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Welcome to Indie App Spotlight. This is a weekly 9to5Mac series where we showcase the latest apps in the indie app world. If you’re a developer and would like your app featured, get in contact.

iPhone cameras have come a long way over the years, but if you find yourself yearning for more of a classy, filmic look versus the computational photography of today, Kiosk 27 might be a fun fit for you.

Ever since the announcement of the $599 MacBook Neo over a week ago, I’ve been wondering: does this destroy the value proposition of other non-Pro laptops in Apple’s lineup? It’s a rather interesting question, because even at its incredibly affordable price point, MacBook Neo still manages to feel quite premium.

After actually trying out the laptop after its launch on Wednesday, I find myself even more perplexed on how this thing fits in Apple’s lineup – but not in a bad way.

Apple’s new MacBook Neo is one of the most exciting and disruptive products Apple has released in years. Starting at just $599, or $499 through the education store, it delivers incredible performance and build quality without much compromise. You get a laptop that looks, feels, and performs like a true Apple laptop. But like many Apple products in 2026, it lacks a variety of ports. I would argue that customers used to this price range expect more than just two USB-C ports from their Windows counterpart. That’s where MacBook Air users their ports back! Here is what you should know.

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For the last decade, the strategy for many IT departments was simple: move everything to the cloud to save on costs. The promise was moving faster, with less downtime and less maintenance, but as we settle into 2026, the reality is looking a bit different for some teams. Parallels has just released its 2026 State of Cloud Computing Survey. The results paint a picture of IT teams slowing down on “cloud at all costs” because they are realizing it’s leading them into vendor lock-in.

As we wait for Sunday’s 98th Academy Awards, where Apple has six nominations for F1: The Movie, The Lost Bus, and Come See Me In The Good Light, here’s the complete list of every Oscar nomination and win Apple TV has ever scored.

Apple today held an impromptu 50th anniversary celebration at its Grand Central store, featuring renowned artist Alicia Keys. This is the first of many that’ll take place around the world, and Apple Grand Central was just the kickoff! I had the honor of getting to attend the performance, and I’ll be sharing all of my photos here.

Last January, we covered the long-awaited relaunch of community platform Digg, following a months-long closed beta. Today, Digg CEO Justin Mezzell announced that the site is going offline as a result of “an unprecedented bot problem.” Here are the details.

Apple TV has had a strong start to the year thanks to popular series Shrinking, Hijack, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters—but the next five weeks have a lot more noteworthy new premieres coming.

A new report by Counterpoint Research says the average selling price of the iPad rose roughly 10% even as the broader tablet market saw shipments decline. Here are the details.

Adobe has agreed to a settlement with the US Department of Justice worth $150 million, including a $75 million fee paid to the DOJ and another $75 million in free services for users.

Choosing a smart plug usually feels like a gamble on which protocol will win the war. Belkin recently ended support for its Wemo line as well. Shelly has apparently decided to stop gambling and just include everything. I’ve been testing the Shelly Plug US Gen4, and it’s great! It supports Matter, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and, in a rare move for a smart home device, Wi-Fi 6. It also includes precise power metering, a feature I think is awesome for a modern smart plug.

Update 3/13: The event appears to be for a special performance. Alicia Keys is the rumor. There’s a pink piano and Apple’s 50th anniversary signage.

9to5Mac’s Michael Burkhardt is in attendance and has spotted Apple CEO Tim Cook. Michael also spotted a set list that contains several Alicia Keys songs.

Apple Grand Central in New York City is closed today and tomorrow due to some sort of mysterious special activity.

Customers visiting Apple’s retail location in Grand Central Terminal will be turned away until normal hours resume on Saturday, March 14, at 10 am.

Expectations had been running high regarding what iFixit would find when it opened up the MacBook Neo. Here’s what it revealed.

Spotify was early to the algorithmically recommended music game. Now the company is testing a feature that lets listeners have more direct input over what Spotify recommends. The feature is called Taste Profile, and it’s currently in beta.

Amazon has announced a new ‘Prime Video Ultra’ streaming plan launching next month that replaces the current ad-free tier and includes more features, but at a higher price.

Twisted Yoga is a brand new Apple TV series that just premiered today, and it’s a rare true crime offering for the streamer.

iOS 26.4 is launching soon and bringing a lot of new features, including three new ways to customize your iPhone. Here’s what’s new.

Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break is headlined by the MacBook launch week deals – up to $320 off Air, $200 off M5 Pro models, and more, but we have also spotted a chance to save some cash on the already affordable MacBook Neo from $569 as well. Amazon is now offering $100 off new 2026 Apple Studio Display XDR, we have this 1TB M3 iPad Air at a giant $350 off, and we also have a new Amazon all-time low on Neon Green Apple Watch Ultra Ocean Band. Head below for a closer look at everything.

Apple’s Passwords app has become my full-time password manager thanks to several iOS 26 changes. And there’s one welcome new feature I recently discovered that can prevent the headache of a forgotten password loop.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is one of Apple TV’s most anticipated premieres this spring, and the first reviews are extremely positive.

This week, both Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT were updated to embrace learning through interactive visualizations. Both moves show how AI is evolving from the initial chatbot phase to something more mature and helpful.

