2026 Apple Devices

[wrylachlan]

I fundamentally disagree that it’s “a lot”. In fact it’s the leanest product portfolio in the industry BY FAR, especially when you consider that Apple competes in every consumer segment. Dell doesn’t make watches or tablets or phones, and they still offer more total SKUs than Apple.

Saying that the Apple hardware lineup is too big or somehow confusing to consumers is just nostalgia for the early-2000s Jobs era. Apple (and the world) are radically different now.

“A lot” and “too big/confusing” are not the same thing. I’m not at all persuaded by a comparison to Dell. Comparing yourself to an obviously inferior competitor is a recipe for complacency - you want to compare yourself to your own ideals.

Apple is not yet confusing, but it is “a lot”. By that I mean it has not yet crossed the bright line into confusion but it’s toeing that line and that’s noteworthy.

 

[dmsilev]

Looks like Neo reviews are going up. Ars front page article. Biggest surprise is that the processor seems to have kept its iPhone thermal profile instead of throttling more slowly as would be possible in a laptop with a bigger heat sink and bigger battery. So, bursty loads are comparable to M4 single-thread and M1 multi-thread, but anything more than a few tens of seconds starts to throttle much more aggressively than a MacBook Air does.

 

[skazz]

Looks like Neo reviews are going up. Ars front page article. Biggest surprise is that the processor seems to have kept its iPhone thermal profile instead of throttling more slowly as would be possible in a laptop with a bigger heat sink and bigger battery. So, bursty loads are comparable to M4 single-thread and M1 multi-thread, but anything more than a few tens of seconds starts to throttle much more aggressively than a MacBook Air does.

It's still plenty of performance for the vast majority of users.

And besides, the good part of this is that the chassis will stay cold at all times and battery health will remain good for a long time. Which is probably more important to 95% of Neo users than performance.

As Ars' review demonstrates... A passively cooled laptop where the SoC pulls 4W during sustained performance should have very stable battery life and long lasting battery health:

 

[dmsilev]

It's still plenty of performance for the vast majority of users.

Oh, definitely. I was just surprised to see that.

I appreciated the review's discussion of the real-world implications of 8 GB based on actually using the thing for a bunch of tasks. Basically, for the target users, fine for expected use cases in the here and now, but what it will be like four or five years down the road is an open question.

 

[Galvanic]

but what it will be like four or five years down the road is an open question

Indeed. Though how often do users in this market upgrade the software or operating system? (Though given how hard Apple pushes the OS upgrades...)

An interesting and positive side effect for everyone is that Apple now has to make sure that its OS runs reasonably on an A18 8GB machine.

 

[cateye]

Apple is not yet confusing, but it is “a lot”. By that I mean it has not yet crossed the bright line into confusion but it’s toeing that line and that’s noteworthy.

While I mostly agree with Vincent on this point (WHAT IS GOING ON), I see the point you're making too. There are elements to Apple's lineup that feel superfluous (to me):

The base-level "non pro" 14" MacBook Pro.
Most of the iPad lineup.
Carrying iPhone models forward year over year.

In each case, I'm certain we could come up with defendable reasons why Apple has put or kept these products in its matrix. I'm sure they sell enough of them to make it worth the manufacturing, sales, and marketing complexities. I'm just not convinced that the absence of these items would appreciably harm Apple's various consumer and sales goals. Although, removing them in search of "simplicity" is a bit of a hand-wavy concept.

Apple are not fools. They sell what I'm sure they've determined is worth the effort to sell. That those items no longer neatly conform to the Jobsian 2 x 2 grid is not necessarily a problem.

 

[Bonusround]

The Jobsian grid and lineup simplicity were also an appeal to investors following Apple's near-death. 'Look, we've pared things down, are making fewer bets, we're putting our wood behind a handful of arrows.'

NB: the base MBP is the enterprise model, the fleet machine. When an IT department equips its users with Macs they buy those.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

While I mostly agree with Vincent on this point (WHAT IS GOING ON), I see the point you're making too. There are elements to Apple's lineup that feel superfluous (to me):

The base-level "non pro" 14" MacBook Pro.

Apple sells a ton of these.

In fact, it’s already the Executive Laptop @wrylachlan and I were debating. Pro (mostly) in name only, but you can park yours next to the Porsches and nobody knows.

 

[Galvanic]

The base-level "non pro" 14" MacBook Pro.

