HomePad reportedly delayed (again), and it’s all Siri’s fault (again)
Macworld Apple’s first-ever smart home display, which the company hoped to launch this spring, has reportedly hit another development snag. It now won’t appear until the fall, according to the latest rumors, and you guessed it, it’s all Siri’s fault. Writing for Bloomberg, analyst Mark Gurman claims Apple had previously planned for its first wave of smart home devices to run a “variation” of tvOS 26, the current Apple TV operating system, but has now pushed this back to tvOS 27. Like the rest of the 27 OS updates, tvOS 27 will be announced in June at WWDC 2026 before rolling out to the public in September. Instead of launching in spring, as expected, the so-called HomePad, a smart home hub with an integrated display, is now slated to launch in the fall. This change of plan, Gurman says, is entirely due to issues with Siri; the hardware has been ready for some time. He bases this on the testimony of anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. If that sounds tenuous, it’s worth noting that Gurman’s claims are corroborated by another leaker. In fact Kosutami, who has made accurate predictions in the past, actually posted “Autumn. Home. Integrated with Pad. Now coming.” some time before Gurman published his article, so really it’s the latter who is corroborating the former. Apple hasn’t announced anything publicly, but the company is believed to be working on a major push into the smart home space. This includes two tiers of smart home hubs: the stationary wall-mounted HomePad device with a 7-inch screen, focusing on HomeKit and FaceTime calls, and a high-end robotic hub featuring a display mounted on a robotic arm, which is expected to launch at a later date. Both devices, however, will depend for their convenience and user-friendliness on effective voice control, which is why Siri is so key to their release, and why Siri’s current woes are such a problem. Apple announced a new and more sophisticated version of Siri back in June 2024, but the project has been afflicted by a disastrous series of delays. On the positive side, the extra six months may give Apple a chance to tinker somewhat with the hardware side. In a separate post to Twitter/X, Kosutami adds that the device might have an intriguing “MagSafe snap-to-wall feature” and “it can [ring] your door,” which presumably means it lets you see who rings your doorbell. Both sound like useful additions, if Apple can ever actually launch the thing.

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Tim Cook’s golf cart gets F1 treatment in new video from Apple Park
Apple TV is now home to Formula 1 races in the US, and to promote the partnership, Tim Cook just shared a new video where his Apple Park golf cart gets an F1-style pit stop. more…

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Apple Accelerates Its Unified Silicon Strategy
Apple’s latest Mac announcements may look like routine upgrades. Look closer, and a deliberate strategy behind the new MacBook Neo and updated MacBook Pro lineup becomes clear. On one end, Apple pushed the MacBook Pro further upmarket with M5 Pro and M5 Max silicon, a new Fusion architecture, more memory bandwidth, faster storage, and AI […] The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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German publishers push back on Apple’s privacy-focused tracking changes, call for antitrust fine
German publishers and advertisers have urged the country's competition authority to reject Apple's latest proposals for adjusting its… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Apple MacBook Neo review: Can a Mac get by with an iPhone’s processor inside?
8GB of RAM is a bummer, but this $599 laptop cuts most of the right corners.

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MacBook Neo review: A truly great Mac at an unbelievable price
I bought my first Mac in 2007: a black polycarbonate MacBook. To this day, I think it’s the most consequential purchase I’ve made in my life. Last week, Apple introduced MacBook Neo. It’s a fascinating Mac, and not just because of the price. I think it’s set to drive a new wave of people to the Mac ecosystem. Here’s why. Limited time: Pre-order MacBook Neo at Best Buy and score a $25 gift card. more…

