Apple Announces New Devices in an Unusual March Event

On March 4, Apple hosted an invite-only in-person event, during which it demonstrated a host of new devices to the lucky few in attendance. In the days leading up to the event, Apple announced several new devices, ranging from Macs to iPads to a new iPhone. This event broke with tradition both in terms of not offering a livestreamed keynote, but also by staggering the device announcements, releasing only a couple per day. While this announcement structure was certainly more confusing to follow than the video events we've come to know and love, the element of mystery and slow announcement rollout did add extra excitement to the process. The devices themselves focus on balancing power and affordability, with some flashy new devices in some splashy new colors thrown in, including a brand-new MacBook: the Neo. Let's take a look at everything announced.

The New MacBook Neo

Starting off with perhaps the most exciting new release, Apple revealed the MacBook Neo, a thin, lightweight addition to the MacBook lineup at an accessible price, starting at just $599. The MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro chip makes it ideal for everyday use, and the low price makes it a great option for students or those on a budget. But with older MacBooks offering better performance at a similar price point when purchased used, one has to wonder what makes the MacBook Neo worth it? Read our full coverage.

Other Mac Powerups

Apple also unveiled its latest MacBooks: the MacBook Air with M5 and the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max. These three laptops are designed for intensive tasks like coding, photo and video editing, gaming, and much more. The MacBook Pro, in particular, is perfect for professionals with demanding workloads, while the MacBook Air offers similar performance in a more portable shell. Both computers pair well with Apple’s new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, which both offer 5K image resolution in a 27-inch display. Read our full coverage.

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The iPhone 17e

The newest addition to the iPhone family is the budget-friendly iPhone 17e. It offers some advanced features of the high-end iPhone 17 Pro Max model at a much lower price point. Despite a few improvements, it shares many features with last year’s iPhone 16e, including the single 48 MP back camera capable of 2x optical zoom, an OLED display, and Apple Intelligence support. The iPhone 17e has MagSafe charging, up to 26 hours of video playback, an A19 chip, and 256 GB of base storage. Read our full coverage.

The M4 iPad Air

Apple announced the new iPad Air M4 on March 2 and promises that the latest iPad offers a "big jump in performance." The M4 Air is up to 30 percent faster than the M3 version, giving editing, gaming, and AI tasks a performance boost. Cellular and Wi-Fi connections are also improved, due to the N1 wireless networking chip. But, are these improvements enough to warrant an upgrade from the M3 Air, since the display, camera system, speakers and mics, and storage capacity are all the same? Let's go over who might want to upgrade to the M4, and who should stay put and wait for the next generation of the iPad Air. Read our full coverage.

If you've been thinking about getting a new device, now is definitely a good time to take a look at what's available. While not everyone is going to need the latest device, there are definitely some performance upgrades we're seeing, and older models are likely to soon get refurbished and go on the market for reasonable prices. I expect the MacBook Neo to become a staple with students who aren't looking for much more than word processing and something easy to carry between classes, but whether it will take off with a more general audience remains to be seen. Are you planning on buying any of these new devices? Let us know!