{"id":220050,"date":"2026-03-04T22:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T03:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/apple-launches-budget-macbook-neo-and-new-m5-chips-focused-on-boosting-ai-performance\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T00:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T05:55:17","slug":"apple-launches-budget-macbook-neo-and-new-m5-chips-focused-on-boosting-ai-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/apple-launches-budget-macbook-neo-and-new-m5-chips-focused-on-boosting-ai-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple launches budget MacBook Neo and new M5 chips focused on boosting AI performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple launches budget MacBook Neo and new M5 chips focused on boosting AI performance<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/future\/technology\/2026\/03\/05\/apple-macbook-neo-launch\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-03-04 22:44:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.thenationalnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Apple has introduced a new budget MacBook aimed at attracting more users into its fold, and higher-tier versions of its latest silicon chip focused on supporting more rigid artificial intelligence tasks.<\/p>\n

The California-based company unveiled the MacBook Neo, whose starting price of $599 (Dh2,599) is on par with the iPhone 17e. The latest iteration of the iPhone was released on Monday alongside a refreshed iPad Air to kick off a busy 2026.<\/p>\n

The MacBook Neo does not feature an M chip; instead, it uses the A18 Pro, which powered the iPhone 16 series. It also retains a number of notable MacBook features, including Liquid Retina display, “all-day” battery and support for Apple’s wireless Magic keyboards and trackpads.<\/p>\n

The device was “built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people”, said John Ternus, Apple\u2019s senior vice president of hardware engineering.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Apple unveiled a refreshed MacBook Air with its in-house M5 chip, designed to handle complex AI tasks.<\/p>\n

The M5 was launched last October and was designed to have four times the performance of the M4.<\/p>\n

Apple said the M5 MacBook Air now starts at 512GB, although it will cost $100 more. In the UAE, it starts at Dh4,599, up from the M4 version, which saw a price drop. Effectively, however, it still falls in line with Apple’s strategy of offering double the starting storage at the same price.<\/p>\n

The company also unveiled the M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, which are aimed at heavy-duty users. The new chips are debuting on the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, which now have starting capacities of 1TB.<\/p>\n

Apple has maintained an annual refresh of the MacBook Air and Pro lines since 2017 and 2019, respectively.<\/p>\n