The Apple ecosystem is a bargain (no really)

We’re starting with the MacBook Neo, since it’s now the new gateway into Apple’s ecosystem. It has an A18 Pro chip that offers excellent performance comparable to an M1 or M2 chip, so it’s powerful enough for some productivity tasks, web browsing, and even basic media editing. It has a gorgeous aluminum design in four colors, a very good 13-inch Liquid Retina display, and all-day battery life. Its 256GB SSD is a little small, but you can always sign up for an Individual Apple One plan for $19.95 per month, which includes 50GB of iCloud storage.

The iPhone 17e and the MacBook Neo have similar target audiences: switchers and budget-conscious customers. The 17e has an A19 chip with the same number of CPU and GPU cores as the MacBook Neo’s A18 Pro, and its 48MP Fusion camera that will be great for family photos and videos. You’ll also get a 6.1-inch display with Ceramic Shield, 256GB of storage, 5G, Face ID, MagSafe, and incredible battery life. Oh, and it comes in pink to match your Blush MacBook Neo.

The Apple Watch is already one of the more affordable devices in Apple’s lineup. But at $249, the SE offers many of the same health and lifestyle features as the higher-end Apple Watches, including notifications for heart rate, heart rhythm, and low cardio fitness, the Vitals app, and sleep tracking. Also, Neo users can use the Apple Watch SE to unlock their device, approve passwords, and authenticate Apple Pay requests on the model without Touch ID.

With a MacBook available for $599, the iPad is, more than ever, a consumption device. It’s the thing you grab in bed or at the beach to read ebooks, watch videos, and maybe play a casual game, make a FaceTime call, or check text messages. For those things, you don’t need anything more powerful than the entry-level iPad, which has an 11-inch Retina Display and an A16 chip.

Wireless is all the rage, but Apple’s cheapest earbuds aren’t AirPods, they’re the USB-C EarPods. You’ll miss out on a ton of features, like how the AirPods can switch between devices seamlessly and hands-free Siri, but for just $19, they’re a surprisingly solid option that won’t ever run out of battery life. If you absolutely have to have a pair of wireless earbuds, you’ll pay are $110 more for a pair of AirPods 4.

This is the only recurring charge on this list, and it’s not imperative, but a subscription to Apple One really opens up the Apple ecosystem. For $20 a month, you’ll get Apple Music, TV, and Arcade, as well as 50GB of iCloud storage for backups, files, and photos that sync across all of your devices.