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.
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.
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.
The device was "built from the ground up to be more affordable for even more people", said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
On Tuesday, Apple unveiled a refreshed MacBook Air with its in-house M5 chip, designed to handle complex AI tasks.
The M5 was launched last October and was designed to have four times the performance of the M4.
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.
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.
Apple has maintained an annual refresh of the MacBook Air and Pro lines since 2017 and 2019, respectively.
The company also announced two new Studio Displays, the higher end of which supports XDR, featuring enhanced connectivity and viewing performance, and is aimed at those in filmmaking, design and 3D animation.
"The new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do," said Mr Ternus, who is widely regarded as a leading candidate to replace Tim Cook as chief executive of one of the world's most valuable companies.
LLMs, or large language models, are the algorithms that use deep learning to analyse large amounts of data to create content.
Apple is gearing up for a busy year for hardware and software as it contends with the rest of the smartphone industry and an explosion of artificial intelligence.
Tuesday's announcement is the second in a three-day launch salvo that aims to position Apple for a strong start in a busy 2026.
Apple is expected to launch what would be the iPhone 18 during its usual September special event.
However, rumours are emerging that Apple may split up the launches, with the iPhone Pros first and the base models later this year or early 2027.
This is reportedly because Apple is also expected to launch the foldable iPhone, and a crowded launch may dilute the attention on the hotly anticipated device. Apple may also launch a successor to the slim iPhone Air.
Bloomberg has also reported that Apple is working on a MacBook with a touchscreen. The company does not comment on rumours and speculation.
