GoKawiil
Tech News
Retailers are currently offering discounts across the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air lineup, following earlier price increases Apple made this year due to a memory shortage. The budget MacBook Neo, priced at $699, has no retail discounts, but Apple's refurbished store sells it for $100-120 off with a one-year warranty.
Apple has increased the education price of the MacBook Neo to $649, just $50 below its standard retail price. The laptop launched at $599 with a $499 education price, but both prices rose by $100 in June, and the student discount has now shrunk further, putting it $150 above its original education price.
Apple has raised the MacBook Neo's Education Store starting price to $649, a $50 increase, after an earlier $100 bump in June. The entry configuration still includes 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM but lacks Touch ID, and the student discount off the regular $699 price is now only $50 instead of the previous $100.
Apple's cheapest laptop, the MacBook Neo, starts at $699 with an A18 Pro chip and 8GB of RAM, while the more popular MacBook Air starts at $1,299. The Mac mini desktop offers more processing power than either laptop while costing less, making it a budget option for buyers who don't need portability.
Apple has released the MacBook Neo, a low-cost laptop priced at $700 that uses a repurposed iPhone processor rather than an M-series chip found in other current Macs. The launch comes shortly before the MacBook Air's price rose by $200 to $1,300, reportedly due to tariffs and rising memory costs.
In the latest episode of 9to5Mac Overtime, Jeff Benjamin interviews Fernando Silva about his first day using Apple's iPhone Duo, a foldable device that departs from the standard iPhone form factor. The discussion covers the device's performance as both phone and tablet, comparisons to the iPad mini, the visible crease, and whether Fernando intends to use it as his daily driver.
Counterpoint Research's Q3 2026 report shows global PC shipments fell 21% year-over-year to 57 million units, with every major vendor except Apple and ASUS seeing sharper declines. Apple's shipments dropped 11% to 5.6 million units, lifting its market share to 9.8% from 8.7% a year earlier, with Counterpoint crediting the MacBook Neo for cushioning the decline.
Framework has refreshed its budget-oriented, repairable Laptop 12 with Intel's new Wildcat Lake processors, keeping the 2-in-1 convertible design, touchscreen with optional stylus, and multiple color options. The base model starts at $549 without RAM or storage, but a fully configured unit costs roughly $200-$300 more than rival laptops like Dell's updated XPS 13.
Framework has updated its budget-focused Laptop 12 with Intel's new Core Series 3 processors, offering configurations from a Core 3 304 chip with 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD at $799 up to a Core 7 350 model with 32GB RAM at $1,549. Buyers can save $100 by choosing Fedora Linux instead of Windows, and pricing on all tiers has reportedly risen beyond the company's original targets.
Apple announced the HomeView, a 7-inch smart display with a speaker base and wall-mounted version both priced at $299, at a New York event. The device runs new software called HomeView rather than iOS or iPadOS, lacks an App Store, and instead offers a curated set of apps including FaceTime, Messages, Safari and some third-party apps like Spotify. Preorders are open now, with sales starting November 13.
Apple confirmed a 'Welcome home' product event for October 13 but has not listed it on its Apple Events page or scheduled a livestream on YouTube or the Apple TV app. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple will instead release an online video presentation alongside an in-person press gathering in New York, a format he says will repeat for a separate October 27 launch.
During Prime Day, the MacBook Air saw its most affordable price point since June, though it remains higher than the discounts seen in early 2026. Other MacBook models, such as the MacBook Neo and MacBook Pro, are either on minimal or no significant discounts, with the latter expected to be replaced later this year by an OLED touchscreen version. Experts suggest the M5 MacBook Air is the best choice for buyers seeking a deal at this time.