You take those words out of your mouth! The base 14 MBP is an excellent machine and I'm rocking one right now. (sobs, runs away)

 

[skazz]

Oh, definitely. I was just surprised to see that.

I appreciated the review's discussion of the real-world implications of 8 GB based on actually using the thing for a bunch of tasks. Basically, for the target users, fine for expected use cases in the here and now, but what it will be like four or five years down the road is an open question.

The future proofing of 8GB remains an interesting topic.

I think all of us can agree that Apple likely went for 8GB in the Neo mostly because of the RAMpocalypse. Otherwise 12GB would probably have been chosen, since Apple Intelligence is a factor that wasn't present a few years ago. Not to mention that this year's iPhone Pros, iPad Pros and even the iPad Air M5 have moved to 12GB so Apple themselves acknowledge the requirement.

Then again, do typical non-techie users of low end laptops actually use AI, or will they immediately turn off Apple Intelligence and Siri to get better performance on the Neo?


Furthermore, the discussion about "Is 8GB enough?" is something we've been seeing for over 10 years now, and yet so many 8GB laptops have been sold in that period. Heck, I remember the vigorous debate online in mid 2020 when the base model M1 MacBook Air came with 8GB RAM and many internet denizens yelled that it was unacceptable. Yet internet really isn't full of owners complaining that their 8GB Macs are unusable even in 2026... far from it.

If you ignore AI rather than including it, 8GB now and 8GB 5 years ago for a content consumption device has barely changed... Will another 5 years really change things for primarily content consumers (web, video, email, office docs)?




P.S. Have you seen the Microsoft Surface website lately? The site is so full of AI hype-word messaging it's just silly.... What does any of this stuff even mean to a typical consumer?

I approve of Apple playing low key. Hitting the feature but not shoving it down the throats of people who couldn't care less.

 

[wrylachlan]

In each case, I'm certain we could come up with defendable reasons why Apple has put or kept these products in its matrix. I'm sure they sell enough of them to make it worth the manufacturing, sales, and marketing complexities. I'm just not convinced that the absence of these items would appreciably harm Apple's various consumer and sales goals. Although, removing them in search of "simplicity" is a bit of a hand-wavy concept.

I think the core concern is neither consumer or sales goals so much as corporate focus. You can only make so many uniquely insanely great products. The more products you try to make the more you divide the focus of everyone from your worker bees to your C suite.

Would the additional concentrated attention to detail you could achieve by offering fewer Mac laptops translate into higher quality Mac laptops? Who knows.

 

[Hap]

I think all of us can agree that Apple likely went for 8GB in the Neo mostly because of the RAMpocalypse. Otherwise 12GB would probably have been chosen, since Apple Intelligence is a factor that wasn't present a few years ago. Not to mention that this year's iPhone Pros, iPad Pros and even the iPad Air M5 have moved to 12GB so Apple themselves acknowledge the requirement.

Disagree. It’s 8GB because that’s all the A18 chip had on the SOC. Apple was not going to create a custom AOC for the Neo or that would drive up cost. Same reason for the limited ports.

If they would have gone to 12GB - it would have been the A19.

Bottom line - 8GB was driven by the choice of chip and the desire not to design a custom SOC

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Hap is right about the choice of the A18 Pro and its baked in limitations. Something I should have realized in my own projections of the Neo having 16GB of RAM.

But this means the next Neo will have the A19 Pro with its 12GB of RAM, which will make it MUCH easier to recommend to casual users.

 

[skazz]

The Neo could just as easily have been given the A19 Pro if Apple really wanted 12GB RAM, though. After all, Neo will be a much smaller volume than the iPhone 17 Pro.

From my point of view, my comment still stands: The choice of A18 Pro and therefore 8GB RAM feels predominantly RAMpocalypse to me, not a specific requirement to use the 2024 chip.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Keeping the A19 Pro powder dry for next year's update is an easy call. The Neo with its A18 Pro and 8GB of RAM is getting rave reviews, even from the mainstream press, and the kids/students/casual users/grandmas that buy it will love it.

Apple chose the right tradeoffs. No need to over spec on the Rev A. Plenty of runway for this device in the years to come.

 

[Galvanic]

The choice of A18 Pro and therefore 8GB RAM feels predominantly RAMpocalypse to me, not a specific requirement to use the 2024 chip.

From my minimal understanding of product creation, they would have made this decision at least a year ago if not more, which seems largely before the RAMpocalypse really started.

