Apple just came flying in out of left
field with the people's elbow, dropping their giant buying power dong on the
market, releasing a $600 MacBook that,
honestly speaking, makes it hard for me to recommend almost literally anything
else to a laptop shopper. And I want to get way out ahead of this one. If you're
out there bitching about the Neo having a mobile processor in it, y'all spent
the last 5 years complaining that Apple doesn't let you run macOS on the iPad.
Make up your mind. This thing is incredible, and it's just one of the
value-oriented options. I can't believe I'm saying this. We got the iPhone 17e.
We got a replacement for the Pro Display XDR that is $2,000
cheaper and better in a lot of ways. And
we got refreshed MacBook Pros. We got a refreshed MacBook Air. We even got this
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>> [music]
>> The haters' take on the new $600 MacBook Neo is obviously going to be, "Ew, an
iPhone chip in a laptop? It's going to be so underpowered." My take?
Yeah, okay. It isn't going to be an Adobe powerhouse, but Apple isn't
selling it as one. Their marketing is focused instead on web browsing, [music]
messaging, and using the powerful NPU to
apply AI effects to your photos. And you know what? For all of that stuff, this
thing is going to be an absolute monstrously adequate machine.
Now, there is the argument that 256 gigs
of storage and 8 gigs of non-upgradable,
even from the factory, unified memory basically means this thing is e-waste
from the moment it rolls off the production line. But hear me out, you
guys. Was it not already e-waste for those
Starbucks novelists and Facebook Marketplace addicts that instead were
buying much more powerful machines before? Would it not be better if those
folks used up less of our precious supply-constrained NAND and memory right
now? Just saying. Besides, I actually don't really think
Apple had a choice here. Due to the way that die is packaged with the DRAM on
top, in order for them to reuse it, they were kind of stuck with 8 gigs of RAM.
Also, to Apple's credit, their long-term software support means that as long as
I'm stuck with 8 gigs of RAM, they are, too. And with very few notable
exceptions, like the first-gen iPad, the Apple Watch Series 0, whatever that was,
Apple takes pretty darn good care of their customers, even on products whose
active user base numbers in the dozens.
See, that's such a sweet experience. They do such a good job of this that
when I recently got phones for a couple of my kids for Christmas, Apple devices
were two out of, I think, six options that both met my budget and software
support requirements. And I haven't even talked about how great this device is.
Apple is claiming 11 hours of mixed use and up to 16 hours of battery life, not
to mention that it runs without a cooling fan. And because it uses their
lower-powered A-series silicon, it probably straight up doesn't even need a
fan in order to maintain full performance. It also doesn't need a huge
battery, which carries multiple benefits. The 36-W hour battery inside
the MacBook Neo keeps it easily portable at a trim 1.23 kilos, [music]
and it only needs a 20-W charger, which,
thankfully, is included [music] in the box. All of that means that you could
pick up a reasonably priced battery bank, like this really cool one that
promises like a modular interface on the top and the ability to replace the cells
once they wear out or maybe even support [music] future cool battery chemistries,
and you could more than double your Neo's time away from the wall just
carrying a tiny thing like this. Now, you must be thinking at this point,
"What's the downside? Surely it's made of unapologetic plastic or something,
right? Right?" No. Somehow it's not.
It's got an aluminum chassis, a liquid retina display with anti-glare that tops
out at a very solid 500 nits. That's perfectly acceptable for an office or
school environment, or even outdoors if you can stay out of direct sunlight.
Apple also went to great lengths to make it clear [music] that the keyboard is
their familiar, beloved Magic Keyboard, and even the trackpad is
Okay, it's smaller than other MacBooks, but it's still multi-touch and a very
decent size. This thing even packs a 1080p webcam, spatial audio support on
its dual speakers, and a second noise-canceling mic for video calls.
