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Super disappointing new MacBook configuration

@chars1ub0w Why? If that's what it ends up being, that's amazing. That's what a lot of everyday people who might not otherwise buy a Mac and just want a nice web browsing / everyday computing device want – at a clear, accessible price and setup that doesn't cannibalize the rest of the product line. That's the price of an iPhone 17... but it's a laptop. That's amazing!
 
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perfectpizza said:
@chars1ub0w Why? If that's what it ends up being, that's amazing. That's what a lot of everyday people who might not otherwise buy a Mac and just want a nice web browsing / everyday computing device want – at a clear, accessible price and setup that doesn't cannibalize the rest of the product line. That's the price of an iPhone 17... but it's a laptop. That's amazing!
Click to expand...
Why is $799 amazing?

Cheapest MacBook Air has a powerful M4 processor with 16GB RAM 256GB SSD for $999. Education price $899.
 
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$799 feels high but this is Apple. People will buy it and many wouldn't know the difference between 8GB and 16GB anyway.

16GB makes more sense these days for most people who browse this forum; but for most general basic users 8GBs is still fine with SSD. Reboot it every morning to give it a fresh start.
 
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chars1ub0w said:
Why is $799 amazing?
Click to expand...

Because it's $200 cheaper than $999, which is a lot less money, and at these price points people are a lot more sensitive. Tons of people will buy it because it's a solid "value" price.

Cheapest MacBook Air has a powerful M4 processor with 16GB RAM 256GB SSD for $999.
Click to expand...

Right... sounds like $200 of additional value. Those additions mean absolutely nothing to many casual computer users. And if they do matter to you... pay $200 more.

Put another way, iPhone 17 Pro is $999... why would anyone buy an iPhone 17 for $799 with less camera, less power, less memory? Because it's $200 cheaper and those people don't value that stuff so much. It's not disappointing that casual phone users can buy a cheaper than "Pro" iPhone – it's amazing.
 
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perfectpizza said:
@chars1ub0w Why? If that's what it ends up being, that's amazing. That's what a lot of everyday people who might not otherwise buy a Mac and just want a nice web browsing / everyday computing device want – at a clear, accessible price and setup that doesn't cannibalize the rest of the product line. That's the price of an iPhone 17... but it's a laptop. That's amazing!
Click to expand...
You can't be that much fanboy that you'd call a $799 computer with 8GB RAM amazing.

You can say that 8GB is sufficient for the most basic tasks, and you can say that Apple can charge whatever they like for their products, but you can't say that it's amazing.
 
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I think it makes a lot of sense. They have to be carful with how they price/position this machine so it doesn't canabalize iPad or MBA sales. And I don't think 8GB of RAM is an issue when you think about the intended use case they are probably going for with this machine. Ultimately I think a $799 price is in place for consumers to support a lower $499-$699 educational price, which is what this machine is ultimately probably being made for.
 
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DanneP said:
You can't be that much fanboy that you'd call a $799 computer with 8GB RAM amazing.

You can say that 8GB is sufficient for the most basic tasks, and you can say that Apple can charge whatever they like for their products, but you can't say that it's amazing.
Click to expand...

I'm sticking with amazing, because my comment was all about accessibility. This new laptop means that people who have less than $999 can buy a nice new current generation Apple laptop instead of being stuck with something not-so-great. Innovation isn't just about "how much RAM does it have, it really needs 16GB blah blah blah" – a big part of innovation is accessibility, and lower prices = accessible to more humans.

True "fanboys" would want more people to have great Apple products, right? This delivers a nice laptop that's totally fine for everyday stuff that many people are totally happy with.

Put another way, my daily driver is a ~$6500 MacBook Pro. It is less amazing than this accessible $799 laptop.

Apple stopped making the M1 MacBook Air a few months ago, which was a U.S/Walmart exclusive for quite a while since it was so popular. It made getting a new MacBook affordable at $699 (then $599 at the end): https://www.curbcuts.co/blog/2025-8-13-walmart-makes-m1-macbook-air-more-accessible. This new rumored $799 machine is definitely better than that because it's current tech – it's not 5 year old tech.
 
