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Apple is kicking off March with a flurry of product announcements ahead of a “special Apple experience” on March 4th in New York City, London, and Shanghai.
Apple started on March 2nd by announcing the iPhone 17E. The new $599 phone has a lot of welcome additions over the iPhone 16E like support for MagSafe charging, doubled base storage of 256GB, and a Ceramic Shield 2 display, all for the same starting price. The same day, Apple also revealed a new iPad Air powered by an M4 chip, a bump up from the previous version’s M3 chip. March 3rd brought announcements of MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the MacBook Air with an M5 chip, and a Studio Display refresh, including a new Mini LED-equipped XDR model.
But the company may be saving the most interesting news for last; Apple is rumored to be launching a lower-cost MacBook that’s powered by an iPhone chip instead of an M-series processor. Apple itself may have leaked the name of this new machine: it might be called the MacBook Neo.
Read on for all of our coverage of Apple’s March 2026 announcements.
Apple’s website leaks MacBook ‘Neo,’ which could be its new cheaper laptop
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
On Tuesday, during Apple’s weeklong product launch event, a listing for the “MacBook Neo (Model A3404)” appeared on a regulatory compliance page on Apple’s website under its lineup of 2026 MacBooks. First spotted by MacRumors, the listing appears to be an accident and has since been removed, but may have been a leaked reference to a rumored entry-level MacBook. Unfortunately, it didn’t include any additional details beyond the device’s name and model number.
Apple has reportedly been working on a budget-friendly MacBook priced under $1,000 and powered by an iPhone processor, rather than an M-series chip like the rest of the Mac lineup. It is also expected to have a smaller display, potentially bringing back the 12-inch display size Apple retired several years ago.
Apple’s new Studio Display XDR adds a Mini LED upgrade
After a few years between updates, Apple has two new 5K monitor options, ranging from expensive to very expensive, with the 27-inch 5K Studio Display and Studio Display XDR. Both have 5,120 x 2,880 resolutions and 12MP Center Stage cameras embedded inside — we’ll be eager to see how much better those are this time around — three microphones, and six-speaker audio systems with support for spatial audio and “Hey Siri” built-in, plus two Thunderbolt 5 ports and two USB-C ports.
The XDR model adds new Mini LED backlighting with 2,304 dimming zones that increase its peak brightness, as well as provide improved contrast and black levels that should work well for HDR. There’s also support for adaptive sync that can adjust between 47Hz and 120Hz (if it’s connected to an M4 Mac or later, or the M5 iPad Pro), while the standard model is still 60Hz only. One other difference is that the XDR’s upstream port has support for up to 140W host charging, which is enough to fast-charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro, while the standard model tops out at 96W.
Apple launches M5 Pro and M5 Max chips
Apple has just announced two new processors: the M5 Pro and M5 Max. The new chips will power the MacBook Pro it revealed on Tuesday, offering an 18-core CPU and a new “Fusion Architecture” that integrates two 3nm dies into a single system-on-a-chip (SoC).
The CPU’s 18-core setup includes six “super” cores and 12 new performance cores, which Apple says is “optimized to deliver greater power-efficient, multithreaded performance.” Apple notes that what were previously known as performance cores inside M5-equipped devices — like the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro — are now called super cores, representing a boost in performance.
Apple announces M5 MacBook Air and updated MacBook Pro
Apple is launching an upgraded MacBook Air featuring the M5 chip along with new MacBook Pro models featuring the M5 Pro and M5 Max. Announced on Tuesday, the new Macs will all be available for preorder starting March 4th with availability in stores starting March 11th.
In addition to the M5 chip, the new MacBook Air includes 512GB of base storage, double what the M4 MacBook Air included. It has double the max storage, as well, with up to 4TB rather than 2TB. Apple says the SSD in the M5 MacBook Air is also faster, offering “2x faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation.” The M5 MacBook Air supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, as well. Unfortunately, it’s $100 more expensive than the base M4 MacBook Air, now starting at $1,099 for the 13-inch model or $1,299 for the 15-inch.
How the new iPhone 17E stacks up against Apple’s pricier phones
The iPhone 17 lineup now has a “budget” option. Announced this week, the iPhone 17E will hit stores on Wednesday, March 11th, starting at $599, with preorders opening on March 4th. The 6.1-inch phone joins the rest of Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup, which includes the iPhone 17 ($799), the more powerful iPhone 17 Pro ($1,099), and the iPhone 17 Pro Max ($1,199), as well as the ultra-thin iPhone Air ($999).
Unlike last year’s iPhone 16E, the 17E features MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging, along with the faster A19 chip found in the iPhone 17 and twice as much base storage (256GB vs. 128GB). It also features a sharper, more durable display, retains support for Apple Intelligence, and includes a 48-megapixel “fusion” camera that enables 2x telephoto shots, all of which bring it closer to Apple’s more premium phones.
Apple announces the iPhone 17E
Image: Apple
Apple has taken the wraps off the iPhone 17E, its latest entry-level smartphone. The iPhone 17E starts at $599 with a higher 256GB of storage, and is available in black, white, and pink. The company revealed the new device as part of a series of announcements that kicked off this week.
Similar to the iPhone 16E, the iPhone 17E comes with a 6.1-inch display, but with a tougher Ceramic Shield 2 for better scratch resistance and reduced glare. It also offers more storage for the same starting price as its predecessor, which cost $599 for 128GB when it launched last year. The iPhone 17E adds an upgraded A19 processor and MagSafe charging with Qi2 support, allowing for wireless charging at up to 15W.
Apple launches a new iPad Air with an upgraded M4 processor
After updating its mid-level tablets last year, Apple has announced a new version of the iPad Air today now powered by the company’s M4 processor. That’s the same processor found in the 7th-generation iPad Pro as well as MacBook Pro and Mac mini models that debuted in 2024.
The new iPad Air with M4 is “up to 30 percent faster than iPad Air with M3,” according to a press release from the company. It also features the Apple-designed N1 wireless networking chip upgrading the latest iPad Air with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. The cellular versions of the new iPad Air also feature Apple’s C1X modem the company says “offers up to 50 percent faster cellular data performance” while also using up to 30 percent less energy than last year’s iPad Air with the M3 processor.
Apple’s doing something on March 4th
Image: The Verge
Apple is hosting a “special Apple experience” in New York City on Wednesday, March 4th at 9AM ET, instead of at the Apple Park location it typically uses for events. It’s also hosting press in the cities of London and Shanghai at the same time.
The invitation includes the words “You’re invited” and an Apple logo depicted in segmented discs of yellow, green, and blue (the rumored colors of a new low-cost MacBook). Otherwise, it provides no hints about the purpose of the so-called experience. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously said that he’s expecting Apple to launch a low-cost A18 Pro chip-powered MacBook and new MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, and Mac displays “over the course of the next several weeks,” alongside the iPhone 17e, a new base model iPad, and an M4 iPad Air. And maybe we’ll even see a preview of Apple’s new AI-infused Siri.
