This week on the Cult of Mac podcast: The MacBook Neo is the obvious star that emerged from this week’s tsunami of Apple product announcements. Its potent combo of good looks, surprisingly good performance and an extremely appealing price tag makes it a powerful lure for bringing new people into the Apple world.
We discuss the new laptop’s strong points — as well as some definite drawbacks.
Also on the Cult of Mac podcast:
- The brawny M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in the latest MacBook Pros sound absolutely mind-blowing.
- The iPhone 17e looks like a great upgrade to Apple’s budget handset.
- The new Airs (iPad and MacBook) also seem great, if not that surprising.
- And we wrap up the show with the results from last week’s predictions game.
Listen to this week’s episode of the Cult of Mac podcast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Cult of Mac No. 10: MacBook Neo and more!
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This week’s top Apple news
On the show this week: Your host, Cult of Mac Publisher and Editor in Chief Leander Kahney (@lkahney), Cult of Mac managing editor Lewis Wallace (@lewiswallace) and Cult of Mac writer D. Griffin Jones (@dgriffinjones).
Here are the headlines we’re talking about on this week’s show:
- A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo brings power at lowest price ever
- $599 MacBook Neo has these 7 surprising limitations
- MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips deliver major performance leap
- Studio Display XDR arrives with mini-LED backlighting and 5K clarity
- iPhone 17e doubles built-in storage, adds MagSafe
- M5 MacBook Air ramps up speed, storage and connectivity
- 4 key upgrades make new M4 iPad Air a beast
- March 2026 predictions results
Lewis Wallace is the managing editor of Cult of Mac and author of our weekly newsletter, The Weekender.
He’s a San Francisco-based writer and editor specializing in technology and culture. He loves his iPhone, hates Siri, and appreciates any hardware that combines form and function.
Prior to Cult of Mac, he juggled words and ideas as culture editor at Wired.com, homepage editor at TechTV, news product manager at NBCi, copy editor at PC World, reporter at The (Hayward) Daily Review and editor in chief of EveryBody’s News in Cincinnati.
He earned a bachelor of general studies degree with a journalism certificate from the University of Cincinnati. While in school, he worked as the entertainment editor of The News Record and as editor in chief of Clifton Magazine.
He’s also a bass player, who’s recorded and performed around the United States with Those Darn Accordions, The Electric Boogie Dawgz and The Mad Maggies. When not writing, editing or laying down bass lines, he plays darts and serves on the board of the San Francisco Darts League.
