7 Apple Releases You May Have Missed This Week

The MacBook Neo is really a first for Apple. It’s a new ultra-affordable laptop that starts at just $599, making it nearly half the price of the new Airs. Like those Airs, the Neo is a 13-inch laptop that promises to deliver a familiar Mac experience — including Apple’s signature “all day” battery life. Naturally, there are a few trade-offs to keep the price low. The Neo runs Apple’s A18 Pro chip, which was featured in last year’s iPhone 16 Pros, so it’s far from a productivity powerhouse. On the hardware side, its 1080p webcam doesn’t support Center Stage, its keyboard isn’t backlit, and it lacks MagSafe charging. It’s a laptop positioned for students and budget-conscious shoppers.

The iPhone 17e is Apple’s budget-friendly iPhone for 2026. Compared to last year’s iPhone 16e (which replaced the 2022-released iPhone SE), the two smartphones are quite alike. Both have a body similar to the iPhone 14, featuring a 6.1-inch display with a notch — no Dynamic Island — that supports Face ID. And they both have an Action button and support for wireless charging. That said, the iPhone 17e packs a number of upgrades, headlined by an updated processor (A19), a C1X modem and double the storage (now starting at 256GB). Most notably, it also supports MagSafe so you can use it with all your existing magnetic accessories. Apple is selling it at the same $599 price.

Apple refreshed its MacBook Air for 2026. It’s mostly the same as last year’s M4 model — in fact, it’s identical (it comes in the same four colors and 13- and 15-inch sizes) — but Apple upgraded it with its M5 chip, thus promising improved performance and AI capabilities. The base model also comes with double the base storage (now 512GB), but that comes at a $100 price increase. Additional upgrades include Apple’s N1 wireless chip for superior Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a more powerful 40-watt power adapter is included in the box.

Alongside its M5 MacBook Air and M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pros, Apple has also introduced new Studio Display monitors. There are two models: the refreshed Studio Display replaces its 2022-released predecessor, while the all-new Studio Display XDR replaces the 2019-released Pro Display XDR. Both are 27-inch monitors that feature upgraded cameras and speakers, a more beautiful display and improved connectivity thanks to Thunderbolt 5 ports. The Studio Display XDR is the more professional-grade option, featuring mini-LED backlighting (for superb brightness and contrast) and a 120Hz refresh rate. Both are available in nano-texture glass options.

Apple has refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup for 2026. It didn’t reinvent the wheel as the new Pros look identical to last year’s models, but the big news is they’re configurable with Apple’s new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. For the first time, they’ve been built around Apple’s new Fusion Architecture, which, according to Apple, “combines two dies into a single system on a chip, providing tremendous performance boosts.” Like with the new MacBook Airs, Apple has increased the price of the new Pros, but also increased the base storage.

In tandem with its new MacBook Pros, Apple has unveiled the next evolution of its M5 chips: the M5 Pro and M5 Max. These processors have a new Fusion Architecture, combining two dies into a single processor, which Apple claims “includes a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities.” Both can be outfitted with 18-core CPUs, while the M5 Pro gets a 20-core GPU, and the M5 Max gets a 40-core GPU. At the time of writing, the new MacBook Pros are the only devices with these Apple chipsets.

Apple’s new iPad Air lineup for 2026 is a pretty modest upgrade over last year’s models. Like before, the iPad Air comes in two sizes — 11- and 13-inches — and it looks exactly like its predecessor. The big upgrade is that these newest iPad Airs now have an M4 chip, which Apple claims makes them “up to 30 percent faster” than last year’s M3 models. Apple has also given its new iPad Airs more RAM, an N1 wireless networking chip (for superior Wi-Fi connectivity) and, for its cellular models, its custom C1X modem. The M4 iPad Airs are the same price as last year’s models.