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MacBook Neo review: The perfect gateway Mac
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Distinguished and sturdy design Excellent single-core CPU performance Great-looking display Nothing feels cheap Cons Different USB implementations on the two ports Trackpad lacks pressure-sensitivity Multi-core performance lags No P3 color gamut support Our Verdict The MacBook Neo is, in every sense, a MacBook. It’s made with the same quality and care you’ve come to expect from Apple. it might cost a fraction of what Apple charges for the MacBook Pro, but it’s not a letdown; it’s a delight. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$599 Best Prices Today: Apple MacBook Neo Retailer Price $599 View Deal $599 View Deal $599 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The word “cheap” is a loaded one. It usually means the price is below expectations, which raises a product’s appeal. But it’s also used as a derogatory term for something of poor quality. Sometimes, often even, the two concepts go hand-in-hand. Apple’s MacBook Neo is far from “cheap” in the derogatory sense. On price alone, the MacBook Neo’s $599 starting price ($499 through education channels) is on that upper tier of cheap laptops in general. Maybe “affordable” or “budget” are better terms for the Neo. However, Apple doesn’t want you to think of the MacBook Neo in any of those terms. Though it describes the price as a “breakthrough” and says the Neo is the company’s “most affordable laptop ever,” it doesn’t use these terms to signify its place in the MacBook lineup. It’s a MacBook, and it happens to cost less than the others. That’s an important distinction. The MacBook Neo is, in every sense, a MacBook, just like the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro. It’s made with the same quality you’ve come to expect from Apple. That’s not to say there aren’t sacrifices to be made. There are, but they’re expected at this price point. It’s not a letdown; if anything, the MacBook Neo is a delight. The MacBook Neo proudly carries on the MacBook name.Foundry Overall, the MacBook Neo is an excellent choice as a general productivity computer. You’ll be able to write documents, create spreadsheets, build presentations, visit websites, check email, manage your calendar, video conference with people, and a lot more with ease on the MacBook Neo. It can also handle basic media editing and a few other more intensive tasks, though you’ll need to wait a little while longer for its chip to do all the work. Our reviews usually evaluate MacBooks as a tool for Apple users. With the Neo, however, Apple hopes and believes a lot of people will switch from a Windows laptop, and it’s likely to be a success. This may be Macworld, which means a vast majority of our readers are Mac users, but if you’re considering switching from the PC world, please read on–I’ve written this as a Mac user, but switchers will be interested to know what Apple has done to make the Neo a proud part of the MacBook lineup. MacBook Neo (2026): Our model’s specifications This review covers the $599 MacBook Neo. Available in four colors, we looked at an Indigo model. Here are its specifications: CPU: A19 Pro with 6 cores (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 16-core Neural Engine GPU: 5 cores Memory: 8GB unified memory (60GBps memory bandwidth) Storage: 256GB SSD Display: 13-inch Liquid Retina; 2408-by-1506 native resolution at 219 pixels per inch; 500 nits brightness; 1 billion colors; sRGB color gamut Ports: 1USB-C (USB 3); 1 USC-C (USB 2); 3.5mm audio Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); Bluetooth 6 Input devices: Magic Keyboard; Magic Trackpad Weight: 2.7 pounds (1.23 kg) Dimensions: 0.50 x 11.71 x 8.12 inches (1.27 x 29.74 x 20.64 cm) Price (as tested): $599/£559 MacBook Neo: Design What’s most remarkable is that Apple has been able to maintain its high standards of quality with the design and construction of the MacBook Neo. It has an all-aluminum case, created with what Apple claims is a new process that reduces waste. If there’s a difference between the aluminum used in the Neo and that of the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, I can’t feel it. The MacBook Neo is all aluminum. There’s no plastic on its case.Foundry The MacBook Neo