MacBook Air With M1 Chip is Now Just $549 at Walmart

[sleeptodream]

The iOS/iPadOS support time is roughly seven years… there are Intel machines that have received the same time of support. I think most of us wish an 8 to 9 years support.

Yeah, I’m expecting 7 years, but given that the jump from the 2020 intel Air to the M1 Air was bigger than the jump from M1 to M4, it could definitely be longer this time around

They also kept the base RAM at 8gb through M3, so RAM limitation shouldn’t be an issue for a few years (everyone complained about this, but I was happy they kept the base RAM low since they need to continue supporting M2 and M3 with 8gb)

 

[jz0309]

I don't consider this a good deal, at $399, yes, but you can get a whole lot better for $200 more ...

 

[Astuces iOS]

Still an awful value for a 5 year old design with a soon to be 5 generation old processor.

I agree, very bad purchase in 2025 !

 

[ProbablyDylan]

5 years old and still only with 8GB of RAM.

Not the worst purchasing mistake one can make, but still a pretty bad one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I don't consider this a good deal, at $399, yes, but you can get a whole lot better for $200 more ...

Just to play Devil’s Advocate, could you perhaps share a link or two to what laptops you recommend instead at $549?

 

[jz0309]

Just to play Devil’s Advocate, could you perhaps share a link or two to what laptops you recommend instead at $549?

I meant $200 more over the $549, like I think the M4 MBA is on sale at $749.
The reason I'm saying 549 is not a good deal is that it is a 5 year old model after all

 

[BrentT]

In August of 2025 I got this laptop for $425 from Walmart. It was in perfect condition and met my travel computing needs.

 

[iGeek2019]

You have to add VAT for UK prices so it would come out at £499.

Apple currently have a cert-refurb of this model for £589 🙃

 

[svish]

While it is great that a M series MacBook can be bought for under $600, it is quite old now. Other than the issue of the laptop not getting further OS updates, one cannot be sure about the battery health and condition when it has been stored so long without using.

 

[tonmischa]

one cannot be sure about the battery health and condition when it has been stored so long without using.

Do you believe that those have been produced five years ago and have been lying around in some warehouse?

EDIT: To avoid misunderstandings, I would like to be more clear: I seriously doubt that these machines are more than 3 months old. The only way they can sell them that cheap is by producing them that cheap. Which is only possible now. Was not possible four or three years ago.

 

[SDAVE]

One of the best laptops/price ratio. Of course I sold this a while ago and got a M1 Max MBP 16", but this laptop is great for most users.

 

[lostPod]

if they still had the 11" I would be all over this.

 

[chmania]

Still beats the crap out of most modern windows laptops.

Which ones?

 

[Christopher Kim]

While it is great that a M series MacBook can be bought for under $600, it is quite old now. Other than the issue of the laptop not getting further OS updates, one cannot be sure about the battery health and condition when it has been stored so long without using.

I agree - that's actually what I'd be more concerned about, as I agree the M1 chip still flies and is good enough for a lot of casual users (like this would be perfect for my mother / mother-in-law).

But to @tonmischa 's point, I wonder how many of these were still manufactured maybe 4 or even 3 years ago?

But yes, I do think the majority of these models were manufactured when the M1 MBA was out, and have just been stockpiled / old inventory. I've read enough reviews of this that when purchased this year, the battery was dead (not surprising), but that it also had trouble being recharged. And even if it has a warranty, unclear how much stock Apple has on hand to be able to repair the battery.

 

[Falhófnir]

As someone new to the Mac world, how much longer would this laptop be supported? Not just OS releases, but I assume after it no longer gets OS releases it would still get security updates for awhile?

Generally speaking it's been 7 years OS support (+/- 1 year except exceptional cases) plus the macOS version it gets 'left behind on' generally gets 2 years of security only support. The caveat here is we haven't seen the first Apple Silicon machines dropped yet (this will likely be one of them) so we don't know if Apple may be a little more ambitious with their own silicon.