The iPhone Fold is six months away from launching, and according to a new leak, its crease-free display will soon hit a major milestone: entering mass production.

Apple announced tonight that due to regulatory discussions in China, developers will pay lower App Store commission rates starting March 15. Here are the details.

Apple TV just landed its first F1 victory over ESPN. Eddy Cue says that last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix race saw more viewership on Apple TV than the same race received on ESPN a year ago.

Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s former President of the Windows Division, published an interesting review of the MacBook Neo, where he also explores what went wrong with Microsoft’s own early push toward lightweight ARM-based PCs. Here’s what he said.

macOS includes device-specific accent color options for iMac and MacBook Neo. Any Mac can unlock these special color options, it turns out, with an app.

Major iPhone updates like iOS 26 typically come with hundreds of new features and changes, but a much smaller subset that become daily go-tos. Here are four new iOS 26 features I’ve found myself using just about every day.

Sports Central isn’t just a part of DIRECTV on TVs anymore. This week, DIRECTV updated its iPhone and iPad app with an overhaul that brings the live sports hub feature to iOS.

The iPhone Fold is coming this fall, and new rumors today outline what to expect from included RAM, storage, and pricing.

As India’s current phone manufacturing incentive program is about to expire, the country is planning fresh incentives to keep production growing. Here are the details.

Chance and Zac talk through changes to Apple’s leadership website and what they signal for the future. There’s also a pair of new Bloomberg reports focused on Apple’s delayed Siri smart display product, plus the looming iPhone Fold’s software interface. Finally, they go in-depth on MacBook Neo, discussing Chance’s review and answering some Ask9to5Mac questions.  

And in Happy Hour Plus, the pair do a check-in on Apple Vision Pro and whether there’s about to a big boom in gaming. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join.

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Apple has attempted for years to give us an entry-level and budget-minded iPhone. First, we had the iPhone 5c with all its vibrant colors, then we got the iPhone SE line, and then last year Apple introduced the iPhone 16e. But these iPhones always came with compromises that made them hard to recommend, like limited storage, key missing features like MagSafe, or outdated hardware. With the new iPhone 17e, I think Apple may have finally solved that problem. The iPhone 17e is Apple’s first true budget-friendly iPhone that is worth recommending to the masses. Here is what you should know.

Apple has a new M6 MacBook Pro rumored to launch later this year with a total design overhaul. Here are six new features expected with the M6 MacBook Pro.

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

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Imperfect Women is a new Apple TV thriller series premiering next week, and the first reviews have just arrived. Here’s what reviewers are saying.

In today’s 9to5toys Lunch Break we have the first cash discounts across the new M5 MacBook Air lineup at $50 off, alongside a giant deal on this M4 model at $320 off the original list price courtesy of Amazon. We also have $50 discounts on the M5 Pro MacBook lineup joined by $200 off several M5 MacBook Pro configurations as well as the ongoing discount on AirPods 4 with ANC, and more. Scope it all out below. 

Google Maps is giving its driving experience the “biggest update in over a decade” with Immersive Navigation that redesigns visuals and offers “more intuitive guidance.”

Disney+ has announced it is rolling out vertical video to subscribers in the US today, with global rollouts to follow. Here are the details on Disney’s new ‘Verts’ feature.

Last week, Parallels cautioned that its Parallels Desktop for Mac software was not yet tested for MacBook Neo. Following the release of Apple’s $599 laptop, Parallels is back with an update on virtual machine compatibility.

Apple has just started a new @helloapple account on Instagram, joining its existing @apple account. Here are the details.

Today alongside Apple CEO Tim Cook’s new letter, the company has announced a proper celebration of its 50th anniversary will happen “in the coming weeks.”

Apple’s 50th anniversary is next month on April 1, and alongside teasing planned celebrations that are coming, CEO Tim Cook just published a new letter marking the major milestone.

From AAA games native to the Mac, to Windows games running through translation layers, to Switch emulated games, Andrew Tsai set out to find whether the MacBook Neo can actually run games well. Here’s how it did.

Following months of playing whack-a-mole with bugs stemming from changes Apple made to the menu bar’s underlying structure in macOS Tahoe, the developers behind Bartender seem to have, at last, gotten things under control.

Apple has detailed the security content for iOS 16.7.15, iOS 15.8.7, iPadOS 16.7.15, and iPadOS 15.8.7, confirming that the updates address the Coruna vulnerability disclosed last week by Google and iVerify. Here are the details.

Apple is rolling out system updates for older iPhones and iPads that are no longer supported by the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS. Here are the details.

Over the years, buying an iPad has become an increasingly confusing task. With multiple models and overlapping features and accessories, there’s no longer a clear-cut way to recommend one iPad for one type of user. Still, Apple does have a general idea of how it sees the iPad lineup and who each model is meant for.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone is coming this fall, and Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has new information about how the interface will work. Notably, it sounds like the iPhone Fold (or whatever Apple calls the new phone) will allow you to run two apps side-by-side.

Following today’s launch of sevenral products, Apple updated its Self Service Repair Store with manuals for users looking to repair their devices themselves. Here are the details.

It’s been nearly a year since Severance’s season 2 finale left viewers reeling. Here’s everything we know so far about Severance season 3 and when to expect its Apple TV premiere.