Episode 062: First thoughts on MacBook Neo, including advantages, compromises, and how it fits into the Apple ecosystem. Fernando and Jeff argue that the MacBook Neo could be the best budget laptop of all time.

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel for more.

I have been on the search for a thin MagSafe battery for years. I’ve tested dozens of these battery packs, and some have been fantastic, but they all share the same compromise, which is bulk. This year’s iPhone Air made me want a thin MagSafe battery solution even more. So when I saw that BMX released their SolidSafe Air, with a 5,000 mAh capacity and a thickness of less than 6.8mm, I knew I needed to give this one a shot. After spending a little over a week with it, here is what you need to know.

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Apple Business Manager (and Apple School Manager) is the source of truth for Apple device management. If a device isn’t in ABM, it doesn’t really exist for your fleet is concerned. While the web portal has improved over the years, it is still a web portal. It generally takes me longer to log in, approve 2FA, etc., than it does to actually search. This is why I was excited to come across ABMate recently.

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s top stories of the week, where we recap the biggest news in the Apple world every Saturday. This week, we have all of Apple’s announcements, including the MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e, and more. Plus, our usual slate of new podcast episodes, opinion pieces, and much more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.

Following early tests of the M4 iPad Air, the M5 Max chip, and the MacBook Neo, the first purported tests of the iPhone 17e’s A19 chip are now up on Geekbench. Here’s how it did.

Apple researchers ran an A/B test to measure how AI-generated relevance labels would affect App Store search rankings and app downloads. Here’s what they found.

We’re giving away Apple’s latest MacBook Pro to one lucky reader this month courtesy of our friends at BenQ to celebrate the company’s MA series of monitors for Mac. The winner will also receive the new BenQ 27″ 4K Nano Gloss Monitor for MacBook! Head below to enter the giveaway and learn more about the new monitors.

Apple has updated its leadership page to reflect several recent changes to its executive team. Here’s what changed.

Apple TV keeps proving itself a destination for sci-fi fans, and now two of the streamer’s beloved hits have inspired spinoff series that are coming.

Built by a group of ex-Apple employees who co-created SwiftUI, Bitrig now lets you build iPhone apps right from your Mac through prompts. Here are the details.

MacBook Neo is an exciting addition to Apple’s product lineup, and even though the product isn’t meant for high-end Mac users, it should still prove good news for future models of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Molly Anderson, Apple’s Industrial Design Leader, discusses the process behind creating the MacBook Neo in a new interview today.

Air purifiers are one of my favorite HomeKit accessories. Even though I live in an area with pretty decent air quality, I keep them running in our home to help clean the air for my family, especially in the spring. The problem is that most of them look like medical equipment. I love the Smartmi E1, and it effectively ends the era of ugly appliances. It is hands-down the best-looking HomeKit/Apple Home air purifier on the market.

The arrival of the M5 MacBook Air means that Apple once again has two laptops with the standard M5 chip inside. Apple first put the plain M5 chip inside a laptop with the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Both machines occupy the “under $2000” space in Apple’s laptop lineup. Here’s how the two MacBooks with the same chip compare.

iOS 26 adds a lot to the Messages app, like new group chat features, spam prevention tools, and more. Joining those improvements, Messages also got a big AI upgrade in iOS 26 for an essential feature: search.

Does Parallels virtualization software work with MacBook Neo? The short answer for now is that the company isn’t sure yet. The official line as of March 5 is that support has not actually been confirmed yet:

Silo season 3 is expected to premiere later this year, but the show just got a big season 4 update too.

Apple finally unveiled the long-awaited entry-level MacBook, the MacBook Neo – and it was certainly worth the wait. The shiny new machine hit the most optimistic of price estimates, with a starting price of just $599.

There’s little doubt that the Neo will cannibalize some sales of the MacBook Air. Although it certainly involves compromises, it will be the right choice for many. However, my suspicion is that it will actually end up cannibalizing even more iPad sales …

Today’s 9to5Mac Lunch Break is headlined by the first cash deal on the most affordable new M4 iPad Air (or as low as $249 with trade), as well as a chance to land the M4 MacBook Air with the same RAM/storage specs as new M5 model at $200 less. Those offers join the ongoing M5 Pro MacBook Pro and MacBook Neo pre-order deals as well as all Apple Watch Series 11 models at $100 off, the best price yet on this Blue/Bright Blue Apple Trail Loop at 35% off, and a solid deal on Apple’s latest Neon Green Ocean Band. Everything awaits below.

iOS 26.4 is currently in beta testing with developers and public beta users. The update adds a range of new features to iPhone, including upgrades to Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Messages, and more.

Here are all of the new iPhone features in iOS 26.4, plus everything else you need to know.

Apple launched the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max just this week. But rumors indicate an M6 MacBook Pro is coming this year too, with several innovations that are new to the Mac.

MacBook Neo is an all-new kind of laptop for the $599 price, making it worthy of being Apple’s first-ever “Neo” product. The new computer is also Apple’s first product to use three distinct technologies.

Ted Lasso season 4 is coming this August, and Apple TV just shared a brief clip that teases the plot of the new season.

Apple announced the iPhone 17e this week, and it corrects one of the biggest problems with its predecessor by adding support for MagSafe.

There’s a robust ecosystem of MagSafe accessories for iPhone on the market, and these are some of my favorites.