certainly doesn’t seem cheaply constructed. It’s a confident laptop, just like the other MacBooks. Carrying it around, its weight feels evenly distributed, and it doesn’t feel hollow or fragile. The laptop is slightly smaller than the MacBook Air, but it weighs just as much. For the first time since the M1 Air, the camera is stashed in the upper bezel of the laptop. MacBook Neo doesn’t have a notch, like the MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. The bezels along the sides are noticeably thicker than on the other MacBooks, but they don’t give a sense of intrusion into your usable display area. Overall, the laptop looks and feels like it belongs with the rest of the MacBook lineup. If Apple made sacrifices in this area to meet the price, it’s not clearly obvious. The color choices are Blush (pink), Citrus (green), Indigo (blue), and Silver. We got the Indigo model for review, and the colorization looks like it’s applied in the same manner as other MacBooks–it’s anodized, not painted. The color is rich and varies based on how the light hits it. The Apple logo is matte, whereas the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have shiny logos. The non-Silver colors are unique to this laptop, so people who follow Apple closely will instantly know it’s a MacBook Neo. (This is important to Apple users, switchers.) @macworld.com Like Indigo? #macbookneo ♬ original sound – Macworld – Macworld MacBook Neo: Display and camera The 13-inch LED display (Liquid Retina, in Apple parlance) is what you might expect in an Apple budget laptop. It’s essentially a smaller version of the MacBook Air’s display–they’re both capable of 500 nits of brightness. It produces an evenly lit image; I didn’t notice hotspots or dim areas. The images and text are nice. The MacBook Neo is missing two features found in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The first is True Tone, where the Mac can sense the ambient lighting in the room and adjust the display’s colors so the image looks consistent. The second is the lack of support for the P3 color gamut, as the Neo supports sRGB. I bet most people considering the MacBook Neo won’t miss True Tone or even know that it’s not there. In fact, some Mac users turn it off. The missing P3 support is a bigger deal for people who do color work, because P3 is a wider color gamut than sRGB. The Neo may not be suitable for people who need color accuracy, but those people probably won’t be considering this laptop. The MacBook Neo doesn’t have the 12MP Center Stage camera found on other Macs, iPads, and iPhones. It’s a revival of the 1080p FaceTime camera Apple introduced back in 2021. It’s not that great a camera, but putting the 12MP camera in the 1st-gen Neo would’ve been a surprise, really. The camera is capable of 1080p HD video recording, just like the 12MP Center Stage camera, so there’s that, at least. MacBook Neo: Keyboard and trackpad The Magic Keyboard is a lot like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air keyboards, but it does have minor design modifications to make it fit the MacBook Neo chassis. Whatever modifications Apple made to the keys and design resulted in a slightly different feel, but it doesn’t feel like a cheap PC keyboard that’s about to break. It’s sturdy and feels like it will last. The keys take on a hue that matches the color of the MacBook Neo.Foundry Apple tints the keys with a matching color so that they provide some contrast to the MacBook Neo’s body. For example, on the Indigo model I tested, the keys are a shade of light blue, adding some pizazz to the laptop’s design aesthetic. On the $599 model I tested, Touch ID was not included. I wrote a separate article detailing the importance of Touch ID, which is available if you get the $699 model (along with an SSD upgrade to 512GB). Macworld reader Brian H. pointed out to me that if you have an Apple Watch, you can use it in lieu of Touch ID for unlocking, Apple Pay, and other requests, which is a fine idea if you have an Apple Watch. If you don’t have a watch, you can buy an SE for $249 or spend an extra $100 on the $699 model, which also has twice the storage. The Multi-Touch trackpad isn’t as robust as the one on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. It’s a mechanical trackpad but the whole surface supports clicks, taps, and