Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

Nothing Like a New MacBook!

March 6, 2026

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  • Apple's new product wave included the budget-focused iPhone 17e and MacBook Neo, alongside M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pros and significantly updated Studio Display XDRs. 
  • The new MacBook Neo, priced at $599 and powered by the A18 Pro chip, targets the entry-level market, potentially disrupting Chromebook and budget Windows laptop sales. 
  • Nothing launched three new products—the Phone 4a, Phone 4a Pro, and Headphones(a)—with the 4A model being noted for its attractive design despite limited regional availability. 
  • The Nothing Phone 4a and 4a Pro were announced, with the 4a Pro featuring an all-metal body, a larger Glyph interface, and a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip at a $499 price point. 
  • The hosts debated that consumers are split between caring about raw processor power for longevity versus prioritizing features like screen brightness and fast charging in mid-range phones. 
  • The shift toward AI overviews is fundamentally destroying the incentive structure for in-depth online content creation, forcing publications like RTINGS to implement paywalls to survive scraping and declining organic search traffic. 
  • The discussion touched upon the existential future of content monetization, referencing past services like a Twitter paywall bypass and the need for consumers to subscribe to quality news and content they value. 
  • The trivia segment focused on products containing the sequence "NEO," highlighting the surprise launch of the MacBook Neo and prompting participants to list other tech products with that naming convention. 
  • The trivia round concluded with no one correctly guessing the exact date of the first video upload to the Nothing YouTube channel, which was February 18th, 2021. 

