The $799 M4 MacBook Air on Amazon is the best value product Apple has released in... decades?

[Adelphos33]

You can buy a M4 MacBook Air for $799 from Amazon. If you want 512GB of storage, it is $999. This computer will serve the buyer well for years. It can support two high resolution monitors, last for a long time on battery, and you can keep it supported with Apple Care for a long time.

Has Apple made a better value computer for the past 10-15 years? I don't see any obvious alternatives.

You can also buy an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max for zero dollars down from basically any US carrier, today. Upcoming iPhones don't appear to be offering much new in terms of functionality, so right now seems to be a great time to buy an iPhone.

You can also buy the latest Series 10 Apple Watch for $329.

Hell, if you want to throw an iPad in, you can get a Wi-Fi one for $299 or a cell one for $449 from Amazon.

These are all very good products. For the first time I can remember, you can basically buy a full suite of Apple products for under $1,500 out of pocket. They all work great together with the new OS enhancements.

A lot of people have criticized Apple recently for lack of innovation or whatever, but I would argue the value Apple is delivering to customers today is maybe the best in recent memory?

 

[russell_314]

You can buy a M4 MacBook Air for $799 from Amazon. If you want 512GB of storage, it is $999. This computer will serve the buyer well for years. It can support two high resolution monitors, last for a long time on battery, and you can keep it supported with Apple Care for a long time.

Has Apple made a better value computer for the past 10-15 years? I don't see any obvious alternatives.

You can also buy an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max for zero dollars down from basically any US carrier, today. Upcoming iPhones don't appear to be offering much new in terms of functionality, so right now seems to be a great time to buy an iPhone.

You can also buy the latest Series 10 Apple Watch for $329.

Hell, if you want to throw an iPad in, you can get a Wi-Fi one for $299 or a cell one for $449 from Amazon.

These are all very good products. For the first time I can remember, you can basically buy a full suite of Apple products for under $1,500 out of pocket. They all work great together with the new OS enhancements.

A lot of people have criticized Apple recently for lack of innovation or whatever, but I would argue the value Apple is delivering to customers today is maybe the best in recent memory?

I still have my M2 Air that I bought three years ago and it’s been awesome. It’s been my favorite laptop except the MacBook Pro I used to have years ago.

 

[Ayemerica]

Hell of a deal

 

[wyliej]

The Mac Mini is a better deal ($449 at Micro Center) for the same specs. Add a $100 monitor, a $10 keyboard, and a $10 mouse, and you have a complete setup for $570 plus tax, with no batteries to fail. There is nothing on the market available new from a reputable manufacturer that competes at that price point.

The problem is that this ceases to be a good deal as soon as you upgrade anything. In the real world, 1TB of storage plus 32GB of RAM is under $150 (total, for both). In Apple-land, that would cost $800.

 

[1BadManVan]

I still have my M2 Air that I bought three years ago and it’s been awesome. It’s been my favorite laptop except the MacBook Pro I used to have years ago.

Same here, still rocking my 13" M2 air. As much as ive been tempted to get a new m4, there's literally no reason for me to move away from this machine. Its still just as snappy as it was brand new, I dont do anything heavy on it, so hoping still a few more flawless years to go with it

 

[EdwardC]

I agree 100%. This is a great time to be in the market for new Apple tech.

 

[GianL]

I think current Walm4rt sale of MBA M1 at 599$ is still better if you are looking for a basic laptop.
8GB RAM likely is preventing proprietary AI to work, but honestly I don't care.

 

[1BadManVan]

I think current Walm4rt sale of MBA M1 at 599$ is still better if you are looking for a basic laptop.
8GB RAM likely is preventing proprietary AI to work, but honestly I don't care.

It's cheaper but definitely not a better deal. Much older chip tech, slower, less ram, slower ram, older design. For $200 more, you get a lot going with the M4, so i dont agree the value aspect is there for a $600 m1 vs a $800 M4. Double the ram alone is worth the upgrade

 

[Christopher Kim]

Yes, agree the M4 MBA (13" and 15") with the current $200 Amazon discount is a fantastic deal. I'm considering buying the 15" M4 MBA w/ 16gb-512gb ($1199), and "upgrading" my day 1 OG 2021 14" M1 Pro MBP... have almost pulled through trigger twice last week!

