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 Over a decade after it came out with the compact 12-inch MacBook, Apple's
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 The new MacBook Neo is equipped with two USB-C ports, but they are not the same. The left USB-C port supports USB 3 speeds of up to 10 Gb/s, while the right USB-C port closer to the trackpad is limited to USB 2 speeds of just 480 Mb/s. As a result, Apple says external display connectivity is supported on the left port only.
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Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some of these tweaks were proposed as part of the settlement the company reached with Epic in November 2025, but rather than wait for final judicial approval, Google is committing to revamping Android and the Play Store publicly.
The biggest change is to how Google will collect fees from developers publishing apps on Android. Rather than take its standard 30 percent cut of in-app purchases through the Play Store, Google is lowering its cut to 20 percent, and in some cases 15 percent for new installs of apps from developers participating in its new App Experience program or updated Google Play Games Level Up program. Google will also now charge a five percent service fee for developers in the UK, US or European Economic Area (EEA) using its billing system, and "a market-specific rate" in other regions. Of course, for anyone trying to avoid those fees, using alternatives to Google's billing system is also getting easier.
As part of these changes, Google says that developers will be able to offer alternative billing systems alongside its own or "guide users outside of their app to their own websites for purchases." The setup, as described by Google, appears to be more permissive than what Apple settled on in 2025. For iOS apps on the App Store, develo
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They aren't as high-end as the MacBook Neo, but these Windows laptops show that Apple has some strong competition.
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The small update arrives a few weeks after iOS 26.3 and focuses on security patches and stability improvements.
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Is Apple's new $599 MacBook more than just a school laptop?
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The follow-up to the 2025 iPhone 16E comes with twice the base storage of last year's budget device.
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Apple is looking to gain a foothold in the more budget-friendly end of the laptop market with the MacBook Neo. The system starts at $599, which is darn inexpensive for an Apple laptop — it even has the same starting price as the M4 iPad Air.
As such, the MacBook Neo should help Apple compete with cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks. Pricing it at $499 for educational use won't exactly hurt either.
Apple is really lowering the cost of entry for those looking to pick up a new MacBook here. The base MacBook Neo costs $500 less than the cheapest M5 MacBook Air, which is now officially Apple's midrange laptop.
Of course, there are a lot of tradeoffs you'll make by opting for a MacBook Neo instead of a MacBook Air. If you're curious about all the differences between the Neo and the base 13.6-inch Air (and perhaps what you'll be foregoing if go you with the cheaper option), we've got you covered.
MacBook Neo vs. MacBook Air exteriors
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 Apple today released a new firmware update for the Studio Display and Studio Display XDR, two products that aren't set to launch until March 11.
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 Apple today released iOS 18.7.6 for older devices, addressing an issue that caused some older iPhones in Australia to be unable to connect to emergency services.
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The iPhone 17e is here to fill out Apple's smartphone lineup. Our primer on the differences and similarities of these iPhones can help you shop.
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Apple announces in an industry newsletter that it's implementing a new metadata tagging system to identify content created by AI.
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 The new MacBook Neo is Apple's most affordable Mac notebook, and at $599, it's priced the same as the iPhone 17e. For teachers and college students, it's even more affordable at $499.
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Apple finally has cemented its "good," "better," and "best" tiers for its MacBook models.
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 Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.3.1, a minor update to the ?macOS Tahoe? operating system that came out last September. ?macOS Tahoe? 26.3.1 comes three weeks after Apple launched macOS Tahoe 26.3.
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 Apple today provided public beta testers with the third release of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.4 update for testing purposes. The public beta comes a week after Apple seeded the second beta.
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The new, colorful MacBook Neo is full of surprises, including a mobile chip.
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Lightning struck twice in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia earlier this month. First in the eerie stillness of a classroom where eight lives were stolen. Then, in Ottawa's halls of power where officials demanded answers from Silicon Valley about what a chatbot knew and when it knew it. As Canada grapples with one of the worst […]
The post OpenAI Discovers Mass Shooter's Secret ChatGPT Account appeared first on eWEEK.
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