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M1 MacBook Air Out of Stock at Walmart as Lower-Cost MacBook Nears

I have the new Mini for what heavy lifting I do but want one of these machines, I’m hoping they are ultra-light and 8 gig is fine for writing.
 
joeblow7777 said:
This is something I see a lot of in tech forums and comment sections. People tend to act like every tech product that comes out has to meet their needs. I actually know quite a few people still using computers (mostly older Macs) with 8GB of RAM. It still gets the job done for basic productivity stuff.
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Especially if you turn off AI and Siri, which I would do. Anyone else’s mileage may vary.
 
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lazyrighteye said:
If there base Air starts at $999, where do we think the base MacBook will start? $699?
If they can crack the $500 mark, even at $499, that will make some waves.

While not quite my cup of tea, I am hoping to see the return to some vibrant color options in the entry-level product line.
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Remember the original rumors about this new machine repeatedly mentioned $599. That would work for me.
 
tyr2 said:
IMO an A series MacBook is not coming until the next version of macOS.

Tahoe supports Rosetta 2 which relies on hardware extensions (TSO) which is only enabled in the M series of chips.

The next macOS ditches Rosetta 2, opening the window for A series chips without the baggage of Intel support.

In theory the A series chips can support TSO, but have not so far. So it's possible it could happen, but more likely it'll just be ditched,

For more on TSO: https://blog.cyyself.name/tso-apple-m1/
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Or the new aBooks just don’t support Roseta2 and who cares?

What person is buying this computer who is planning to run Intel binary apps? Maybe that one person, let’s call him carl, can find an M1 Air somewhere?
 
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Octavius8 said:
Is the A18 cheaper than an M1?.
8GB RAM would make it useless and absolutely planned for obsolescence in 2 years.
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No clue about component costs differences.
All I know is the A18 is 4 years newer than M1 and looks to be the first time Apple has placed an A-series inside one fo their computers. That has my attention.

As far as obsolescence is concerned, Apple deems iPhone obsolete after 7-8 years. iPhone 15 Pro has the minimum specs required for run-in Apple Intelligence: A17 Pro + 8 GB ram. I see no reason why the target audience for the rumored MacBook's A18 + 8 GB ram, wouldn't be perfectly happy with that config for a decade. Again, interested to see what Apple has up their sleeve for MacBook. Might this be the first cellular-capable Apple computer?
 
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savantgk3 said:
I think they could MSRP at $649-699, they'd be on Amazon for around $599, and back to school and Black Friday sales knock another $50 off that. It's going to be hard to retail for much lower with the current memory situation though, even if they go with 8GB RAM. iPad Mini still starts at $499, I can't see them getting quite that low.
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Ah, good point(s). $649 is sounding right.
 
lazyrighteye said:
No clue about component costs differences.
All I know is the A18 is 4 years newer than M1 and looks to be the first time Apple has placed an A-series inside one fo their computers. That has my attention.

As far as obsolescence is concerned, Apple deems iPhone obsolete after 7-8 years. iPhone 15 Pro has the minimum specs required for run-in Apple Intelligence: A17 Pro + 8 GB ram. I see no reason why the target audience for the rumored MacBook's A18 + 8 GB ram, wouldn't be perfectly happy with that config for a decade. Again, interested to see what Apple has up their sleeve for MacBook. Might this be the first cellular-capable Apple computer?
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I really can't see it having cellular. That's extra expense and in a pinch they can connect via their iPhone's. They'll save that for the pro and maybe the Air models.
 
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My M1 MacBook Air is not my main work Mac But the 8gb base model is perfectly fine for a lot of uses. I can easily run 30 or so tracks in Logic Pro with some synths and other plugins. Sure, I wouldn't use it doing 100 track sessions but it is a myth that 8gb RAM is a useless scenario. The new A18Pro could easily be a fine useful Mac. I intend to get one just for the fun of it. If only because it looks cool!
 
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When Tim announces this new MacBook it will surprise everyone if it had a M5 with 12GB of RAM like the iPad Pro models or even the same A series chip as the iPhone Pro along with vapour chamber. Top performance and no fan. After that the MacBook Air will adopt the Vapour Chamber along with the MacBook Pro line.
 
