2026-03-11 20:06:49
Apple's upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max will be slightly thicker than its predecessor, measuring in at 8.8mm, up from 8.75mm on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The information comes from oft-accurate Weibo-based leaker Ice Universe.
The claim chimes with a report last year that alleged hardware changes in the iPhone 18 Pro Max will make it the heaviest iPhone yet.
Last November, fellow Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital said the body of the iPhone 18 Pro Max will be slightly thicker than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, tipping its weight over 240 grams and making it the heaviest iPhone since the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
That could be good news for those who crave longer-lasting battery life. Digital Chat Station – yet another Weibo-based leaker – has claimed the iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery, with a capacity in the range of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh (up from 5,088 mAh in the eSim version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max).
Apple isn't expected to change the screen size of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and it will feature the same 6.9-inch display as the current model.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to launch later this year, featuring a possibly smaller Dynamic Island, the C2 modem, a simplified Camera Control, and an upgraded main camera with a variable aperture.
2026-03-11 19:31:39
Apple's second-generation MacBook Neo may not feature a touch-capable display after all, according to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a report dated September 2025, Kuo accurately predicted that the MacBook Neo would enter mass production in the fourth quarter of 2025, noting that it would not feature a touchscreen. In the same report, however, the analyst said he believed Apple could add a touchscreen for the second-generation model, expected in 2027.
Kuo's latest thoughts now appear to push back against the possibility. From the report shared this morning:
Neo 2 was originally expected to feature a touch panel to compete with Chromebooks (50%+ of which support touch), but my latest industry checks suggest Neo 2 may not adopt it.Kuo says Apple's first touchscreen Mac is still expected to launch later this year in the form of a new, high-end MacBook Pro with an OLED display and a new design. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested the machine may be positioned above Apple's existing MacBook Pro Models, and could adopt the moniker "MacBook Ultra."
2026-03-11 19:27:07
Apple has updated its battery cycle count support document to include the new MacBook Neo, revealing that the entry-level laptop has a maximum cycle count of 1,000.
A battery cycle is completed when you've discharged an amount equal to 100% of the battery's total capacity, but not necessarily in one go. For example, if you use 60% one day and 40% the next, it still counts as one cycle, even though you recharged in between.
First spotted in the updated support document by 9to5Mac, the 1,000-cycle limit puts the MacBook Neo right in line with every MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and standard MacBook that Apple has sold since 2009. Older models from the pre-unibody era had limits as low as 300 cycles.
In real-world terms, even someone who burns through a full cycle every day would take nearly three years to hit the 1,000 count cap. More typical usage patterns could well stretch that beyond five years.
Apple says its lithium-ion batteries are designed to hold up to 80% of their original capacity at the maximum cycle count. After that, the battery is considered "consumed" and a replacement is recommended, but that doesn't mean it will simply stop working.
Launching today with a $599 starting price, the all-new MacBook Neo ships with a 36.5-watt-hour lithium-ion battery, which Apple rates for up to 16 hours of video playback and up to 11 hours of wireless web browsing.
2026-03-11 17:51:03
Wednesday is the official launch day of Apple's low-cost MacBook Neo, and as customers who pre-ordered begin to receive their purchases, Apple has also started in-store sales for the new laptop, along with a host of other new products it announced last week.
Customers across Europe, Asia and other regions can now place an order on Apple's website or in the Apple Store app and arrange for in-store pickup at a local retail location.
A quick spot check on the U.K. Apple online store suggests that most stores in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have available stock for customers today, although there are bound to be exceptions, with availability also running on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Apple has yet to update its online store for customers in the United States and Canada, but that will change in the next few hours, when in-store availability across North America will become clear.
To order a product with Apple Store pickup, add the product to your bag on Apple.com, proceed to checkout, select the "I'll pick it up" option, enter your ZIP code, choose an available Apple Store location, and select a pickup date. Payment is completed online, and a valid government-issued photo ID and the order number may be required upon pickup.
The MacBook Neo starts at $599, and is powered by the A18 Pro chip first introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro in 2024. It's the first Mac to use an iPhone-class chip. Apple says it delivers up to 50% faster everyday performance than the bestselling PC with Intel's latest Core Ultra 5 processor.
