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.
2026-03-11 07:30:01
Apple is set to launch two new low-cost devices tomorrow, the iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo. Both devices use A-series chips, which have historically been limited to the iPhone and iPad.
The MacBook Neo has Apple's A18 Pro chip inside, which was first used in the iPhone 16 Pro models, while the iPhone 17e has a newer A19 chip. Unsurprisingly, thanks to the newer chip, Apple's $599 iPhone outperforms the CPU in its $599 Mac.
The iPhone 17e earned a multi-core score of 9,241 on early Geekbench benchmarks, while the MacBook Neo earned a multi-core score of 8,668. Single-core chip results also favored the iPhone 17e, which earned a score of 3,607, while the Neo had a single-core score of 3,461.
Metal scores for the GPU were closer, with the MacBook Neo scoring between 30,000 and 31,400 the iPhone 17e earned scores ranging from 31,000 to 31,600.
Both the iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo have the same 8GB RAM for Apple Intelligence support, and while that might not sound like enough for a Mac, early reviewers felt that 8GB RAM was sufficient for everyday light workloads.
The MacBook Neo is the first Mac that Apple has designed with an A-series chip instead of an M-series chip, and its benchmark results suggest that it is essentially an iPhone that runs macOS. It will be interesting to see how well the MacBook Neo sells given that its CPU performance trails Apple's low-cost iPhone.
2026-03-11 05:30:51
It's Wednesday, March 11 in Australia and New Zealand, which means it's the official launch day for all of the products Apple introduced last week, including the new low-cost MacBook Neo, the iPhone 17e, the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models, the Studio Display, the Studio Display XDR, the M4 iPad Air, and the M5 MacBook Air.
Apple fans who purchased one of the new devices will start receiving their orders in the next few hours, and will soon share photos and first impressions of the new MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e, and more on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and other social networks.
If you've ordered one of the new products and it's been delivered, let us know your thoughts in the comments below and make sure to share some photos.
Since there are no Apple retail stores in New Zealand, customers in Australia are the first to be able to pick up their new device or make a purchase in an Apple Store. In-store stock in Australia will provide insight into what we can expect from other Apple locations worldwide, but we aren't expecting major shortages.
Some MacBook Neo models have delivery estimates that are a little over a week out, so that may be the most popular new product from this batch.
If you missed pre-ordering a MacBook Neo or one of Apple's other new devices, you should be able to visit an Apple retail location to pick one up on launch day. Other retailers like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy should also have stock, and carriers will have the iPhone 17e.
Following Australia and New Zealand, sales and deliveries of the MacBook Neo, new Studio Display models, iPhone 17e, and other products will begin in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and finally, North America.
Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors, because we'll have hands-on and unboxing videos starting tomorrow.
2026-03-11 04:54:50
While the MacBook Neo achieves a breakthrough $599 starting price, that of course comes with some compromises, and one of them is slower SSD speeds.
The Verge today showed the MacBook Neo had up to 8× slower sustained SSD read and write speeds in a benchmark test compared to the new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The site did not mention which tool it used to measure SSD speeds, but it was likely Blackmagic's Disk Speed Test or AmorphousDiskMark.
Here is a comparison of sustained SSD speeds, according to The Verge.
| Mac (Chip/Capacity) | Read Speeds | Write Speeds |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Neo (A18 Pro/256GB) | 1,735 MB/s | 1,684 MB/s |
| MacBook Air (M1/512GB) | 3,422 MB/s | 3,274 MB/s |
| MacBook Air (M5/1TB) | 7,049 MB/s | 7,480 MB/s |
| MacBook Pro (M5 Max/4TB) | 13.6 GB/s | 17.8 GB/s |
2026-03-11 04:13:40
Sonos today launched two new speakers, the Sonos Play and the Sonos Era 100 SL. Sonos says that the additions to its lineup "reflect a renewed focus on strengthening the Sonos system" after a disastrous 2024 app redesign damaged customer trust.
The Sonos Play is a versatile speaker that can be used from room to room, and like most Sonos products, multiple speakers can be paired together. Sonos Play speakers connect to WiFi and can be grouped across multiple rooms or paired up for stereo sound.
There's an included charging base so the speaker can be used either at home or while on the go. The battery lasts for up to 24 hours, and it can also serve as a power bank for recharging an iPhone. The Sonos Play has IP67 waterproofing so it can be used poolside, at the beach, or in the shower.
When you're not at home, up to four Sonos Play or Move 2 speakers can be paired together over Bluetooth instead of WiFi using the Sonos Play app. Sound will be synced up, and Automatic Trueplay will adapt the audio to match the environment.
AirPlay 2 support is included, so Sonos Play speakers can be used alongside other AirPlay 2 speakers for multi-room or multi-device audio using Apple's technology.
The Era 100 SL is a simpler speaker that's meant to ease people into the Sonos ecosystem. It features a microphone-free design and fewer features to help keep the price lower. It can be used alone or paired with other Sonos speakers over time, and it also supports AirPlay 2.
The Sonos Play and Sonos Era 100 SL can be pre-ordered from the Sonos website starting today, with a launch to follow on March 31, 2026. The Sonos Play is $299, while the Sonos Era 100 SL is $189.
