Review: MacBook Neo

By Gadjo C. Sevilla

Apple’s MacBook Neo opens up a new segment for premium-built, performant, and generally attainable laptops not just for students, but for entire markets where new Apple devices have been priced out of people’s budgets.

Out of the box, the Neo provides the complete premium Apple unboxing experience. No expense was spared in the presentation and the unboxing experience. A tiny ‘hello’ tab greets new users before they unwrap the laptop, and in certain markets you get a 20W USB-C charger and a braided cable.

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Apple unveils M3 MacBook Air aimed at consumer AI applications

Apple today unveiled new M3-powered MacBook Air 13 and 15-inch models. The new Airs are up to 60 percent faster than the model with the M1 chip and up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air. Pricing The 13-inch MacBook Air with M3 starts at $1,449 (CAD) and $1,299 (CAD) for education, and the 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 starts at $1,749 (CAD) and $1,599 (CAD) for education. Both are available in midnight, starlight, silver, and space grey. The models are available for preorder now for shipping and in-store availability on March 8.

Apple is finally using AI in their marketing for these laptops in anticipation of huge AI software update in June. The consumer focus of the MacBook Air positions it as a strong choice considering the entire PC market is pivoting ot on-device AI in forthcoming PCs, ostensibly at a higher cost.

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Samsung starts manufacturing 14-inch 90Hz OLED displays

Samsung has begun manufacturing 90Hz OLED displays, which you'll first see on ASUS' newest laptops - the ZenBook 14X Pro and Vivobook Pro 14X. The 14-inch panel has a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio. Its release is significantly delayed as Samsung announced it was supposed to arrive in March 2021. But with the ongoing pandemic, we aren't surprised that it took the company a bit more time to manufacture the display.

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Lenovo outs its own Macbook Air-like laptop

In the world of me-too devices, Lenovo is joining that ring with what can be seen as a MacBook Air competitor. And they release it in the heels of Xiaomi’s new Mi Notebook Air. The new Lenovo Air 13 Pro is an ultraportable laptop with a 13.3-inch Full HD display, Intel Core i5 or i7 Skylake processor, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB SSD, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX940MX. The Air 13 Pro also comes with a fingerprint sensor, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB Type-C port, memory card reader, and headphone jack.

It’ll retail for around RMB 4,999 or roughly CA$980 when you preorder it. Once the Air 13 Pro hits stores in China though it’ll cost a bit more. The base model with 4GB of RAM, Intel Core i5, and 256GB SSD retails for RMB 5,499 (around CA$1,070); the Core i7 model with 8GB of RAM and the same SSD size goes for RMB 6,299 (around CA$1,230); and the one with 512GB on top of that processor and RAM goes for RMB 6,999 (around CA$1,370). No word yet though if this ultra-thin laptop (at 2.84 pounds and 0.58 inches thick) will make its way out of China.

Source: Mashable