But based on average historical precedent, this machine is now on it's 6th of 7 OS versions, so just shy of 2 years full support left, plus a further two years of security support for MacOS 27.

Edit to add:
In my opinion the rumoured $699 A18 MacBook is likely to simply be this computer with the M1 chip upgraded to an A18 to reset the support cycle, so Apple can formalise this arrangement/experiment they've been doing with Walmart. That's probably a smarter buy if you're in no hurry.

 

[MisterPeep]

Saw your article yesterday. Clicked the link. Purchased. Waiting for delivery now.

I am completely okay with the specs and the fact that it may only be able to upgrade to maybe 2 more macOS versions, but it will get the job done for a crazy steal of a price. Thanks for the heads up on the deal.

 

[Falhófnir]

While it is great that a M series MacBook can be bought for under $600, it is quite old now. Other than the issue of the laptop not getting further OS updates, one cannot be sure about the battery health and condition when it has been stored so long without using.

AFAIK these are new units Apple is still making and selling via Walmart, as they have done previously with some iPhone models like the 6. Happy to be corrected if anyone knows for certain this isn't the case, but would be very surprised if this is still actual stock from the initial production run.

 

[NT1440]

The iOS/iPadOS support time is roughly seven years… there are Intel machines that have received the same time of support. I think most of us wish an 8 to 9 years support.

I am confident you will see that. At some point OS updates will be dropped, but I suspect security updates will continue beyond that.

 

[seek3r]

While it is great that a M series MacBook can be bought for under $600, it is quite old now. Other than the issue of the laptop not getting further OS updates, one cannot be sure about the battery health and condition when it has been stored so long without using.

These arent NOS, these are new machines manufactured specifically for walmart

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Still love my (base) M1 MBA.

Yes but would you pay $200 less for than an M4 it today?

 

[tonmischa]

But to @tonmischa 's point, I wonder how many of these were still manufactured maybe 4 or even 3 years ago?

It seems that I couldn't express my doubts... I try to be more clear:
I seriously doubt that these machines are more than 3 months old. The only way they can sell them that cheap is by producing them that cheap. Which is only possible now. Was not possible four or three years ago.

Coconut Battery and other utilities are able to show the manufacturing date of the machine (and also the battery).
Would love to hear from someone who bought the machine.

 

[Thisismattwade]

Yes but would you pay $200 less for than an M4 it today?

Wise question, and no I would not. I would buy the M4 at $749 if it was available when I was ready to buy a laptop. I'm not ready to get rid of my base M1 MBA, though the trade-in value at Best Buy is still tempting. I'm holding out for an OLED screen.

 

[rjp1]

M1 is a bit too old.

My money is on the M1 series getting 9+ years of software updates, up there with the generation of Core 2 processors at the second phase of the PPC to Intel transition. I could be wrong but it is difficult to imagine what would motivate deprecation since the hardware requirements for anything but Apple Intelligence are more or less static. There may be a wave of ARMv8 deprecations in several years (beyond 2030-2032) but I'm expecting the full M1 lineup to get macOS 30.

Yeah, we’d need some justification on the deprecation. When Apple didn’t want to support an old processor from a 3rd party - okay. But to not be able to support your own would be ridiculous. Since nothing is upgradable on these laptops, then they would be committing to creating a bunch of electronics waste on a very short cycle.

 

[seek3r]

Yes but would you pay $200 less for than an M4 it today?

If someone doesnt have the $200 the answer is yes

 

[MacHeritage]

I think Apple is going to support their own processors a lot more than any last gen Intel or PowerPC Mac model, which is the worst, according to history.

Think Mac Pro 2010 (2010-2019 + Security Updates) or MacBook Pro 2007 (2007-2016 + Security Updates) type of longevity. Purchased both, so I know how they were the best purchases and had the best bang for the buck, when it came to support.