Why the $1,099 MacBook Air M5 beats the MacBook Neo for macOS 27

Posted on by

Apple’s 2026 laptop lineup presents a clean, almost philosophical choice. On one side sits the MacBook Neo, a machine built around the powerful idea of access. It lowers the barrier to entry, putting a capable Apple notebook within reach of more people than ever. It is a compelling argument rooted in the present, designed to solve an immediate need for a good, affordable computer. For a few hundred dollars more, the M5 MacBook Air makes a different promise, one that is less about immediate savings and more about long-term value and capability.

For months, that choice felt ambiguous, a simple trade-off between price and power. The arrival of macOS 27, however, brought a new clarity to the decision. Apple’s vision for the next generation of its operating system, with its heavy reliance on sophisticated on-device AI, reframed the entire lineup. The question is no longer just about what you need today, but about which machine is properly equipped for the software you will be using tomorrow. The Neo gets you in the door; the M5 Air gets you a seat at the table.

Designer: Apple

The M5 chip is what separates these two machines, and that difference stands out far more now than it did at launch. Apple announced the M5 MacBook Air in March with doubled base storage and modest performance gains, framing it as a solid evolutionary update. The M5 features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, but the real story lives inside those GPU cores. Each one includes a Neural Accelerator, a dedicated AI processing unit that dramatically increases the machine’s ability to handle on-device machine learning tasks. Apple explicitly positioned the M5 Air as capable of delivering up to 4x faster performance for AI tasks than the M4 Air, and up to 9.5x faster than the M1 generation. Those numbers were abstract in March. After WWDC, they became a requirement.

macOS 27 Golden Gate leans heavily on Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of AI-powered features that process data locally rather than relying on cloud servers. Visual Intelligence, enhanced Spotlight with conversational AI capabilities, and system-wide machine learning workflows all depend on silicon that can handle the computational load without slowing down everyday tasks. The M5’s architecture was designed specifically to support this kind of workload at scale, making it the baseline for an uncompromised experience. Apple described the M5 Air as capable for Apple Intelligence across apps and system experiences, as well as for running large language models on device in enterprise environments. The Neo, with older silicon, may technically run macOS 27, but the gap between eligibility and capability is the entire value argument for spending more.

The storage equation also tilts decisively toward the M5 Air. Apple doubled the base configuration to 512GB, up from the 256GB that previous generations started with. That increase addresses one of the most persistent criticisms of Apple’s entry-level pricing strategy, particularly as on-device AI models require significant local storage to function properly. Larger machine learning models, extensive photo libraries processed with AI features, and the general expectation that a 2026 laptop should have breathing room all make 512GB feel like the real starting point. The $100 price increase over the previous M4 Air generation is easier to justify when half of it is effectively the cost of storage you would have upgraded to anyway. The Neo’s storage configuration was not surfaced in available reporting, but if it follows typical budget laptop patterns, it likely sits closer to the older 256GB baseline, which immediately creates friction for users planning to lean into Apple’s AI-forward software vision.

The M5 Air launched in March to a relatively muted reception, with early reviews treating it as a competent, predictable update rather than a transformational product. That framing was accurate at the time, because the machine’s value was not yet fully apparent. WWDC changed the story by revealing what the M5 was actually designed to do. The real product was never just the laptop; it was the laptop as a vessel for a more intelligent operating system. The Neo, by contrast, remains a strong value for users whose needs are defined by today’s software, but it starts to look underpowered the moment you project forward even a year.

The MacBook Air M5 is where Apple’s 2026 Mac story begins to feel aligned with its software ambitions. It is not the cheapest way into the ecosystem, but it may be the cheapest way to avoid compromise as macOS 27 arrives this fall. The Neo has its place, but for anyone planning to live on this machine for the next three to five years, the M5 Air is the safer, smarter, and ultimately more cost-effective choice. You can preorder both machines now through Apple’s website, but only one of them feels like it was built for the operating system Apple just announced.

The post Why the $1,099 MacBook Air M5 beats the MacBook Neo for macOS 27 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Y2K-inspired Commodore Callback 8020 is a smart dumbphone to reclaim your life

Posted on by

Phone addiction has reached a point where doomscrolling is affecting our cognitive intelligence and already, dumbphones are trying to address this global problem. More often than not, these devices work for a while, eventually triggering the user to ditch them and get back to old ways.

