Apple has officially introduced two new laptops that are already generating massive buzz across Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East. The MacBook Neo, an entirely new product line starting at just $599, and the updated MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip were both announced on March 4, 2026, with preorders opening the same day and availability in stores set for March 11.
MacBook Neo: A Bold New Chapter for Apple Laptops
The MacBook Neo represents the most affordable Mac laptop Apple has ever built. Powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same processor found in recent iPhones, the MacBook Neo is designed for students, casual users, and anyone looking for a reliable machine without breaking the bank. It features a sleek aluminum design available in four colors, a brilliant Liquid Retina display, all-day battery life, a high-quality camera with microphone and speakers, a Magic Keyboard, and a Multi-Touch trackpad.
At $599, it undercuts the MacBook Air significantly, making Apple silicon accessible to a much broader audience in Saudi Arabia, where demand for premium laptops continues to grow alongside the Kingdom’s expanding tech ecosystem and Vision 2030 digital transformation initiatives.
MacBook Air M5: Faster, Smarter, and Built for AI
The MacBook Air with M5 builds on what Apple calls the world’s most popular laptop. The new M5 chip delivers a faster CPU, a next-generation GPU, and a Neural Accelerator embedded in each core, enabling the machine to handle creative workflows and complex AI tasks with ease. Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of on-device AI features, runs natively on the M5, making MacBook Air one of the most capable AI-ready consumer laptops on the market.
Storage has been doubled across the board. The base model now ships with 512GB of SSD storage, configurable up to 4TB with faster SSD technology. The new N1 wireless chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for faster, more reliable connectivity. Battery life remains at an impressive 18 hours, and the laptop retains its iconic thin aluminum design in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
Performance benchmarks are striking. Apple claims up to 6.9 times faster AI video enhancement compared to the M1 MacBook Air, and up to 1.9 times faster than last year’s M4 model. 3D rendering with ray tracing in Blender is up to 6.5 times faster than the M1 generation. Web browsing is up to 50 percent faster than comparable Intel-based PC laptops.
Availability in the Kingdom
Both the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air M5 are available for preorder through the Apple Store online in Saudi Arabia starting March 4. In-store availability begins on March 11 across all Apple retail locations and authorized resellers in the Kingdom. The MacBook Air M5 comes in 13-inch and 15-inch configurations, while the MacBook Neo is offered in a single compact form factor designed for portability.
With the Saudi technology market experiencing rapid growth driven by government digitization programs, expanding startup ecosystems, and a young population increasingly reliant on portable computing, Apple’s latest announcements are poised to resonate strongly across the Kingdom.