gestures unlike so-called diving board-style trackpads on similarly priced PC laptops. Plus it lacks the pressure-sensitive capabilities that Force Touch brings. It’s a sacrifice that a devoted Mac user may find hampering if they’ve incorporated those features into their workflow, but it’ll be an instand upgrade for someone switching from a cheap HP laptop. MacBook Neo: Ports and connectivity Apple includes two USB-C ports on the MacBook Neo, and it’s here where we get to the biggest point of contention with the laptop. The port closest to the rear of the laptop is a USB 3 port, capable of a 10Gbps data transfer rate. The port closest to the user is a USB 2 port, which supports a much slower 480Mbps rate. Charging can be done on either port, but the USB-C 2 port will take a really long time to move files. Both ports are USB-C, but the left port is faster than the right. Foundry The fact that the ports use two different flavors of USB (one being a very slow one) screams of a “cheap” move by Apple. However, John Gruber reports that this is more about the limitations of the A18 Pro chip than Apple being cheap, since the original chip and logic board were only designed for a single USB-C port with USB-3 speeds. That means that at some point during the Neo’s development, Apple decided the Neo needed two USB-C ports and had to perform some engineering magic to bring an extra port. That puts the decision into a better perspective. The rear USB-C port is the one to use for connecting an external display. A lot of hullabaloo has been made about knowing which port is the “better” port, and it’s all much ado about nothing. Once you learn the rear port is the faster port (you’ll get a pop-up box if you use the wrong one), are you really going to unlearn that? You’re not. It would’ve been nice if both ports were USB-3 ports, but ultimately it’s not a deal-breaker. There’s no Thunderbolt on the MacBook Neo, which isn’t a complaint but a matter of fact. Thunderbolt implementation is a pricier investment, so it doesn’t fit here. Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 6. The laptop also has a 3.5mm audio jack, but it lacks support for high impedance headphones, which again, won’t matter to the target audience. When you plug in a display into the USB 2 port (the one on the right), a notification appears and tells you to use the other port, which supports USB 3.Foundry MacBook Neo: Battery life The MacBook Neo has a 36.5-watt-hour battery, which Apple says will provide up to 16 hours of video streaming or 11 hours of wireless web browsing. To test for battery life, we looped a video until the battery ran out. The display’s brightness is set to 150 nits, which is a little less than halfway on the macOS Brightness scale. After 13 hours and 15 minutes, the battery finally ran out. That’s a lot of battery life for a little laptop. You’ll be able to use the MacBook Neo all day on its battery, if you’re only doing general productivity tasks. Doing more processor-intensive stuff has more of a toll on battery life, so if that’s what you do often, you may need to plug in towards the end of your day. Apple includes a 20W power adapter and a 1.5-meter UBC-C charging cable, which is enough for charging. You can use a higher-wattage charger, of course, but MacBook Neo doesn’t support fast charging. Both the charger and the cable can also be used with other iPhones, iPads, and AirPods, though you’ll be better served with a 40W or 60W charger with more than one port. MacBook Neo: Performance The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to use an A-series chip, usually reserved for iPhones and iPads. The A18 Pro in this laptop was last used in the iPhone 16 Pro, which was discontinued in 2025. Because the A18 Pro is a mobile chip, it’s easy to assume that it’s not able to provide the performance needed for a laptop. Missing from that narrative, however, is the fact that Apple’s A-series chips are consistently among the fastest mobile chips in the industry and can handle productivity tasks. In short, they’re extremely overpowered for a mobile phone. Most importantly, the A18 Pro offers single-core speeds that are just a tad slower than the latest M4 chip–the type of performance used in everyday tasks. In other words, the MacBook Neo does well in the tasks it’s meant to excel at. Geekbench 6