Commodore, resurrected by YouTuber Peri Fractic (a.k.a. Christian Simpson), brought back the 1982 Commodore 64 keyboard, and the brand looks strong to capture a very niche segment of the nerdy market. Now, under his leadership, there’s yet another gadget that originates from the firsthand experience of the man himself. He made the shift to a dumbphone years ago but found a problem, as these devices took away more functionality than desired. This prompted him to create a “not dumb dumbphone.”

Designer: Commodore

The retro-futuristic vibe of the Commodore Callback 8020 flip phone is inspired by the Y2K era of the early 2000s, and the functionality culminating from his own experience. This phone is created to let the technology serve its original intended purpose, that is to serve the users and not compete for their attention 24×7. Designed in collaboration with Finnish company Jolla (venture by former Nokia employees), the smartphone runs a custom version of Sailfish OS (Linux-based platform), which has been in development for over a decade as a viable alternative to Android and iOS. The custom OS can sideload 99 percent of Android apps like WhatsApp, Spotify, Google Maps, QR Code Scanner, and more.

Callback 8020 is designed with easy modularity in mind, as the user can swap the 1,550 mAh battery or swap out covers. It’ll come with a 3.25-inch (480×640 resolution) main display and a 1.77-inch smaller display on the rear with a red glow, which is inspired by the classic Commodore calculators of the 70s. The device will be powered by the MediaTek Helio G81 SoC and paired with 4GB RAM. Since there’s not going to be a lot of multimedia being stored on the phone, the 64GB internal storage expandable via the included 32GB microSD card should suffice; however, the space can be beefed up to 256GB if desired.

For music lovers, the phone has FM radio, an audiophile-grade DAC, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a pair of in-ear IEMs. You can listen to pre-loaded albums from artists like LukHash and Anders Enger Jensen to enjoy music out of the box. To get the nostalgic feel going, the device has chiptunes with a full 8-Bit SID music player and SID ringtones. Just that you don’t get bogged down in your free time, and accidentally make the shift back to a normal smartphone to doomscroll, the phone has a collection of Commodore 64 games, which are curated to avoid the addictive nature of modern games. To avoid any distracting notifications on the screen, the phone comes with a dome LED notification system. For times when you need to take pictures, the flip phone has a 48MP rear camera with flash and a selfie camera with autofocus when flipped open.

Commodore Callback 8020 flip phone is slated for June 30 release, when you can pre-order it in five color options: ProtoPET White, SX Silver, BASIC Beige, Starlight Edition, and Founders Edition. The first three colorways will come for $499.99, while the translucent Starlight Edition will set you back $549.99. The flagship (if I can call it that) PVD gold Founders Edition, having a 24K gold-plated “C=” button, will be priced at $640. Shipping, however, will take a little longer, scheduled for the fourth quarter of the year. People who join the waitlist will get a $50 discount on the smartphone.

 

 

The post Y2K-inspired Commodore Callback 8020 is a smart dumbphone to reclaim your life first appeared on Yanko Design.

The 2.6mm PopSocket That Didn’t Work in 2012 Is Finally Here for $39

Posted on by

Most phone grips stick around because they work, not because they’re easy to live with. The classic PopSocket has spent over a decade as one of the most recognizable phone accessories around, but its accordion-style pop-up design has always carried a trade-off. That bump on the back catches on every tight pocket, and for a certain kind of user, that’s been reason enough to never bother.

The Low-Pro Grip is PopSockets’ answer to that, but it’s also something more personal than a product update. An ultra-thin grip was actually what the brand’s founder envisioned first, before the accordion design ever existed. He taught himself CAD and printed a flat 2.1mm-thick disk as his original prototype, but it never opened up. That failure became the PopSocket. More than a decade later, the thin version finally works.

Designer: PopSockets (Apple Store)

At 2.6mm thick when collapsed, it adds almost nothing to the back of an iPhone and stays below the threshold where most grips start catching on tight pockets. The Low-Pro snaps magnetically onto any MagSafe-compatible iPhone case, so it goes on and comes off without adhesive or any ceremony. The mechanism underneath has also been completely rethought, abandoning the multi-ring accordion of the original entirely.

