New M1 MBAs at Walmart

[flowrider]

Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch Laptop - Space Gray, M1 Chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - Walmart.com

Buy Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch Laptop - Space Gray, M1 Chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Lou

 

[KPOM]

They have offered these for almost 18 months now (when Apple stopped selling them in its own stores). Originally $699. Then $649. Now $599.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Unless someone must have the old form design, I think the new M4 MBA is a better buy.

 

[russell_314]

Unless someone must have the old form design, I think the new M4 MBA is a better buy.

Exactly. You can get the M4 MacBook Air for $799 on Amazon. Unless it’s absolutely impossible for you to come up with the extra $200, don’t buy this in 2025.

 

[KPOM]

Exactly. You can get the M4 MacBook Air for $799 on Amazon. Unless it’s absolutely impossible for you to come up with the extra $200, don’t buy this in 2025.

Here is the deal. The M1 MacBook Air has a 4.7 out of 5 rating at Wal-Mart. It’s been a success. So much so that Apple reportedly is considering an A18-based Mac to replace it (more years of support from essentially an M4-lite processor).

Considering that $399 buys a PC notebook at Wal-Mart there is a huge difference between $599 and $799. While it would be better if Apple equipped these with 16GB the M1 still holds its own against the budget PC notebooks of 2025. The M1 MacBook Air looks more premium, feels more premium, lasts all day on battery, has a beautiful screen and great trackpad, and still performs well for the tasks that the average buyer at Wal-Mart needs.

Something else. If you are a loyal Wal-Mart shopper you have rewards points to use. Maybe that $599 MacBook is more like a $399 MacBook if you buy all your groceries and clothes from Wal-Mart and cash in some rewards points.

 

[russell_314]

Here is the deal. The M1 MacBook Air has a 4.7 out of 5 rating at Wal-Mart. It’s been a success. So much so that Apple reportedly is considering an A18-based Mac to replace it (more years of support from essentially an M4-lite processor).

Of course it’s a success. It’s been out for five years and was the best laptop for its market when it came out. I don’t think anyone can downplay the success of the M1 MacBook Air.

I think there is a market for a netbook MacBook. If Apple could come up with a $399 MacBook, it would fly off the shelves. It needs to have a fairly decent screen, but not my tech nerd standards and look nice. By look nice I mean colorful plastic, not boring aluminum.

Considering that $399 buys a PC notebook at Wal-Mart there is a huge difference between $599 and $799.

You can get a Windows PC laptop for about $250 at Walmart. I don’t think there’s a huge difference between $599 and $799. It is a difference and everything is relative. If all you have to your name is $599 then it is what it is.

While it would be better if Apple equipped these with 16GB the M1 still holds its own against the budget PC notebooks of 2025. The M1 MacBook Air looks more premium, feels more premium, lasts all day on battery, has a beautiful screen and great trackpad, and still performs well for the tasks that the average buyer at Wal-Mart needs.

Tech nerds on here are obsessed with RAM but the average consumer isn’t looking at that. If you’re just browsing the web 8 GB is plenty. It does hurt it when doing more intensive tasks, but somehow I don’t think the people looking at this computer from 2020 are wanting it for that.

Something else. If you are a loyal Wal-Mart shopper you have rewards points to use. Maybe that $599 MacBook is more like a $399 MacBook if you buy all your groceries and clothes from Wal-Mart and cash in some rewards points.

No, that’s a terrible way to think about money. That’s like the one where people say if they have cash in their pocket, it doesn’t count if they spend it. Money is money, regardless of how you’re holding it. You could still take that money and buy groceries or other items you need. I’m not saying don’t waste money because everyone does at some point. I go to Starbucks and waste $7 on a cup of coffee. I’m just saying it’s not a good idea to think of money you get in different ways as just not there so I can just blow it. That’s just my personal opinion and it’s meaningless to anything I guess. I’m starting to sound like Dave Ramsey 🤮😂


In the end, I don’t think someone would absolutely regret buying the M1 MacBook Air if they’re all they’re doing is browsing the web and some office documents. If that $200 means you can’t afford food this week then clearly buy the M1. If you’re someone trying to get a good deal, I don’t think the M1 fits that bill. I think at $599 it’s overpriced. If it was $399-$499 it might feel like a better deal.

 

[TechRunner]

Those of us who live here on MR sometimes forget that most non-tech-obsessed people shop by price, color, brand cachet, etc. In that context, this makes the M1 MBA a good deal for that consumer.

 

[krvld]

Unless someone must have the old form design

We much prefer old design over the notch and squared body. Current MBA neither looks or feels like the original Air design language.

