It was a little surprising to see Apple decide to leap fully into the affordable laptop market, to try and compete with devices the company typically prefers to just look down its nose at. It was also a little surprising to see Apple basically nail it on the first try.
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On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David get into the weeds on the MacBook Neo, the $599 laptop that appears to tick just about all the boxes of the average $599 laptop buyer. Both David and Nilay bought a Neo this week, so they compare notes on their early tests, briefly get very upset about MacOS Tahoe, and then spend some time wondering why no PC maker seems willing or able to make a laptop this good at this price. After that, they round out the week of Apple reviews — and Nilay comes very close to buying a Studio Display XDR he absolutely doesn’t need.
After that, the hosts discuss some of the week’s Xbox news, including the coming Project Helix device and the fact that the new Xbox plan sounds an awful lot like the old Xbox plan. Microsoft is meshing console games and PC games, bringing Xbox to Windows and Windows to Xbox — so is everything an Xbox, or not? We have some questions.
Finally, in the lightning round, it’s time for another round of Brendan Carr is a Dummy, the latest on the Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros., Grammarly’s sloppelganger scandal, Gemini’s task automation features, and more.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, first in Apple news:
* MacBook Neo review: the Mac for the masses
* The MacBook Neo is surprisingly easy to disassemble and repair.
* Apple Studio Display XDR review: a great, but expensive, pro option
* The iPhone 17E is good, but you probably shouldn’t buy it
* iPad Air review 2026: the M4 and other chip bumps make a difference
* Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next
* iPhone Fold rumor: iPad-like multitasking, but no iPad apps and no Face ID
* Microsoft’s next Xbox, Project Helix, won’t reach alpha until 2027
* Microsoft’s ‘Xbox mode’ is coming to every Windows 11 PC
* Did Microsoft just announce classic Xbox games are coming to PC?
* Microsoft says you should build next-gen Xbox games by building them for PC.
* From Ars Technica: FCC chair blasts Amazon after it criticizes SpaceX megaconstellation
* From CNBC: FCC chair tells CNBC WBD-Paramount merger deal ‘cleaner’ than Netflix
* From Variety: Paramount’s David Ellison Addresses Warner Bros. Execs at Town Hall
* Grammarly is using our identities without permission
* Grammarly is turning off the expert review AI feature that stole our identities
* Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus review: This again
* Gemini’s task automation is here and it’s wild
