Paul Stenhouse: Apple launches Macbook Neo, iPhone 17e, Anthropic designated a Supply Chain Risk

Apple has launched a more affordable laptop and phone   If you spend a lot of your day on email, browsing the web, or in docs and spreadsheets, this is the machine for you. Designed for the 'everyday' type activities, the Macbook Neo is competing with lower-end Chromebooks and Windows PCs. It does come in one the high side of that market but has a premium feel with its all-aluminium design.   This is the first time Apple has used one of its phone chips in a MacBook. It is able to connect to an external display, has two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack. There are two models – one with TouchID and one without. The only drawback is that it's missing a backlit keyboard. It comes in silver, black, and two fun colours and starts at $NZ1,149.     They also launched the iPhone 17e   Slightly smaller than the iPhone 17, it is missing the wide-angle lens, the 'dynamic island', and 'center stage' feature which keeps you in frame on video calls. But it does have industry leading features like the satellite SOS mode, MagSafe, and 4K video. It starts at $NZ1,199 – $500 less than the 17, $1,150 less than the 17 Pro.    Anthropic has been designated a Supply Chain Risk   As we talked about last week, the beef with the DOD/W has turned into the designation. But it's narrower than the department was alluding to last week – it’s only preventing Anthropic from working with companies specifically in their work with the Pentagon, rather than a blanket ban across all departments. Anthropic is taking this to court.    LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.