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jmoore5196

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 19, 2009
849
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Russellville AR
I noticed last night that the MacBook Air page on the Apple Refurb store has a circa 2015 11" MBA listed. I think $929 is a little steep for a 3-year-old machine with 4GB RAM, but I suppose if you need the portability, you can justify the cost.
 
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That is insanely steep considering itechdeals has the 2015 for $350 right now and Newegg has the 2014 model for $350. Both refurbished. I realize they aren't from apple but thats a major difference in price.
 
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Love the 11" form factor but honestly with Apple jacking prices, I may go back to Windoze next upgrade, 'cuz after 5 years I still hate Finder, and windows don't automatically re-open at their last position, don't even post any kludges to do this, useless.
 
Isn't Apple working on a new, cheaper, retina MacBook Air and should release it this year or early next year? Or is it just a stretched rumour?
 
See this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/is-it-worth-buying-a-4gb-ram-air-in-2018.2124171/

The Apple refurb gets you a 1 year warranty plus a new battery and the ability to add AppleCare. The newegg deal is only 128gb and the Apple refurb is 256gb. Newegg is also "grade B" - whatever that means.

But yeah, that is a big price difference. I suppose you get what you pay for?...

I see your point it just seems crazy to sell them for that price whenever you can get a 2017 13" MacBook Air for $650 every couple of months from Best Buy with the student coupon. Even without the student coupon you can get them for $699. Thats an insane value for a 2017 model brand new computer and the baseline 2017 Air is very snappy.
 
I can't imagine anyone in the Apple Store hierarchy is particularly interested in 'future-proofing' a 3-year-old laptop.

The 11" MBA is incredibly portable; I have one from 2014 - it is a CTO with 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD and a core i7, and is easily the best laptop I have ever owned, fast, powerful, portable, very reliable.

Until recently, the battery life was amazing, too, but tis is one area where the computer is beginning to show its age, as the battery is now reduced to about 5-6 hours, rather than the 8-9 I used to be able to get from it on a single charge.

However, if I could lay hands on a maxed-out refurb 11" MBA, I'd buy it in a heart-beat.
 
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I see your point it just seems crazy to sell them for that price whenever you can get a 2017 13" MacBook Air for $650

Don't really disagree with this - if you can get a new MBA for $650 or $700 it's hard to argue with that. Only problem is that the OP wants an 11" MBA and you won't find a new one of those anywhere. I used to have a 13" MBA but now I still use an 11" as my main computer. It's really a completely different experience from the 13". Funny, I was in Best Buy a couple days ago and they had three Mac laptops next to each other. I wondered what one of them was, and when I looked closer it was a 13" MBA - was surprised that I didn't even recognize it, I have just gotten so used to the 11" size!
 
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I can't imagine anyone in the Apple Store hierarchy is particularly interested in 'future-proofing' a 3-year-old laptop.
It may be 3 years old but it's still perfectly usable. I bought an 8gb air 2015 and it's been fine as a daily machine for years. The 2015 and newer models are the same except each year gets a slightly faster CPU while everything else remains the same. The air still seems to sell quite well which means people are virtually buying a 2015 model in 2018.
 
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$929 is insane when you can get a 13” brand new with double the RAM (if half the storage) for $999...
 
The 11" MBA doesn't sell at all anymore, and that is what the OP is talking about. ;)
I understand but, if apple was still making a 2018 11" air, it would only have a slightly faster cpu, just like the 13" model being sold today.

Apple prices have always been seen as overpriced or just right. I know people that see apple products as being incredibly overpriced but continue to buy new models.
 
I understand but, if apple was still making a 2018 11" air, it would only have a slightly faster cpu, just like the 13" model being sold today.

Apple prices have always been seen as overpriced or just right. I know people that see apple products as being incredibly overpriced but continue to buy new models.

But, if Apple were still making a 2018 11" MBA, I bet that people would buy it, and that there would be a market for it, and, for some, it might meet their needs a lot better than the current iterations of the rMB.
 
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So... you should buy a truck because it's cheaper, even though you actually want a car? ;)
I don’t really get the comparison as they’re two different size variants of the same product... perhaps a more apt analogy would be a coupe or 2+2 vs a sports saloon? But then you have to factor in that the coupe is ‘approved used’ and the saloon fresh off the assembly line, the saloon has better performance and you’re only paying about 8% more for the saloon...
 
It's great to see 11" pop up in the refurb store again.

But as noted power/cost inflation has not been kind to this computer.

Anyone who wants a cheap Mac has to buy the 256 upgrade, but without 8GB it's a hard sell to power users.
 
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My only point was that it doesn’t matter how good a deal you can get on a 13” MBA if an 11” MBA is what you want. :)
I guess but my point was that for a refurbished product, with 4gb of ram that originally sold for $999 it really isn’t a good deal - particularly when being compared to a product which originally sold at $100 more for an equivalently specced product now offers more RAM for just $70 more. More of a complaint Apple haven’t been particularly generous with the discount, if you will ;)
 
I guess but my point was that for a refurbished product, with 4gb of ram that originally sold for $999 it really isn’t a good deal

I would agree with that, and personally I wouldn't buy one at that price, especially considering the 4gb spec. To be fair, I think the 256gb model cost more than $999 originally. IIRC, the $999 model only had a 128gb SSD.

The window for purchasing the 11" MBA pretty much closed a few years ago. I remember that, without warning, B&H Photo suddenly had some brand new 11" i7/8gb/512gb MacBook Airs in stock for a great price (something like $1,100) long after it was discontinued. A few forum members were lucky enough to get these while they lasted. I paid $1750 for that same spec in July 2013.

But such is the curse of those who fall in love with an "Apple Orphan".... I have two, the 11" MBA and a 2012 Quad Mini. :)
 
I find it interesting that Apple has listed a refurbished 11" MBA and agree that $929 is a little steep for a 3-year-old machine with 4GB RAM. I picked up my 11" MBA with 4GB RAM for $83 so I wouldn't even consider buying a refurb at the $929 price tag....
 
I noticed last night that the MacBook Air page on the Apple Refurb store has a circa 2015 11" MBA listed. I think $929 is a little steep for a 3-year-old machine with 4GB RAM, but I suppose if you need the portability, you can justify the cost.

I hear & Understand All posts! Wife & I have two 11’s & three 13’s. All used & loved. Not all top of the line - ALL work just great for what we got them for! I personally do NOT like new keyboards- so we stay with our airs and rMb pros “13 & 15”

If it’s what you want and need “GO FOR IT”
 
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