 

[dmsilev]

From my point of view, my comment still stands: The choice of A18 Pro and therefore 8GB RAM feels predominantly RAMpocalypse to me, not a specific requirement to use the 2024 chip.

RAMpocalypse is really just the past several months or so. When was the "use the A18 Pro" decision made? Gotta be close to a year or more. I'm sure they could have developed the Neo with the A19 Pro in mind if they really wanted to; presumably there would have been enough early manufacturing samples available a year ago. But, it's a pricier SOC (newer process node, newer chip, and yes, more RAM), so it might just have been a general cost consideration to use last year's version instead.

 

[skazz]

Ok, maybe you guys are right.

I'm still not entirely convinced, given that we're already 9 months since the launch of the A19 Pro. I personally suspect that Apple will have built the Neo enclosure and stuff like the new trackpad earlier, but left the choice of exact chip until later depending on sales of the iPhone 17.

Heck, we know how successful the iPhone 17 Pro has been: Maybe the 17 Pro was selling so well that Apple actually took a step back and used old iPhone 16 stock, taking the 8GB RAM hit as a result?



Changing the subject: Dave 2D's review of the Neo shows how the new trackpad works. No hinge, just a clever tech to float the entire trackpad. Interesting to see:

View: https://youtu.be/h26FlWu7aDc?t=362




P.S. What's with those gigantic speaker housings? I mean, I knew the battery in the Neo was small for the size of the enclosure, but seeing the free space taken up by those gigantic plastic housings is just crazy

 

[japtor]

A19 Pro is only in products that are $1000 and up and sell as many as they can make.

The MB Neo is sold down to $500 so has to be as cheap as reasonably possible to get whatever margins they're looking for. No way it was going to get the newest chip available. And that's ignoring the RAMpocalypse which just amplifies the cost concerns further.

 

[zogus]

Ok, maybe you guys are right.

I'm still not entirely convinced, given that we're already 9 months since the launch of the A19 Pro. I personally suspect that Apple will have built the Neo enclosure and stuff like the new trackpad earlier, but left the choice of exact chip until later depending on sales of the iPhone 17.

Heck, we know how successful the iPhone 17 Pro has been: Maybe the 17 Pro was selling so well that Apple actually took a step back and used old iPhone 16 stock, taking the 8GB RAM hit as a result?

The supply chain for these things are planned for over a year in advance. Apple hasn't had the time to watch the 17 Pro's sales performance and then decide on the CPU. It is possible that the sales of the 17 Pro would influence the decision to use or not use the A19 Pro in the next MBN, but of course we won't know the answer to that for at least one more year.

Besides, the fact that they shipped the A18 Pro means that Apple had decided that an A18 Pro level performance was sufficient for this price point at this time. It is unlikely that they'd reach that conclusion and then splurge on the A19 Pro.

 

[cateye]

I was watching some unboxing videos of the various Neo colors and something occurred to me: The included USB-C cable is not color-matched to the case, as it is with the iMac. They're all white.

Which... I mean, I absolutely understand. On a $599 machine, Apple likely took every cost efficiency to maintain as much of a margin as possible. But at the same time, that's kind of unfortunate. It's little details that make the consumer-facing experience more pleasant for people not attuned to the bits and boops the way we are.

 

[Galvanic]

possible. But at the same time, that's kind of unfortunate. It's little details that make the consumer-facing experience more pleasant for people not attuned to the bits and boops the way we are.

I love that your major complaint in a budget laptop is that the cords don’t match. Eek!

 

[Chris FOM]

Apple sells a ton of these.

In fact, it’s already the Executive Laptop @wrylachlan and I were debating. Pro (mostly) in name only, but you can park yours next to the Porsches and nobody knows.

Yep. Even before the current model, the prior 13” MBP was apparently Apple’s second-best selling laptop behind the MBA. While functionally it’s more questionable (in particular compared to the 15” MBA), it fills a critical role in Apple’s lineup in terms of sales and pricing. If the rumored MacBook Ultra does eventually become the new MBP going forward, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see that model continue with the current chassis.

I’d actually say the Mac lineup is in a pretty good place. The only really confusing spot is that overlap between the 15” MBA and the base 14” MBP, everything else is pretty straightforward. I’d like to see an M Pro in the iMac (that would be the ultimate dorm computer or, to the extent such things still exist, family computer), but I can see what they haven’t done it (if the current iMac can even cool one).