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Rode’s new Video Core offers a streamlined take on the all-in-one studio
Rode has announced a new product for video producers called the Rodecaster Video Core. Rode calls its new hardware the “ultimate all-in-one content creation tool, seamlessly integrating professional-grade video and audio production into a single, compact console.” more…

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M5 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro vs. M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro: Compared
Apple has updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip. Here's how it compares to the preceding model with the M4 Pro.M5 Pro MacBook Pro vs. M4 Pro MacBook Pro: Specs, performance, costFollowing the debut of the standard M5 chip in October 2025, the more powerful M5 Pro has made its way to the MacBook Pro. The early 2026 launch of the M5 Pro chip was to be expected, as product identifiers provided to AppleInsider back in July 2025 indicated the hardware was in the works.Though Apple's latest high-end laptops look identical to their M4-based counterparts, there's more to it than meets the eye. Per Apple's website, the M5 Pro delivers significant performance improvements, making it an even better option for users who need plenty of processing power. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Rising laptop prices likely to further boost MacBook Neo sales
It’s been predicted that Apple could sell four to five million MacBook Neo machines this year, with even hardcore Windows fans seeing the appeal of switching. A new market intelligence report today suggests that the new machine could become even more attractive later this year as competing laptops become more expensive … more…

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Baseus EnerGeek GX11 MiFi Review: 20K power bank with SIM-free global 4G hotspot
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Compact 20K power bank SIM-less 4G MiFi hotspot MiFi in over 150 countries Detachable USB-C cable Cons Not available in the U.K. Our Verdict Super compact, the Baseus EnerGeek GX11 MiFi Power Bank offers a decent battery top-up capacity for your iPhone, iPad or even MacBook. Its simple-to-use integrated 4G MiFi function and available international plans are a real bonus for sharing with colleagues on a business trip abroad or staying in touch with family and friends when traveling. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$129.99 Best Prices Today: Baseus EnerGeek GX11 MiFi Power Bank 20000mAh 67W Retailer Price $103.99 View Deal $129.99 View Deal Baseus $129.99 View Deal $129.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Power banks free us from the need to be constantly near a power socket to recharge our devices, be that phone or laptop. A new breed of power banks is starting to add extra features to the basic battery-charging function. The Baseus EnerGeek GX11 4G MiFi Power Bank is 20,000mAh battery pack with other super powers—in this case a built-in 4G hotspot for travelers that can automatically connect to premium local networks upon arrival without the need for a physical SIM or even eSIM in your iPhone. Now you can leave home with extra power and easy access to affordable, reliable local data. Simon Jary What is MiFi and why would you use it instead of your phone hotspot? MiFi is mobile WiFi (sometimes a more personal “My Wi-Fi”), usually found in a portable wireless router acting as a mobile hotspot that enables you to connect devices to the internet using cellular data. Such a travel router combines a cellular modem (to connect to nearby 4G towers) and a Wi-Fi router (to broadcast that signal to your device) a battery-powered unit. With the Baseus EnerGeek GX11 that power unit is also a high-capacity iPhone power bank or mid-capacity MacBook power bank. The GX11 can support up to 10 simultaneous 4G connections, so you can share its broadband power with friends, family or colleagues on the move. You can of course use your iPhone as a hotspot