Instead of the familiar two-step expansion, the Low-Pro uses a single piece of flexible polymer that collapses flat and opens with one motion. What feels different about this approach is the texture. Where competitors rely on interlocking rigid arms that can dig into your fingers during long sessions, the softer polymer makes the Low-Pro more comfortable to hold at any angle, something that only becomes obvious after extended use.

The stand function has been redesigned, too. Instead of a button acting as the kickstand, an outer metal ring attached by a hinge folds out at any angle to prop the phone in either portrait or landscape orientation. That’s a meaningful step up from grip designs where the stand only works reliably sideways, and it covers the full range of how people use their phones away from a charging dock.

The magnetic base is strong enough to hold the phone against metal surfaces like a fridge door for hands-free use, and MagSafe wireless charging still works through it, though at reduced speeds. Despite the polymer being tested to withstand 30 lbs of tensile force and cycled open and closed 100,000 times, the Low-Pro is designed to be the PopSocket you can forget is there.

The Low-Pro Grip is priced at $39.99 and is launching exclusively at Apple in six colors, expanding to Best Buy and Target on July 12, and to all other retailers on July 29, when the full lineup of 12 colors will be available. It’s compatible with any MagSafe-compatible iPhone case and works with all existing PopSockets mounts, so it fits into an existing MagSafe setup without needing anything else.

The post The 2.6mm PopSocket That Didn’t Work in 2012 Is Finally Here for $39 first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Urn With 4 Screens Showing Moving Images of the Person You Lost

Posted on by

Cremation urns have existed for thousands of years, but their design language has barely moved. They tend toward the ceremonial and the generic, pottery shapes lifted from antiquity or polished boxes that draw from the visual vocabulary of caskets. The underlying assumption across nearly all of them is the same: that the vessel marks an ending. That what’s inside has arrived, not departed.

The Transcendence Urn takes a different philosophical position entirely. It belongs to a series of objects conceived as temporary dwellings for the remains of loved ones, held in anticipation of what comes next. The form it takes to express this idea is strikingly futuristic, almost sci-fi in its ambition, built on the premise that the urn theoretically facilitates the occupant’s journey toward a higher state of existence rather than simply containing what was left behind.

Designer: Michael Jantzen

The structure stands 25 inches tall and 12 inches wide, built from painted wood in a form that seems to reach upward. Stepped tiers stack toward the top, followed by a gold sphere that crowns the whole structure and is removable from its own tiered plinth. The lower body radiates outward in layered chevron forms, pointing downward like fins, giving the whole piece a sense of directed energy, as if something inside it is moving rather than resting.

The four panel spaces near the top of the urn are where the personal dimension takes shape. Owners can fill them with photographs selected from a curated series of symbolically resonant images, or with their own. The possibilities run a wide emotional and metaphysical range: images of open sky and drifting clouds, a sunlit hillside, a field of orange flowers, a galaxy, fire, storm, and lightning are all part of the symbolic vocabulary this design draws from. Of course, photos of the actual person can go there, too.

That choice matters more than it might first appear. Most memorial objects leave the bereaved as passive recipients of a fixed form. This one asks them to make decisions about meaning, to assign symbols, and to decide what the person they lost should be surrounded by. It’s a quiet but real kind of agency during a period when very little feels controllable.

A digital variant of the Transcendence Urn replaces the four static panels with four screens displaying moving images and sounds, turning the object from a still memorial into something more like a living one. That version shifts the experience even further, letting the presence of the deceased linger in a more active, dynamic way rather than being fixed to a single still photograph chosen on a single day of grief.

It’s also worth noting what the object looks like on a shelf or a table. It doesn’t look like an urn. It looks like a piece of speculative design, the kind of object that invites questions before anyone knows what it holds. That unfamiliarity carries its own kind of comfort: it doesn’t announce loss the same way a traditional vessel does, and it doesn’t ask the viewer to feel a particular thing on sight.

The post The Urn With 4 Screens Showing Moving Images of the Person You Lost first appeared on Yanko Design.