 

[CSAppleFan]

Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch Laptop - Space Gray, M1 Chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - Walmart.com

Buy Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch Laptop - Space Gray, M1 Chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

Lou

If you're someone who doesn't care about the latest design or chip technology and all you did is browse the web, email, YouTube/netflix, and maybe use word for typing documents then this is a no brainer. Compared to PC models at a similar price point you will not get the quality and performance like the M1.

I was a Psych major in college and this would have been perfect for me to type papers and do research on

 

[russell_314]

We much prefer old design over the notch and squared body. Current MBA neither looks or feels like the original Air design language.

I am nostalgic for the old design since I have fond memories of my old 13” MacBook Pro. This being said once you use the newer design, the bezels on the old one kind of remind me of a Fisher-Price laptop. The old plastic ones that had the little screen in the middle and the big bezel around it. If they improve that one thing, then I wouldn’t care either way of which design.

If you're someone who doesn't care about the latest design or chip technology and all you did is browse the web, email, YouTube/netflix, and maybe use word for typing documents then this is a no brainer. Compared to PC models at a similar price point you will not get the quality and performance like the M1.

I was a Psych major in college and this would have been perfect for me to type papers and do research on

It’s absolutely a good laptop. I’m a little biased about MacBooks always being better than most PC laptops so I have to agree with you, but it could be because of my bias.

The only issue I have with it is that it’s five years old now. That means you’re going to get about five years less support compared to an M4 for $200 more. I know there’s some situations where that might be a good trade-off, but I don’t think so for the average person.

 

[KPOM]

Of course it’s a success. It’s been out for five years and was the best laptop for its market when it came out. I don’t think anyone can downplay the success of the M1 MacBook Air.

I think there is a market for a netbook MacBook. If Apple could come up with a $399 MacBook, it would fly off the shelves. It needs to have a fairly decent screen, but not my tech nerd standards and look nice. By look nice I mean colorful plastic, not boring aluminum.



You can get a Windows PC laptop for about $250 at Walmart. I don’t think there’s a huge difference between $599 and $799. It is a difference and everything is relative. If all you have to your name is $599 then it is what it is.



Tech nerds on here are obsessed with RAM but the average consumer isn’t looking at that. If you’re just browsing the web 8 GB is plenty. It does hurt it when doing more intensive tasks, but somehow I don’t think the people looking at this computer from 2020 are wanting it for that.


In the end, I don’t think someone would absolutely regret buying the M1 MacBook Air if they’re all they’re doing is browsing the web and some office documents. If that $200 means you can’t afford food this week then clearly buy the M1. If you’re someone trying to get a good deal, I don’t think the M1 fits that bill. I think at $599 it’s overpriced. If it was $399-$499 it might feel like a better deal.

Wal-Mart has only sold it since February 2024 so the 4.7 stars are for a 4-5 year old computer that they bought for $600-700 (depending on when they bought it). Most of the low ratings are people who got duds (bad battery life which I suspect was a bad batch of batteries).

A $250 laptop at Walmart looks like a $250 laptop. Even stepping up to $400 is a big step up in quality.

I don’t dispute that an $800 base M4 from Amazon or another reseller is a better “value” for many than a $600 M1 with half the RAM and an older processor. But $600 is already a splurge for many in the target market. I think Apple doesn’t want to go much lower and offer a $400 or $500 model because it would put pressure on the pricing of the M4 model. The only “cheaper” Max is the mini which obviously doesn’t include a display, keyboard or trackpad for that price.

 

[JPack]

It’s a 5 year old computer which means it’ll receive 5 years fewer macOS updates if you unbox it today.

With Mac, the hardware is so intertwined with the software. History shows Apple provides new Macs with only 6-7 years of major updates.

Is it worth $599? It originally sold for $899 to all students, parents, and homeschool teachers. Maybe worth buying but only if you don’t care about software longevity.

 

[mike.coulter]

We much prefer old design over the notch and squared body. Current MBA neither looks or feels like the original Air design language.

I’d actually forgotten about the notch, I can’t fathom moving on my M1 MBA and putting up with that.

 

[russell_314]

Wal-Mart has only sold it since February 2024 so the 4.7 stars are for a 4-5 year old computer that they bought for $600-700 (depending on when they bought it). Most of the low ratings are people who got duds (bad battery life which I suspect was a bad batch of batteries).

Of course it’s a great laptop. The rest are likely people that would never be satisfied with anything. You got people that if they bought a gold bar would give it a bad review because it was too heavy 🤦‍♂️😂

A $250 laptop at Walmart looks like a $250 laptop. Even stepping up to $400 is a big step up in quality.

Totally agree here. $250 is really cutting it tight on the budget. For a Windows laptop I recommend spending at least $400 so you get decent performance.

