We’re only a week into March and Apple has announced a lineup of new products via a ‘Special Apple Experience’, introducing a few refreshes to the existing iPad and MacBook lineup, and new entry-level additions to the product lineup with the iPhone 17E and the introduction of the MacBook Neo, the MacOS challenger to Chromebooks and budget Windows PCs. Read down below for the recap.
The Value Packed Mac: Neo
The MacBook Neo is the debut contender of a new class of portable workstations that Apple has to offer. Since Chromebooks hit the shelves 10 years ago and is slowly crept up about 10% of the global PC market share, it was about time Apple launched a rebuttal. The MacBook Neo is a S$849 laptop built for students, casuals, or anyone looking to find their first footing into the Apple ecosystem. Sporting an A18 Pro chip, it’s also one the first MacBooks to have iPhone silicon in it. Don’t estimate it’s power though, as benchmark scores deliver impressive results — a A18 Pro 8GB RAM MacBook Neo beat both the M1 and M2 chips on Geekbench’s Single Core test, outperforming the flagship MacBooks you could find on older 2020-2022 models. But hey, Apple’s target audience for the Neo doesn’t really care for precision-cut proprietary test scores for tech enthusiasts. At this laptop class, the overall user experience Apple is providing is of a much higher value. Laptops of this price range don’t often get an aluminum chassis, 1080p webcams, and high-resolution screen displays. The Neo checks all boxes on those.
‘E’ Is for Economic: iPhone 17E
The iPhone 17E is an affordable addition to the iPhone 17 lineup, and the 2026 entry-level refresh to the iPhone series. Equipped with the newest A19 Apple-silicon chip, its high-powered bundled with high savings. It’s available in three colours from black, white, and soft pink, all coming shipped with a 256GB base storage, double than the previous iPhone 16E at the same price of S$949. Bonus points goes to new welcome addition of MagSafe charging (finally!) and Ceramic Shield 2 as part of the package.
Flagship Upgrades: The New MacBook Pro & iPad Air
The new iPad Air comes with the M4 chip, with a faster CPU and GPU performance than the previous generations. The M4 iPad Air is up to 30 percent faster than an M3 iPad Air, and also features support for Wi-Fi 7. It’s readymade for iPadOS 26, with Apple Intelligence integration and other Apple ecosystem accessories, like your Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, of course. It starts at the same base price of S$899, and for you get to shave off even more dollars with the education discount, down to S$819.
For MacBook users, you can find the best value if you’re looking to upgrade, as the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro now comes with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If you’re stuck on an Intel-based Mac, it’s about time to make the switch. The M5 Pro is designed for users running complex workflows, like coders optimising algorithms with ChatGPT and photographers processing massive image libraries on Lightroom, while M5 Max is for those pushing the absolute limits, such as CAD simulations and 3D rendering work. If you’re looking to optimise your workflow for, the new M5 MacBooks are the way to go. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at S$2,999, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at S$3,649, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at S$5,099, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at S$5,449.
Once you are done with this story, click here to catch up with our March 2026 issue.