From a 30k ft perspective, your greater point about value at Apple is very true. I think the intro of the M series chips, with such great bang-for-buck performance, has really allowed Apple to provide value at the "entry-level" end.

As @wyliej mentioned, the true best value is for Apple's base models. The M4 Mac Mini, the MBA, etc. As always, the $200 upgrade-jump (memory or storage) really decreases the value quickly. Truly, Apple remains a "premium" company for any power user that needs the higher-specs. But for the increasing number of folks who are actually totally good with base spec - there is tremendous value today.

 

[hohohong]

The Mac Mini is a better deal ($449 at Micro Center) for the same specs. Add a $100 monitor, a $10 keyboard, and a $10 mouse, and you have a complete setup for $570 plus tax, with no batteries to fail. There is nothing on the market available new from a reputable manufacturer that competes at that price point.

The problem is that this ceases to be a good deal as soon as you upgrade anything. In the real world, 1TB of storage plus 32GB of RAM is under $150 (total, for both). In Apple-land, that would cost $800.

Too bad, $449 is only in store pick up. And there’re none in my state.

 

[Nada Ting]

You can buy a M4 MacBook Air for $799 from Amazon. If you want 512GB of storage, it is $999. This computer will serve the buyer well for years. It can support two high resolution monitors, last for a long time on battery, and you can keep it supported with Apple Care for a long time.

Has Apple made a better value computer for the past 10-15 years? I don't see any obvious alternatives.

You can also buy an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max for zero dollars down from basically any US carrier, today. Upcoming iPhones don't appear to be offering much new in terms of functionality, so right now seems to be a great time to buy an iPhone.

You can also buy the latest Series 10 Apple Watch for $329.

Hell, if you want to throw an iPad in, you can get a Wi-Fi one for $299 or a cell one for $449 from Amazon.

These are all very good products. For the first time I can remember, you can basically buy a full suite of Apple products for under $1,500 out of pocket. They all work great together with the new OS enhancements.

A lot of people have criticized Apple recently for lack of innovation or whatever, but I would argue the value Apple is delivering to customers today is maybe the best in recent memory?

What it should tell you is how much Apple can inflate its prices to be able to discount so much and still make a profit. It didn't become a multi billion dollar corporation by giving its products away.

 

[Audentia]

The Mac Mini is a better deal ($449 at Micro Center) for the same specs. Add a $100 monitor, a $10 keyboard, and a $10 mouse, and you have a complete setup for $570 plus tax, with no batteries to fail. There is nothing on the market available new from a reputable manufacturer that competes at that price point.

The problem is that this ceases to be a good deal as soon as you upgrade anything. In the real world, 1TB of storage plus 32GB of RAM is under $150 (total, for both). In Apple-land, that would cost $800.

Exactly this. Apple finally has good deals for the normies, and for my mom and others I'm happy; but Pro users are gouged to oblivion on any and every mac lineup. I've never wanted to leave the apple garden more than now, because it's never felt more like a prison. If I even consider wanting 2TB, or enough ram to run an LLM, price exponentially increases such that I'm looking at PCs again. Sick of it.

 

[StoneJack]

the

Exactly this. Apple finally has good deals for the normies, and for my mom and others I'm happy; but Pro users are gouged to oblivion on any and every mac lineup. I've never wanted to leave the apple garden more than now, because it's never felt more like a prison. If I even consider wanting 2TB, or enough ram to run an LLM, price exponentially increases such that I'm looking at PCs again. Sick of it.

there is not much difference between Air and Pro lines. I know cause I moved from Macbook Pro m3 to Air M4

 

[Audentia]

the

there is not much difference between Air and Pro lines. I know cause I moved from Macbook Pro m3 to Air M4

not true, depends what you need it to do. 120hz screen first thing I will notice. Running any sustained task whether video encoding, compiling, LLM, games, will be the second. Lack of RAM and storage, and insane pricing for either Air or Pro line when you want more than the basics, that doesn't change.

 

[StoneJack]

not true, depends what you need it to do. 120hz screen first thing I will notice. Running any sustained task whether video encoding, compiling, LLM, games, will be the second. Lack of RAM and storage, and insane pricing for either Air or Pro line when you want more than the basics, that doesn't change.

I had both, so I know it firsthand.

 

[Audentia]

I had both, so I know it firsthand.

great, me too, so I know you're wrong