Okay, but then we turn it on its side, and yeah, the connectivity is a bit of
[music] a downer. Thankfully, we get a 3.5 mm jack, but if you want to plug in
a USB-A device or even an external display, you're going to be resorting to
a dongle. I'm getting flashbacks to the 12-in MacBook from 2015. However,
it is worth noting that, sorry to break this to you, 2015 was over 10 years ago,
and nowadays, everything from external drives to gaming headsets to office
monitors can be found with a USB-C connection. Another nitpick, while Touch
ID is featured very prominently in the marketing for the device, it's actually
not supported on the base configuration. It only comes on the 512-gig [music]
model that costs $100 extra. Also, the
keyboard lacks a backlight, which is some pretty strong 2010 vibes on what is
otherwise such a modern-looking machine. With that said, this thing can be had
for as little as $500 with an education discount, [music] and if this redditor's
comment is anything to go by, Apple's strong buyback program, not to mention
their support services, are going to have even public school districts
looking very closely at these machines [music] compared to Chromebooks. So,
well played, Mr. Cook, or should I call you Mr. Anderson? No, no, I shouldn't
cuz you've got a lot more than the one laptop today. Let's dive into the other
new MacBooks and the M silicon chips
that are at their hearts. Now, it's no secret that macOS and I have had our
differences of opinion, but I'm [music] a huge fan of what Apple has done with
Apple silicon, and the M5 Pro and the M5 Max mean that that ain't going to be
changing anytime soon. I talked a fair
bit in our launch coverage of Intel's Panther Lake CPUs about the importance
of multi-die chip designs going forward. This approach can help with everything
from enabling advanced features with third-party IP to reducing costs to
creating a richer, more modular product stack that better serves your customers.
And Apple's version of this, called their Fusion architecture, looks set to
deliver very nicely on all of those benefits. The Pro and the Max
configurations both come with a new neural processor and a nice little
upgrade to peak unified memory throughput and GPU performance. And both
of them now have 18 CPU cores. That
[music] is a four and two core improvement over last gen, respectively.
This, combined with Apple's claims that these are the fastest cores in the
world, >> [music] >> should mean that Apple's only obstacle to selling these things by the truckload
is how good their previous generation
M-series silicon already was. Seriously,
Apple even tacitly acknowledges how few Apple silicon owners are going to be
upgrading by emphasizing just how much better the battery life will be compared
to your Intel CPU MacBook. Though, honestly, I think they're being a little
unfair to themselves. If you're a heavy network user, for instance, like if you
edit video over a NAS, the Wi-Fi 7 capability of Apple's new N1 networking
chip could be a game-changer for you. And it comes with Bluetooth 6 as a nice
little cherry on top. And there have been numerous other nice little
quality-of-life improvements as their M silicon has evolved. Like the first gen
was limited to HDMI 2.0. Anything newer does HDMI 2.1. And the M4 series was the
first to get Thunderbolt 5 with its whopping up to 120 gigabit per second
bandwidth boost mode. Though it is worth noting that on both M4 and M5, the base
non-Pro Max Ultra chips are still limited to Thunderbolt 4. Now, a major
question in all of this is, of course, pricing. But I'm pleased to say that,
even amidst a RAM-pocalypse that is wreaking havoc on affordability for PC
users, Apple has managed to mostly hold the line. They did eliminate some
entry-level models in their MacBook Pro lineup, like the 512-gig version of the
M5 Pro model, but if I'm being honest, guys, all told, it
could have been a lot worse. And if nothing changes in the AI data center
boom, next year it might be worse. It's very possible that Apple was only able
to do this thanks to their long roadmap and the large-scale purchasing
commitments that they make. We'll have to see how it goes.
The last new MacBook is probably the least exciting to me. The M5 MacBook Air
is $100 more now. Yeah. But it comes with double the starting
storage, a faster SSD, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and, of course, better
performance, which, again, most Apple silicon users don't need that much. So,
it seems like Apple's most compelling sales pitch for it seems to center
around being allowed to upgrade it with more [music] RAM and more storage
compared to the Neo. But hey, when you're up against an absolute showstopper like that, I guess it's okay
not to look that [music] good. Well, at least the Neo stole the show so
far. I haven't even talked about the new displays yet.
At first, I was like, eh, Apple's non-pro displays have always
been kind of unexciting, but not this time. [music] The new Studio Display XDR, frankly,
kicks the absolute crap [snorts] out of its Pro older brother.
Sure, they lowered the resolution and it is a little smaller,
but because it's smaller and we're still talking 5K resolution, it's actually got
nearly the same eye-watering pixel density of over 210 pixels per inch.