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Love-hate 🍏 relationship said:
Does that mean the base MBA will be more expensive?
Click to expand...

this low cost MacBook could well serve as an excellent excuse to ramp up the price of the base M5 MacBook Air, especially with those out of control ram and ssd prices ...

just look at the iPad - and now - the iPhone product lineup: the air is positioned in between the base/regular and the pro. apple might want to align the Mac offering accordingly
 
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If you see Apple coming out with a new low end bottom of the lineup computer and the first thing you’re thinking about is RAM amount…
It’s probably not the computer for you.
Wow that was easy.

Have you guys checked out some of the computers targeted at education from other companies? I’ve seen some as late as early 2025 that’s still only have 64 GB of storage. Yeah, they are dirt cheap but truly close to unusable, especially with Windows 11.
The one thing this Mac will not be is unusable, seeing as even the base M1 Air from five years ago still runs fine.
 
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ChrisChaval said:
this low cost MacBook could well serve as an excellent excuse to ramp up the price of the base M5 MacBook Air, especially with those out of control ram and ssd prices ...
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Yes, this is an important point. If they raise the price gap between the new low-end MacBook and the MacBook Air, e.g. add $200 so the new MacBook Air starts at $1199, $799 doesn't look as bad.
 
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Up until very recently, the M2 MBA with 16GB memory and 256GB storage was available for educational (EDU) customers in the US for $759. I'm going to guess that the upcoming low-cost MBA will have an EDU price of $699. The EDU price for the M4 MBA 16/256 is presently $854.
 
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perfectpizza said:
@chars1ub0w Why? If that's what it ends up being, that's amazing. That's what a lot of everyday people who might not otherwise buy a Mac and just want a nice web browsing / everyday computing device want – at a clear, accessible price and setup that doesn't cannibalize the rest of the product line. That's the price of an iPhone 17... but it's a laptop. That's amazing!
Click to expand...
I don’t believe 8GB RAM will be enough for an average user in 2026
 
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kody137 said:
I have an M1 MBA with 8GB that still runs like a dream, even doing mildly demanding tasks like running Photoshop
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have absolutely no idea where this recent trend of posters who obviously are not using 8 GB of RAM machines popping up to tell us how “unusable” 8 GB machines are keeps coming from but it is so silly.
The base M1 MacBook Air from five years ago can easily breeze through small bits of 4K editing in FinalCut Pro, it will make a perfectly acceptable web browsing and email machine.
if anything, it gives Apple an excuse to make future versions of macOS even more efficient.
Of course it’s not going to replace an MBP with 96 GB of RAM with a 4 TB SSD and an M4Max, but that is not what it’s meant for.
Edit: also given that the iPhone Air and iPad Pro both start with 12 GB of RAM now, and the $599 Mac Mini has 16, I feel like this complaining is going to end up being all for not.
 
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chars1ub0w said:
Why is $799 amazing?

Cheapest MacBook Air has a powerful M4 processor with 16GB RAM 256GB SSD for $999. Education price $899.
Click to expand...
It's $849.00 at Apple refurb.

Once the M5 MBA comes out in a few months, the refurb price will drop to $749-$779 range.

Watch it (MBA with M4, 16/256) hit $699 during the summer and holidays at Walmart, Best Buy, etc just like the M3 MBA did last year.

Yes, there will probably be sales for this $799 MacBook with A-series SoC. Maybe $699?

The question then is what's the better buy, a MacBook with A18 Pro SoC, 8GB memory, and probably 256GB storage for $699, or a MacBook Air with M4, 16GB memory, 256GB storage for $699?
 
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perfectpizza said:
Innovation isn't just about "how much RAM does it have, it really needs 16GB blah blah blah" – a big part of innovation is accessibility, and lower prices = accessible to more humans.
Click to expand...
I dare to disagree with you.

Humans who dont know/dont care about RAM and certain other technical specs ; who just try to get a cheap laptop will not buy a $799 device. (If they just care about having "a screen and a keyboard", they will grab a cheap PC for $300.)

Humans who do care about tech specs and the Apple eco system will be disappointed. For only 200 bucks more you get a LOT more in a M5 Macbook Air.

So a $799 8GB machine will basically not appeal to both of these groups. It will go the way of the iPhone Air.
 
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