I don’t dispute that an $800 base M4 from Amazon or another reseller is a better “value” for many than a $600 M1 with half the RAM and an older processor. But $600 is already a splurge for many in the target market. I think Apple doesn’t want to go much lower and offer a $400 or $500 model because it would put pressure on the pricing of the M4 model. The only “cheaper” Max is the mini which obviously doesn’t include a display, keyboard or trackpad for that price.

If it’s all you can afford then it’s all you can afford. It’s like people that buy a small container of something paying three times the price per ounce, but that’s all they can afford.

If Apple were to come out with a $399 - $499 laptop, I don’t think it would put pressure on the Air. Some people aren’t going to spend even $799. if it has reduced specs, it has to be at a price point that makes it attractive. If Apple released a $699 laptop with an A series processor, why would I get that versus the M4 Air? I think at that point they would either have to raise the price of the Air or lower the price of the new laptop.

I’d actually forgotten about the notch, I can’t fathom moving on my M1 MBA and putting up with that.

I have an M2 MacBook Air and have also forgotten about the notch. I don’t notice it. If you have some type of OCD and you know something like that will mess with your head then you might notice it. It’s like how some people will go crazy over things being asymmetrical

 

[wyliej]

It's a bad deal.

Let's generously assume that the useful life of a laptop is eight years. The M4 is $800 on Amazon regularly. So, the cost of ownership is $100/year.

The M1 is already a five-year-old machine (with respect to specifications). At $600, and with three years' worth of expected useful life left, the cost of ownership is $200/year.

Never mind that the M4 is faster, has more RAM, and will be more pleasant to use.

I suppose that an argument could be made that the M1 might last longer, but 8GB of RAM was pathetic in 2020, and the situation has not improved since then.

If you really only have $600, then I would argue that buying a Mac laptop isn't the best way to spend it. If your needs are really minimal, then you would probably be happy with a Chromebook. If you need a "real" laptop cheaply, then a used Lenovo Thinkpad or Dell Latitude will give you more bang for your buck, in addition to being upgradable and repairable.

 

[flowrider]

Many of you folks are assuming that Apple will stop support in three years. How do you come to that conclusion🤔 Since the machine is still being sold new. Apple is also currently selling refurb M1 Mac Studios. I'm thinking M series machines, including M1 Macs, will have support for a few years out yet.

And you are forgetting users like me. I currently own a base spec M2 MBA. BUT, my machine for heavy lifting is an M2 Ultra Mac Pro. I use the MBA for light duty when away from home. I also use it to watch videos of automotive installations or instructions when working on my vehicles in the garage.

Lou

 

[JPack]

Many of you folks are assuming that Apple will stop support in three years. How do you come to that conclusion🤔 Since the machine is still being sold new, I'm thinking M series machines, including M1 Macs, will have support for a few years out yet. And you are forgetting users like me. I currently own a base spec M2 MBA. BUT, my machine for heavy lifting is an M2 Ultra Mac Pro. I use the MBA for light duty when away from home. I also use it to watch videos of automotive installations or instructions when working on my vehicles in the garage.

Lou

We come to that conclusion because Apple has done it many times, whether it's Mac, iPhone, or iPad. There's been analyses done by sites like Ars Technica to determine average length of macOS support.

The conclusion is Apple software support is based on product introduction date. Whether the product still being sold new today is irrelevant.

 

[Tagbert]

I’d actually forgotten about the notch, I can’t fathom moving on my M1 MBA and putting up with that.

It’s really a non-issue about 2 days after you have it.

 

[KPOM]

We come to that conclusion because Apple has done it many times, whether it's Mac, iPhone, or iPad. There's been analyses done by sites like Ars Technica to determine average length of macOS support.

The conclusion is Apple software support is based on product introduction date. Whether the product still being sold new today is irrelevant.

It will generally get security updates for 5 years after it stops being sold.

 

[KPOM]

It's a bad deal.

Let's generously assume that the useful life of a laptop is eight years. The M4 is $800 on Amazon regularly. So, the cost of ownership is $100/year.

If you really only have $600, then I would argue that buying a Mac laptop isn't the best way to spend it. If your needs are really minimal, then you would probably be happy with a Chromebook. If you need a "real" laptop cheaply, then a used Lenovo Thinkpad or Dell Latitude will give you more bang for your buck, in addition to being upgradable and repairable.

The people buying this aren’t comparing it to an M4 they can buy at Amazon for $800. They are comparing it to a Windows PC or Chromebook they can buy for $400.

 

[wyliej]

The $400 Chromebook will probably have a longer useful life. A $400 Windows laptop is going to be bad, regardless, but might come wiht 16GB of RAM (or be able to be upgraded).