It features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2,408 × 1,506 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and an anti-reflective coating. The display uses uniform, iPad-style bezels instead of a notch, and the machine weighs 2.7 pounds and comes in Silver, Indigo, Blush, and Citrus, with matching keyboard accents and wallpapers.
Connectivity includes two USB-C ports – one USB-C 2 (up to 480 Mb/s) and one USB-C 3 (up to 10 Gb/s) – plus a headphone jack. Other features include 8GB of unified memory, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 6, a 1080p camera, dual beamforming microphones, Spatial Audio speakers, and up to 16 hours of battery life.
The base model includes 256GB of storage and the Magic Keyboard for $599, while a $699 configuration adds 512GB of storage and Touch ID. Education pricing starts at $499.
Today also marks the launch of the iPhone 17e, MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, MacBook Air with M5 chip, iPad Air with M4 chip, new and updated Apple Studio Displays. In-store availability for these devices will vary depending on popularity, but overall we think the MacBook Neo is likely to be the star of the show today in retail stores worldwide.
2026-03-11 10:39:00
On an earnings call today, an ASUS executive admitted that Apple's more affordable MacBook Neo is a "shock" to the PC industry (via PCMag). In the U.S., the MacBook Neo starts at just $599, or at an even lower $499 for college students.
"Given Apple's historically very premium pricing, launching such an affordable product is certainly a shock to the entire market," said ASUS's Chief Financial Officer Nick Wu, according to a transcript of the earnings call published by Seeking Alpha. His comment was translated to English by an interpreter who was present on the call.
Wu said the MacBook Neo has some limited specs, including only 8GB of RAM, and he believes this may impact the ability to use certain apps. However, MacBook Neo reviewer Patrick Tomasso played back 4K video in DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro, edited a photo in Adobe Lightroom, and used many tabs in Google Chrome on the laptop, all without issue. In fact, most if not all reviews praised the MacBook Neo's performance.
Wu believes that Apple seems to be positioning the MacBook Neo as a device that is more for "content consumption," like a tablet.
"Of course, it's not that it cannot do all the work, but considering user experience and those hardware limitations, the experience, I think, differs significantly from mainstream products," he said, according to the transcript.
Nevertheless, Wu said the PC industry is taking the MacBook Neo's introduction "very seriously."
"I believe all PC vendors, including upstream vendors like Microsoft, Intel and AMD, they're all taking this very seriously, seriously discussing how to compete with this product in the entire PC ecosystem," said Wu, per the transcript. "The entire PC system will launch corresponding products to compete with Apple."
Ultimately, he said the MacBook Neo's actual impact on the PC market remains to be seen.
"The final market competition outcome is hard to predict," he said. "We just need more time."
With the MacBook Neo launch underway, the clock is officially ticking.
2026-03-11 08:06:00
Apple considered but abandoned plans for a flip-style foldable iPhone because it didn't create compelling new use cases, according to Weibo leaker Instant Digital. Apple reportedly felt that it was an "unnecessary" design because the biggest selling point would have been its smaller size when folded.
The split at the middle also caused issues with internal space, limiting battery capacity and leaving less space for camera components. Apple would have had to compromise on the rear camera system. Instant Digital suggests that if Apple wanted a smaller iPhone, the company would introduce a smaller slab-style model instead.
There have been two distinct periods when rumors suggested Apple was considering an iPhone that folds in half like a clamshell. The first rumors surfaced years ago before reports shifted toward Apple's work on the larger book-style foldable iPhone that's coming in 2026, and the second came in February 2026 when rumors indicated Apple was once again evaluating the design.
It's not clear if Instant Digital is referring to the earlier rumors or the more recent rumors from February, but the wording suggests the latter.
Samsung has long had two foldable smartphone styles, offering both the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip, but smaller-sized iPhones have not done well. Apple had a 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini and an iPhone 13 mini, but the device was discontinued after two generations because it sold poorly.
Given Apple's struggle to sell more compact iPhones like the iPhone mini, it may not be surprising that a clamshell-style foldable has been shelved for now.