and/or install a physical local SIM card or connect with a virtual eSIM, but the benefit of a MiFi router is that it has its own power source, so reducing battery drain on your phone—especially for groups connecting multiple devices. See our sister publication Tech Advisor’s reviews of the best eSIMs for phone-based alternatives. Simon Jary How does the GX11’s SIM-less global MiFi work? The EnerGeek GX11 4G MiFi Power Bank is based on uCloudlink’s CloudSIM technology, with support for 13 global frequency bands—including FDD-LTE, TD-LTE, and WCDMA. First, you download the Baseus MiFi app. Once you have installed the app and registered an account, you can activate it by scanning the QR code on the back of the power bank. Then you can purchase a data plan or top up through the Baseus MiFi App. As a bonus, when you first register the device, you get a free 20GB local data plan included that is valid for 60 days. After that you can choose from multiple flexible roaming plans for a variety of standard durations: there were 150 listed when I registered. To take a few at random: a 15GB 7-Day Package for North America or Southeast Asia, Day Passes for Japan and Korea, 50GB or 100GB 30-Day Global Packages, or Monthly/Yearly Passes for Spain or Italy. The MiFi is compatible with more than 350 networks across 150 countries and regions. In the U.K., for example, you could connect to EE, O2, Vodafone or 3. In Germany with O2, Telekom or Vodafone; in France with Orange; in Brazil with Claro or Oi; or China Mobile or Unicorn in China. In the U.S. networks include Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint; in Canada Rogers, Bell and Telus. You should be able to stay reliably connected most places in the world. Download speeds depend on the destination but Baseus lists 150Mbps as the max for global 4G WiFi, with 50Mbps max for uploads. How good is the GX11 as a power bank? The power bank’s 20000mAh (milliamp hours) capacity is rated at 73Wh (watt hours), which means it is airline friendly as carry on. In our tests, we recharged a flat 14-inch MacBook Pro to just under 90%, which is impressive for a power bank of this capacity. Only a 25K power bank has supplied over a full charge to our test MacBook. 20K should be enough to recharge an iPhone around three times. On one side, there’s the MiFi Switch and below that the Power button.Simon Jary Design and portability The Baseus EnerGeek GX11 measures 4.7 x 2 x 2 inches (12 x 5 x 5cm) which is about the size of a soda can and weighs 15.2oz (431g). A slide MiFi Switch button on one side is used to toggle MiFi on and off. You’ll save battery power with MiFi turned off. Below that, the Power button can be used to turn on and off power to devices and also manage the display at the front of the power bank. Simon Jary What ports and charging speeds does it support? At the top of the power bank are three ports: two USB-C and one legacy USB-A. Both USB-C ports can supply 67W of power and the USB-A 33W, although note that max output is 67W, so when using more than one at a time, that power will be shared between the ports. Using all three simultaneously seriously limits total power to 15W. The power bank itself can be recharged at 67W. It comes with a detachable braided USB-C cable of 10 inches (25cm) length, which can be used for input and output purposes. Price and availability The Baseus EnerGeek GX11 4G MiFi Power Bank is priced at $129.99 and €149.99. It is not available to buy in the U.K., but you can certainly use it there; the U.K. is included under the Europe region. Check out our reviews of the best MacBook power banks and best magnetic iPhone power banks for MiFi-less options. Should you buy the Baseus EnerGeek GX11 4G MiFi Power Bank Super compact, the Baseus EnerGeek GX11 MiFi Power Bank offers a decent battery top-up capacity for your iPhone, iPad or even MacBook. Its simple-to-use integrated 4G MiFi function and available international plans are a real bonus for sharing with colleagues on a business trip abroad or staying in touch with family and friends when traveling.