Really the biggest problem I see is the undead cursed existence of the Mac Pro. It’s pretty obvious that the inability to work the 4x Max design killed what that system was supposed to be, and the current version that’s basically a Mac Studio with PCI slots is a pretty lousy proposition. But even acknowledging that the fact Apple didn’t update it with the M3 Ultra is inexcusable. Either commit to it or kill it, but make up your mind.

 

[cateye]

I love that your major complaint in a budget laptop is that the cords don’t match. Eek!

It's not a complaint at all! I think the Neo is a great little computer, even if it's not one I have a need for in my lineup. And, I mostly couldn't care less about Apple's little twee affectations as they don't really influence what I do and don't like about Macs. I was just ruminating that for such a consumer focused device, and one aimed squarely at switchers, I was recognizing that Apple's attention to little details like that can spark joy and are a hallmark of the brand.

But then again, we don't even get fucking stickers anymore so all of life is suffering.

 

[Honeybog]

I was recognizing that Apple's attention to little details like that can spark joy and are a hallmark of the brand.

But then again, we don't even get fucking stickers anymore so all of life is suffering.

When they originally did this and I complained about it, people on here basically accused me of hating the environment.

 

[Galvanic]

people on here basically accused me of hating the environment.

Well?

 

[dal20402]

While I mostly agree with Vincent on this point (WHAT IS GOING ON), I see the point you're making too. There are elements to Apple's lineup that feel superfluous (to me):

The base-level "non pro" 14" MacBook Pro.
Most of the iPad lineup.
Carrying iPhone models forward year over year.

In each case, I'm certain we could come up with defendable reasons why Apple has put or kept these products in its matrix. I'm sure they sell enough of them to make it worth the manufacturing, sales, and marketing complexities. I'm just not convinced that the absence of these items would appreciably harm Apple's various consumer and sales goals. Although, removing them in search of "simplicity" is a bit of a hand-wavy concept.

Apple are not fools. They sell what I'm sure they've determined is worth the effort to sell. That those items no longer neatly conform to the Jobsian 2 x 2 grid is not necessarily a problem.

Apple's volume is so much higher now than it was in 1999 that some additional complexity feels almost inevitable. Everything about the operational side is a lot harder, but especially fast transitions.

Having said that, I think the lineup makes more sense than a lot of you are giving it credit for. The key is to recognize that there really is a 3x3 grid in the core products, just with some messiness in some of the squares, and more niche products than there used to be. But now, the grid axes are form factor and "cheap/good/best."

	CHEAP	GOOD	BEST
iPhone	iPhone 16 iPhone 17e	iPhone 17	iPhone 17 Pro iPhone Air*
iPad	iPad	iPad Air iPad mini	iPad Pro
MacBook	MacBook Neo	MacBook Air	MacBook Pro (M5)** MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/Max)

* The consumers disagreed that this was a "Best" product, but Apple certainly markets it that way.
** This is the one place where Apple tries to bring "Best" marketing down to "Good" price, and succeeds amazingly well. Part of it is "Pro" branding and another part is an appealing feature mix: the combination of higher-end non-SOC parts with a lower-end SOC. My wife is an example: she has an M4 Pro which she had me buy mostly because she can see its screen is better than that of the 15" Air.

The "Cheap/Good/Best" approach is also present and accounted for in both Watch and AirPods. Desktops and AppleTV, both tiny niches, are really the only hardware categories where it doesn't quite fit.

 

[educated_foo]

Though how often do users in this market upgrade the software or operating system? (Though given how hard Apple pushes the OS upgrades...)

This. My more tech-indifferent friends go with the defaults, because they have other stuff to think about, and are therefore subjected to Liquid Glass and Apple Intelligence. It takes a bit of knowledge and initiative to dismiss it when Computer Says "macOS 26.3 is available. Update now!"

 

[ant1pathy]

"cheap/good/best."

Good / better / best. The entry model is still good in the ways that matter to the people buying them.

 

[Numfuddle]

Confession time: I have never once used any of the packed-in stickers of any Apple product I bought. Ever since the first PowerBook G4 I bought in 2004 the stickers either eventually end up in the trash or they remain with the warranty brochure and the other documents inside the box.

 

[CommanderJameson]

It’s out for delivery...

 

[Numfuddle]

In real life the MacBook Pro is just so much more chunky than my Air. Pictures and videos don't do that justice. I now have the slightest bit of buyer's remorse. (That won't last long)

I know also get why people await a potential MacBook Ultra that is slimmer because having seen both the Air and the Pro now myself next to each other I can say that I'd like a MacBook Pro with Pro or Max chip in the Air footprint quite a lot, actually.

