB of storage, while the $699 configuration includes 512GB of storage and Touch ID.

Instead of the more advanced M5 chip found in the latest MacBook Air, the MacBook Neousesn the A18 Pro chip, the same processor powering the iPhone 16 Pro models.

The device includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones, and side-mounted speakers with support for Spatial Audio. Apple says the battery lasts up to 16 hours on a single charge, supplied via one of the machine’s two USB-C ports.

The MacBook Neo is equipped with a five-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, which Apple says supports gameplay and on-device AI performance comparable to that of a recent iPhone.

Studio Display and Studio Display XDR

Apple also refreshed its external monitor lineup with a new Studio Display priced at $1,599 and a new Studio Display XDR starting at $3,299. The 27-inch displays feature upgraded cameras and stronger connectivity options. Both include a 12MP Centre Stage camera, which Apple says offers improved image quality, and support Desk View, a feature that shows both the user’s face and an overhead view of the desk simultaneously.

Both displays are equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports, allowing users to connect accessories and daisy-chain up to 4 displays. Apple includes a Thunderbolt 5 Pro cable in the box.

The Studio Display uses a 5K Retina panel with more than 14 million pixels, 600 nits of brightness, and support for the P3 wide-gamut colour standard, which covers a wider visible colour range than standards such as sRGB.

The Studio Display XDR features a 5K Retina XDR screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2880h, a mini-LED backlight, and more than 2,000 local dimming zones. It can reach up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness and up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness, with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The display also supports the Adobe RGB colour standard.

M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

Apple’s new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are built around what it calls Fusion Architecture. This design combines a high-performance CPU, a scalable GPU, a Media Engine, a unified memory controller, a Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 support.

Both chips feature an 18-core CPU, an upgrade from the 14-core layout in the M4 Pro and the 16-core design in the M4 Max.

The CPU now includes six “super cores,” Apple’s term for its most powerful high-performance cores, along with 12 all-new performance cores. Together, Apple says the changes improve performance for pro workloads by up to 30%.

The M5 Pro now supports up to 64GB of unified memory, up from 48GB on the M4 Pro, with a memory bandwidth of 307GB/s. The M5 Max continues to support up to 128GB of unified memory, while bandwidth increases to 614GB/s.

New accessories

Apple has also introduced new spring colour options for iPhone cases, Apple Watch bands, and the Crossbody Strap. The silicone case for the standard iPhone 17 is now available in three new shades: Bright Guava, Vanilla, and Electric Lavender. Bright Guava and Vanilla are also being offered for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

For the Apple Watch, the Sport Band now comes in Bright Guava, Clementine, and Soft Pink, while the Sport Loop gains Bright Guava, Blue Mist, and Cantaloupe as newcolourse.