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AI Glasses Shift Into Momentum Mode, Shipments Grow 322% in 2025
AI glasses shipments soared 322% in 2025 to 8.7 million units as advances in multimodal AI and lighter wearable designs push the once-experimental category toward mainstream adoption. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

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F1: The Stream – how the launch leveraged Apple's entire ecosystem
If you own an iPhone, and sometimes, even if you didn't, there was no escaping notifications about the 2026 F1 season starting up. Regardless of how annoyed you might have been, the launch was flawless and powered by every bit of Apple's ecosystem.Apple has the rights to stream F1I'm going to start off by saying I'm new to F1. I wanted to try out the sport since it is included with Apple TV.The F1 movie was also a strong motivator, as it helped reawaken my dormant love of racing. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Apple creates adorable little Finder guy to promote its adorable little Mac
Apple is pitching the MacBook Neo at people who’ve never owned a Mac before, and it’s reaching out to them in the place it thinks it will find this new generation of potential Mac users: TikTok. The company has been running a series of quirky ads on the video streaming platform, some of them featuring an adorable little Finder guy … more…

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Apple just created a billion more Mac users
Macworld For years, Chromebooks and low-cost Windows laptops have dominated the education sector for one primary reason: aggressive pricing. Some models sell for under $200, making them easy to deploy at scale. They’re also more sensible than entry-level iPads, thanks to the more mature operating systems, larger displays, built-in keyboards, and fuller feature sets. That dynamic is about to shift, however. With the newly announced MacBook Neo, Apple is set to disrupt this longstanding formula, positioning itself as a serious player in education. Until now, a truly affordable MacBook that parents and schools could justify for kids didn’t exist—Apple’s cheapest laptop started at $999 with the MacBook Air. Starting at a mere $499 for education, Neo is catering to this untapped market for the first time ever. Before long, many students will either be using a MacBook Neo or asking for one. Long-term gains The MacBook Neo’s starting price is a calculated decision. Apple could’ve easily charged more and still sold plenty of them, but short-term profit isn’t the primary goal here. With such a low starting price for students, Apple is ensuring Macs will begin showing up in classrooms all over the world, winning over younger generations and getting them accustomed to Apple hardware and software.  By introducing students to the Mac at a young age, Apple potentially secures them as lifelong customers who will later spend much more on higher-end devices. Plenty of Chromebooks and Windows laptops cost less than $499, but they don’t have the design or ecosystem Apple does. The MacBook is an established premium line, and, at just $499, it’s bound to become the new cool at school. Apple laptops are already popular with students, but now they’ll be popular with schools too.Apple iPhone’s BFF Back in the days when I was a college student, I sold my mid-range Lenovo laptop right after I switched from Android to iPhone. Instead of a Mac, I opted for an iPad to keep things in sync with my iPhone while I worked. Within a couple of years, my entire setup was converted to Apple-made products that worked seamlessly together. Many parents buy their kids iPhones for similar reasons. They can easily AirDrop notes, add them to shared photo albums, track them with Find My, set Screen Time limits, approve purchases, and much more. When they grown up, these kids will want a laptop that works just as well with their iPhones. The MacBook Neo offers native integrations with iOS, including iPhone Mirroring, notification forwarding, Universal Clipboard, plus the practical iCloud sync for photos, notes, contacts, files, and other data. No Chromebook or Windows laptop can beat that. Full desktop experience Another reason parents and schools may want to prioritize the MacBook Neo over a Chromebook is that it runs the full version of macOS. ChromeOS is essentially a glorified web browser that doesn’t offer the same set of advanced apps. While the MacBook Neo may run an iPhone chip, users will still get to install professional Mac software, such as coding tools, photo editors, and other comprehensive desktop apps. Apple doesn’t say how long it will support the MacBook Neo with software updates, but it’s safe to assume that it’ll be longer than any of its mid-range rivals. Cheap laptops often get quickly neglected by their manufacturers, as they focus their resources on supporting flagship machines. As such, Neo users will get the latest security patches, AI enhancements, and other new Mac features for years to come. Apple learned from the mistakes it made with the iPhone 5c.Foundry Far from an iPhone 5c When the plastic iPhone 5c flopped, Apple learned how not to build cheap products, switching to the SE model, which maintains the premium materials for budget iPhones and watches by incorporating dated components. The MacBook Neo is an evolution of this successful formula that sacrifices certain technologies for design and features that matter. According to Macworld’s Michael Simon—who got to try the notebook at Apple’s hands-on event—the MacBook Neo feels as premium as the MacBook Air. It features a sturdy aluminum chassis, reliable Magic Keyboard (albeit not backlit), stunning display, decent audio system, and more. Sure, you’re missing out on some higher-end specs available on Air and Pro MacBooks, but it doesn’t feel like similarly priced, low-grade laptops. Beyond its durability, the MacBook Neo also caters to students and youngsters by offering vibrant color options, including citrus and blush—plus the more subtle silver and indigo. The selection can add a fun aspect to a serious productivity device, making it appealing to a broader range of customers. If pretty much everything about the MacBook Neo is superior, why would anyone still want to buy another cheap laptop?

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India makes one in four of all iPhones worldwide
Apple reportedly produced around 55 million iPhones in India during 2025, up from around 40 million the year before, as the company continues to drastically reduce its reliance on China.Tim Cook in a previous visit to India — image credit: AppleIn 2023, an Indian trade minister revealed that Apple ultimately aimed to increase local iPhone manufacturing from the then around 6%, to 25% by 2025. Now according to Bloomberg, Apple has done exactly that.Reportedly, Apple had approximately 55 million iPhones produced in India during 2025. Apple tends to make between 220 million and 230 million iPhones annually, meaning India accounted for a quarter of that. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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David Pogue releases new ‘Apple: The First 50 years’ book
Apple celebrates its 50th birthday this year, having originally been founded on April 1, 1976. Coinciding with that anniversary, veteran technology reporter “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent David Pogue is out with a new book that goes in-depth on the company’s history, Apple: The First 50 Years. more…

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Apple paying a premium to move iPhone production outside China as it hits milestone
Apple last year shifted a substantial amount of iPhone production outside of China despite the fact that it has to pay a premium to do so. The company reportedly hit a significant milestone, reaching the halfway point in its objective to split iPhone production equally between China and India … more…