Well the higher performancve and better display and faster SSD will make this trade off work. It's more of an FYI for potential buyers.

 

[Schpyder]

I was watching some unboxing videos of the various Neo colors and something occurred to me: The included USB-C cable is not color-matched to the case, as it is with the iMac. They're all white.

Has Apple bothered color-matching any cables outside of the iMac? It makes sense there, it's a desktop AIO, it's gonna stay in one spot and the cable is arguably part of the entire computer aesthetic. But for a laptop, I figure most people are going to use whatever cable they have conveniently available to them, especially for something like the Neo that can realistically charge off a 20W charger.

 

[CommanderJameson]

Has Apple bothered color-matching any cables outside of the iMac? It makes sense there, it's a desktop AIO, it's gonna stay in one spot and the cable is arguably part of the entire computer aesthetic. But for a laptop, I figure most people are going to use whatever cable they have conveniently available to them, especially for something like the Neo that can realistically charge off a 20W charger.

Yes. We’ve got a Starlight M2 MBA, and the magsafe cable is colour matched. Also, I believe the space black MBP comes with a black cable.

ETA: Also, all our HomePods have colour-matched cables. Which is just as well, because they're hardwired.

 

[Numfuddle]

Yes. We’ve got a Starlight M2 MBA, and the magsafe cable is colour matched. Also, I believe the space black MBP comes with a black cable.

Midnight MBA as well

edit: also my new MacBook Pro has a color matched cable.

 

[zogus]

Confession time: I have never once used any of the packed-in stickers of any Apple product I bought. Ever since the first PowerBook G4 I bought in 2004 the stickers either eventually end up in the trash or they remain with the warranty brochure and the other documents inside the box.

I, too, have sinned, Reverend Mother.

 

[dal20402]

I was jealous when I saw the black cable that came in the box with my wife’s black M4 MBP, because a white one came with my Space Gray M1 Max version. I think it changed with the M3 generation?

 

[gregatron5]

In real life the MacBook Pro is just so much more chunky than my Air. Pictures and videos don't do that justice. I now have the slightest bit of buyer's remorse. (That won't last long)

I know also get why people await a potential MacBook Ultra that is slimmer because having seen both the Air and the Pro now myself next to each other I can say that I'd like a MacBook Pro with Pro or Max chip in the Air footprint quite a lot, actually.

Well the higher performancve and better display and faster SSD will make this trade off work. It's more of an FYI for potential buyers.

While I appreciate the modern MacBook/MacBook Pro design, I still miss the previous one. I've never used the HDMI port, I miss the second USB-C port on the right, and the SD slot, while handy, has been used maybe twice? The modern one is chonkier, heavier, and less svelte. In my opinion, the only two things it has better than the old one is the (re)addition of MagSafe and the screen (excepting the notch, which is a horrible regression.) I even miss the Touch Bar. Granted, I like having F-keys back, but WHY CAN'T WE HAVE BOTH! It's not like there's not enough room. There were some use cases (e.g. debugging in IntelliJ IDEA) where it was absolutely brilliant.

 

[CommanderJameson]

While I appreciate the modern MacBook/MacBook Pro design, I still miss the previous one.

Fair, it was very dainty.

I've never used the HDMI port, I miss the second USB-C port on the right, and the SD slot, while handy, has been used maybe twice?

OK, I guess? I use the HDMI port multiple times daily and the SD card reader regularly. People be different.

The modern one is chonkier, heavier, and less svelte.

More Pro, though, because it dissipates heat better and doesn't have a shitty Intel chip in it.

In my opinion, the only two things it has better than the old one is the (re)addition of MagSafe and the screen (excepting the notch, which is a horrible regression.) I even miss the Touch Bar. Granted, I like having F-keys back, but WHY CAN'T WE HAVE BOTH! It's not like there's not enough room. There were some use cases (e.g. debugging in IntelliJ IDEA) where it was absolutely brilliant.

I never really rated the Touch Bar. Neat idea, but like a lot of Apple's Neat Ideas, it never got the traction it needed.

 

[syncline]

Apologies if this was covered already, teardown videos of Neo are showing NO glue anywhere! Just screws and efficient packaging. I consider that a major plus.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k7Lv7f-5CQ