This thing is going to be sharp, but it
won't cut your wallet. At least, not as much, coming in at
around $1,700 less than the old Pro Display XDR. Also,
it's finally a mini LED panel for the desktop that can do 120 Hz with adaptive
sync variable refresh rate. But wait, there's more. Did I even mention yet
it's got over 2,300 dimming zones? It'll hit 1,000 nits
brightness in SDR and can manage 2,000
nits peak in HDR. >> [screaming]
>> And the IO, ladies and gentlemen, we're going from a single Thunderbolt 3 port
[music] with 96 W of charging and three USB-C ports running at USB 2.0 speeds to
not one Thunderbolt 5 port with 140 W of
charging, but how about second Thunderbolt 5 port, albeit without
charging. And okay, we're only getting two USB-C
downlinks, but this time they're running at 10 gigabit per second. That is
plenty. And on top of the physical changes, we're also getting support for
16 reference modes. So, color correctionists and radiologists using
DICOM, rejoice, along with access to the
Adobe RGB color gamut and the same 12-megapixel Center Stage plus Desk View
camera from the Studio Display, along with six surround speakers with
allegedly improved bass and the three mic array that is standard in the Studio
Display. Already. Now, I know I already mentioned it's significantly cheaper
than the old Pro Display, but did I mention that the stand is cheaper, too?
Sure, the whole package is still pretty pricey, but I still say write about
today in your journal anyway, because I doubt that Apple is ever going to give
us such a big upgrade along such a massive price cut again. As for the
non-XDR model, it's a little less compelling. It comes in at
the same $1,600 you were paying before, but now with similarly upgraded
Thunderbolt and USB-C ports, albeit with slower charging speeds, and we get the
Desk View upgrade for the 12-megapixel Center Stage camera.
I would have really like to see at least 120 Hz on a display that costs over
$1,000 in 2026, but hey, it's 5K
resolution and not everybody wants that, so
I'm just going to say I'm jazzed enough about the new XDR that I'm willing to
forgive them on this one since they didn't raise the price. On that subject,
it looks like the lowercase e iPhone naming scheme is here to stay because
Apple also announced the new iPhone 17e
this week. Just like last time, it's a couple hundred dollars cheaper than a
regular 17 and just like last time, you do lose out on some great features like
ProMotion technology and the new Center Stage front camera with all that it has
to offer. However, in terms of upgrades over the 16e, you are now getting
MagSafe wireless charging, that one's huge. You get Ceramic Shield 2 glass,
which is amazing, by the way, and you get Apple's A19 chip with the improved
C1X modem. Oh, and I haven't even told you guys the
best part. You know, there's that massive DRAM and storage crisis
happening right now? Well, somehow, the 17e comes with double
the storage at the same $599 price.
Dare I say, you'll love to see it?
What happened to you, Apple? You used to so shamelessly charge us
more for less. Now you're
you're kind of cool. And the same goes for the iPad Air. I mean, Apple could
have just slapped an M4 chip onto it and called it
a day. They've certainly done it before, but instead, it's also getting the new
C1X modem and N1 wireless chips, along
with more memory, 12 gigs instead of eight. I mean, in
typical Apple fashion, their messaging about this change makes it sound more
magical than it is, a 50% jump in unified memory. Thanks, marketing
department, but man, at the same price, [music]
I'll take it. Give me, give me, give me.
I mean, to be clear, not if you're coming from like an M3 iPad Air. You you
have enough RAM and that's a new enough device, but if you're coming from an
older iPad, this new one looks significantly faster and of course will
get the latest software updates for longer. Oh, it has better AI as well. I
kind of glossed over that in some of the earlier stuff, but pretty much
everything has better neural processing than ever before and to Apple's credit,
they try to keep a fair bit of that on device, so uh
kudos there, but for me, the AI is less
of a focus and the big one is the value.
Truly, bravo, Apple. I um
I don't know why. I mean, the Mac mini already exists, but
I didn't think they had it in them. In these dark times of horrible tech
affordability, who saw this coming?
Apple as a beacon in the dark.
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squarespace.com/LTT. If you guys enjoyed this video, why not
check out the time I went shopping for a Mac? There's some very good value stuff
in their lineup on the desktop side, as well.
Okay, spoiler, it's the Mac mini.