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Don’t worry, Apple isn’t going all practical
Macworld They did it! Yes, last week Apple announced the much-rumored “cheap laptop”, the MacBook Neo. Coming in a variety of almost actual colors, the Neo ships with an A18 Pro processor and starts at just $599, the lowest price ever for a Mac laptop not sold out of the trunk of someone’s car. And even better? It’s not a piece of junk. Initial benchmarks indicate the Neo bests the M3-based iPad Air in single-core operations, which are pretty much the kind of operations the target market for this device will be doing. So that’s good. The Macalope isn’t a hardware engineer but he’s pretty sure you want hardware that’s optimized for the kind of things you’re going to be doing. That just seems right. Also, again, better is that because Apple already has a lot of experience and economies of scale built up from having worked with the components in the Neo for years, it’s cheap to repair. Is there anything this device can’t do?! Yes. Actually, yeah, there are a lot of things it can’t do. It’s got 8GB of RAM and starts with 256GB of storage, so it’s not a powerhouse. But it’s still darn good. Reaction, other than a few grumbles about it not having MagSafe and one of the ports being USB 2.0, has been wildly positive. According to Gene Munster, who’s never been wrong about anything, the MacBook Neo could boost Apple revenue by 0.5 percent without impacting margins and give the company great gains in the educational market. Whether that happens or not, it’s a very attractive laptop at an extremely attractive price. But… [puts on unnecessary glasses, temples hooves in front of face]… what does it mean? If you’d like to receive regular news and updates to your inbox, sign up for our newsletters, including The Macalope and Apple Breakfast, David Price’s weekly, bite-sized roundup of all the latest Apple news and rumors.Foundry Because we always have to talk about what everything means, some people have apparently taken the MacBook Neo and the iPhone 17e (also introduced last week) as a sign that Apple is pivoting from being a premium brand to one servicing low-cost markets. Seriously? Have you met Apple? Taking a look at the question, Horace Deiu asks, “Is Apple Pivoting?” Then immediately gets the Betteridge of his own headline. No. There. Glad we cleared that up. First of all, the iPhone 17e isn’t even the first “cheap” iPhone Apple’s shipped (the original iPhone SE was cheaper). It’s not even the first cheap iPhone Apple’s shipped with an “e” after the number. The Neo is the cheapest Apple laptop ever, but the only reason Apple never made it before is that it couldn’t without making a device that was overly compromised. For years, Apple was told it absolutely had to make a netbook, and the company looked at netbooks and said, “Ew, David,”, which is weird because “Schitt’s Creek” would not come out for like six more years. The company made the MacBook Air instead, which sold like aluminum hotcakes. If, you know, aluminum hotcakes were something that a lot of people wanted to buy. In deflating the idea that Apple is pivoting, Dediu makes a great point that the Macalope has surely not given enough attention to over the years. The problem is that I’ve known many poor people who buy expensive things (actually most luxury brands sell to the less affluent) and many rich people buy cheap things (shunning conspicuity). It’s obviously not the case that all poor people buy expensive items and all rich people buy cheap ones, but often people who can’t afford to splurge on very large ticket items will splurge on smaller expensive items. Anyway, if you thought this represented a fundamental shift in Apple’s market positioning, here come even more expensive laptops! And that’s not all! There’s a more significant shift underway toward higher-end fare — what I’d describe as “Ultra” products. The company may not use the Ultra branding for all of them (though you do see it on the Apple Watch Ultra, CarPlay Ultra, and Ultra chips), but a number of upcoming items will fall into this category. Mark Gurman, March 8, 2026 Apple’s been making (relatively) cheap iPhones and iPads for years, and they’re great devices. Only now has the company been able to make a (relatively) cheap MacBook. That’s why it is, not because of some grand shift in strategy. If you’re still not convinced, just wait until the foldable iPhone comes out. The price is likely to be eye-watering and not in a “tears of joy” kind of way. Unless you’re Tim Cook.

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Apple @ Work Podcast: Printing goes to the cloud
Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple. In this episode of Apple @ Work, Kevin Pickhart, Executive Chairman of Pharos, joins the show to talk about the hidden security risks lurking in office printers, and why zero-trust security needs to include print workflows, not just endpoints and networks. more…

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