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code-m said:
When Tim announces this new MacBook it will surprise everyone if it had a M5 with 12GB of RAM like the iPad Pro models or even the same A series chip as the iPhone Pro along with vapour chamber. Top performance and no fan. After that the MacBook Air will adopt the Vapour Chamber along with the MacBook Pro line.
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I think your guess is too ambitious given the rumors, which would be for school kids, seniors, and the general public doing common every day tasks. Apple will want to keep their margin fat. They will probably offer SSD and RAM upgrade for those who want it but, I can't see Apple straying off course on the base config, especially with RAM and SSD pricing going up.
 
MAlbi said:
best buy refurbished 455$ M1, this is still good price imo
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I don't agree with this at all. It's not that the M1 MBA wasn't a great machine, I'm typing this on one, but it going on 6 years since initial release with and a 4 generation old processor when the M5 MBA is soon to be released. But it has a very limited upside for support.
 
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code-m said:
When Tim announces this new MacBook it will surprise everyone if it had a M5 with 12GB of RAM like the iPad Pro models or even the same A series chip as the iPhone Pro along with vapour chamber. Top performance and no fan. After that the MacBook Air will adopt the Vapour Chamber along with the MacBook Pro line.
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12GB A18 would be ideal. Maybe A17 8GB for base model?

If it can run was a Plex server, I would buy one.
 
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JohnC1959 said:
I really can't see it having cellular. That's extra expense and in a pinch they can connect via their iPhone's. They'll save that for the pro and maybe the Air models.
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I don't disagree. But I can't escape the feeling they're going to offer a first-ever Wi-Fi + Cellular config in their low-cost device, sending Pro users into a conniption. 😂

New MacBook
$599 (wi-fi)
$649 (wi-fi + cellular)

That said, the M5 MacBook Air makes more sense - where "low-cost" isn't the driver.
 
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tyr2 said:
IMO an A series MacBook is not coming until the next version of macOS.

Tahoe supports Rosetta 2 which relies on hardware extensions (TSO) which is only enabled in the M series of chips.

The next macOS ditches Rosetta 2, opening the window for A series chips without the baggage of Intel support.

In theory the A series chips can support TSO, but have not so far. So it's possible it could happen, but more likely it'll just be ditched,
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1. Rosetta will be be "ditched" not by the next OS, but by macOS 28. (so it will be around and supported for at least 3,5 years. Last SecUpdate for macOS 27 will be in Aug 2029.)
2. TSO is inside the A chips and it can be enabled. The DTK MacMini from 2020 was an A12Z chip and it obviously had Rosetta.
3. There are so many people talking about this Mac being "locked down to the AppStore", "not able to run Rosetta", ... May I ask where all this is coming from?
 
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lazyrighteye said:
I don't disagree. But I can't escape the feeling they're going to offer a first-ever Wi-Fi + Cellular config in their low-cost device, sending Pro users into a conniption. 😂

New MacBook
$599 (wi-fi)
$649 (wi-fi + cellular)

That said, the M5 MacBook Air makes more sense - where "low-cost" isn't the driver.
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Since I already have a MacBook Pro the driver for me is thin and light. If the new machine is thinner and lighter than a base MBA, I’m a Day One purchase. But your point is well taken. A base Air - whether M5 or even M4 - does make more sense for many. Especially at the recent holiday sale price of $749.
 
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I didn’t realize they were still selling an M1. I’m really curious to see how long they support their own hardware. I just passed down an M1 air a few months ago. I was using it for Xcode and still works great. It should be a capable machine for many years to come - unless they block updates. Time to see how much they really care about the environment.
 
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lazyrighteye said:
I don't disagree. But I can't escape the feeling they're going to offer a first-ever Wi-Fi + Cellular config in their low-cost device, sending Pro users into a conniption. 😂

New MacBook
$599 (wi-fi)
$649 (wi-fi + cellular)

That said, the M5 MacBook Air makes more sense - where "low-cost" isn't the driver.
Click to expand...
There is no way that this budget MB will have cellular. That would defeat the whole purpose of the new MB. It makes no sense to say cellular.
 
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