Segments

Sponsor Reads and Apple Bug
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Apple Motion software exhibited a bug where saving a file incremented the X position by one pixel, requiring a manual negative correction.
  • Summary: The segment opened with sponsor reads for Atio and Toyota. A specific bug in Apple Motion was detailed where hitting Command+S would shift an asset one unit to the right on the X-axis. The workaround involved manually moving the asset to negative one on the X-axis before saving to revert it to zero.
Apple Product Announcements Overview
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(00:05:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Apple launched six new products over three days, including the iPhone 17e, M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pros, and new Studio Displays.
  • Summary: The hosts summarized Apple’s week of announcements, covering the iPhone 17e, MacBook Pro updates with M5 Pro/Max chips, and the new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR. The M5 Max features up to 4X peak GPU performance compared to the M4 Max.
M5 MacBook Air Details
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(00:06:41)
  • Key Takeaway: The M5 MacBook Air starts at 512GB storage, a $100 increase over the base M4 model, but is $100 cheaper than the previous 512GB M4 configuration.
  • Summary: The M5 MacBook Air now starts with 512GB of storage, doubling the previous base offering. It supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and while the base price increased by $100, the equivalent storage tier is actually $100 cheaper than the M4 equivalent.
Studio Display XDR vs. Pro Display
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(00:09:08)
  • Key Takeaway: The new Studio Display XDR replaces the Pro Display XDR, offering 5K, 120Hz, Mini-LED technology for $2,000 less than the previous high-end model.
  • Summary: The Studio Display XDR is a 5K, 27-inch display featuring 120Hz refresh rate and 2,304 Mini-LED dimming zones, priced at $3,200, significantly undercutting the discontinued $5,000 Pro Display XDR. The cheaper Studio Display remains 60Hz and is considered a less compelling deal.
iPhone 17e Analysis
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(00:14:00)
  • Key Takeaway: The iPhone 17e retains the $599 price point, 60Hz display, and single camera, but adds MagSafe and doubles the base storage to 256GB, making it a more sensible budget option than its predecessor.
  • Summary: The iPhone 17e improved upon last year’s confusing offering by adding MagSafe and doubling storage to 256GB while keeping the $599 price. However, it still features a single camera and a 60Hz display, leading to the conclusion that refurbished standard iPhone 16 models might offer better value for informed buyers.
MacBook Neo Introduction and Specs
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(00:18:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The $599 MacBook Neo uses an A18 Pro chip (similar to M1 performance), features 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, a non-backlit keyboard, and a non-Force Touch trackpad.
  • Summary: The MacBook Neo is positioned as Apple’s entry-level laptop, utilizing a smartphone chip (A18 Pro) that offers single-core performance near the M4. It has a smaller 36.5 watt-hour battery, side-firing speakers, and only two USB-C ports, one of which is USB 2 speed.
MacBook Neo Market Positioning
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(00:24:44)
  • Key Takeaway: The MacBook Neo is designed for basic web browsing, spreadsheets, and Apple ecosystem tasks, making it a significant threat to Chromebooks and budget Windows laptops for non-power users.
  • Summary: The performance envelope of the Neo is sufficient for web browsing and basic productivity, especially when using Safari, which optimizes battery life due to the smaller battery size. The availability of Apple Store support for repairs is a major advantage over competitors in this price bracket.
Nothing Product Lineup Details
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(00:48:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Nothing announced the Phone 4A (regional), Phone 4A Pro (global), and Headphones(a), with the 4A model being praised for its aesthetic design.
  • Summary: Nothing released three new products, with the 4A being noted for its superior look compared to the Pro model, though the Pro is the global release. The company’s naming convention remains somewhat confusing.
Nothing Phone 4A Specs and Design
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(00:49:22)
  • Key Takeaway: The Nothing Phone 4A is priced around $350 in select markets, while the 4A Pro is the global version featuring a new design and colors like blue and black.
  • Summary: The Nothing Phone 4A is priced around $350 and is launching in UK, Europe, and India, while the 4A Pro is the global variant. The 4A is considered by some in the room to be the best-looking Nothing phone yet, available in blue and black in addition to pink and white. It runs on a Snapdragon 7S Gen 4 chip and features a 5,080 mAh battery with 50W charging.
Processor Importance Debate
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(00:51:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Casual shoppers prioritize tangible features like screen brightness and charging speed over minor differences in lower-tier processor models.
  • Summary: Enthusiasts focus on getting the absolute best processor for longevity and peak performance, even in mid-range devices. However, most casual shoppers are satisfied if the phone performs well overall, valuing features like 120Hz displays and fast charging more than specific chip nomenclature. This highlights a split between performance maximizers and those seeking reliable, feature-rich daily use.
Nothing Phone 4A Pro Reveal
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(00:54:09)
  • Key Takeaway: The Nothing Phone 4A Pro launch was a rare, un-leaked tech event, featuring an all-metal body and a significantly upgraded Glyph interface.
  • Summary: The 4A Pro launch was notably un-leaked, suggesting Nothing successfully diverted attention with previous design reveals. It features a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip, a 120Hz/144Hz AMOLED display, and a 5000 mAh battery with 50W charging. The design includes an all-metal body (lacking wireless charging) and a Glyph interface that is 57% larger and twice as bright as the Phone (2).
Nothing Headphone(a) Discussion
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(01:04:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The new Nothing Headphones(a) are a lower-tier offering priced at $129, featuring a design reversal compared to the original headphones.
  • Summary: The Headphones(a) are positioned below the original Nothing Headphones, priced at $129, and feature a design where the clear element is the square and the color is the circle, opposite to the original. Initial battery claims of 135 hours were based on using the lesser AAC codec with ANC off, dropping to 62 hours with LDAC and ANC enabled. The original Nothing Headphones are now being recommended more often due to the overpriced nature of the current ANC headphone market.
AI Impact on Web Traffic and SEO
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(01:25:38)
  • Key Takeaway: AI overviews are causing massive traffic declines for in-depth review sites like RTINGS by scraping results without attribution, eliminating SEO incentives.
  • Summary: RTINGS moved its in-depth reviews behind a $10/month paywall because the model relying on Google organic traffic and affiliate links is becoming unreliable due to AI scraping. This fundamentally removes the incentive for websites to create high-quality, expensive, lab-based content if AI models use the data without credit or payment. This trend threatens the existence of specialized, honest review sites that are not primarily entertainment-focused.
Content Paywalls and Subscriptions
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(01:42:03)
  • Key Takeaway: A defunct Twitter service that bypassed paywalls demonstrated a potential model for micro-payments supporting content creators.
  • Summary: A former Twitter service allowed users to pay a small fee to read paywalled articles or remove banner ads. This system aimed to distribute revenue among participating websites based on usage. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe directly to news and websites whose quality content they value, similar to subscribing to streaming services.
Meta Ray-Bans Investigation
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(01:43:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Owners of Meta Ray-Bands should read recent articles concerning the device’s video camera capabilities.
  • Summary: A recent article surfaced regarding the video camera on the Meta Ray-Bands that warrants attention from owners. The hosts noted this topic was potentially less depressing than other news but did not have time to cover it in depth. They suggested it might be discussed in the following week’s episode.
MacBook Neo Trivia Challenge
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(01:44:30)
  • Key Takeaway: The trivia challenge centered on identifying tech products containing the consecutive letters “NEO,” prompted by the surprise release of the MacBook Neo.
  • Summary: The hosts initiated a trivia game where participants earned points for naming hardware or software that includes ‘NEO’ consecutively. Accepted answers included Neopets, Surface Neo, and AYN NEO, while ‘Neon’ was disqualified because it is a noble gas and the participant failed a follow-up chemistry question. David took the lead in the scoring after this round.
Nothing YouTube Upload Date
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(01:47:57)
  • Key Takeaway: The first video uploaded to the official Nothing YouTube channel predates the launch of the Nothing Phone 4a and 4a Pro mentioned in the show notes.
  • Summary: The second trivia question asked for the date of the first video uploaded to the Nothing YouTube channel, with the closest guess without going over winning the point. All participants guessed dates too recent, resulting in no points awarded for this question. The correct date was February 18th, 2021.
Episode Outro and Call to Action
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(01:49:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Listeners are prompted to subscribe, like, and comment ‘iceberg lettuce’ to indicate they watched the entire episode.
  • Summary: Marques closed the episode, noting the busy ‘Tektember/slash March’ period suggests more announcements are forthcoming. Viewers are asked to subscribe and hit the like button. A specific comment keyword, ‘iceberg lettuce,’ was provided for those who watched until the end.