Apple products have never been what anyone would call cheap. But even as tech-device prices are starting to creep up across the board this year, Apple is appearing to zig where other companies have zagged by becoming more affordable — at least in a few product launches this week.The company just announced a slew of new devices, culminating with a product-launch experience on March 4, and the marquee items were the most affordable ones: the company’s first budget MacBook and the entry-level iPhone 17e.The company also announced a new iPad Air, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, plus a couple of new monitors.Wirecutter was on the ground at Apple’s big event in New York City to get hands-on time with all of the new gadgets. We’ll have to wait and see how these devices fare after more extensive testing, but for now, here are our key takeaways from everything Apple announced.