Apple drops MacBook Neo at P39,990

Apple Inc. has unveiled the MacBook Neo, a new budget laptop designed to expand the company’s entry-level lineup and attract more price-conscious buyers.

Starting at P39,990, the MacBook Neo is among the most affordable MacBooks Apple has introduced, targeting students, first-time laptop users and budget-conscious consumers looking to enter the Apple ecosystem.

Entry-level Mac with modern features

The MacBook Neo features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display and runs on Apple’s A18 Pro chip, the same chip architecture used in the company’s latest iPhone lineup.

The device comes in four color options: Silver, Blush, Citrus and Indigo. Apple kept its signature minimalist design while adding brighter finishes aimed at younger users and students.

The 13-inch Liquid Retina display delivers improved color accuracy and sharp resolution for everyday tasks such as browsing, streaming, productivity work and school assignments.

Apple also included a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, providing clearer video quality for virtual meetings, online classes and video calls compared with earlier entry-level Mac models.

For security and convenience, the laptop includes Touch ID, allowing users to unlock the device, approve purchases and sign into applications using their fingerprint.

Connectivity remains straightforward with two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack, covering charging, accessories and wired audio.

By lowering the price barrier while maintaining core Apple features, the MacBook Neo appears designed to compete with midrange Windows laptops and Chromebooks in the education and entry-level market.

Apple refreshes MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

Alongside the MacBook Neo, Apple also announced upgrades to its higher-end laptops.

The new MacBook Air with the M5 chip delivers faster performance with an upgraded CPU and next-generation GPU. The laptop now includes a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling improved artificial intelligence workflows.

MacBook Air now starts with 512GB of storage and can be configured up to 4TB, with faster SSD technology. It also includes Apple’s N1 wireless chip supporting Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

The device maintains its thin aluminum design and Liquid Retina display while adding a 12MP Center Stage camera, support for two external displays and up to 18 hours of battery life.

For professional users, Apple introduced updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models powered by the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

The new processors offer significantly improved performance, including up to four times the AI performance of the previous generation and up to eight times the AI performance compared with M1 models.

MacBook Pro also receives faster SSD speeds, expanded storage starting at 1TB, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and up to 24 hours of battery life.

New displays and other Apple devices

Apple also announced new displays designed to pair with Mac devices.

The updated Studio Display includes a 12MP Center Stage camera, improved image quality, a three-microphone array and a six-speaker system with Spatial Audio.

Meanwhile, the Studio Display XDR introduces a 27-inch 5K Retina XDR panel with mini-LED backlighting, over 2,000 local dimming zones and up to 2000 nits of peak HDR brightness.

Outside the Mac lineup, Apple also introduced the iPhone 17e, a more affordable addition to the iPhone 17 series powered by the A19 chip and featuring a 48MP Fusion camera and satellite connectivity features.

The company also refreshed the iPad Air with the M4 chip, bringing faster performance, more memory and support for Wi-Fi 7 while maintaining the same starting price.