Smart move by Apple + Walmart. M1 Air @$699, even with base RAM/storage is still an upgrade for anyone using an Intel MacBook.
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Walmart Begins Selling MacBook Air With M1 Chip for $699 in U.S.
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Yep, been saying that for a while including in a different thread earlier this AM before this made the front page.
It's not a limited time deal. The new iPad Pros are coming soon. If you don't need anything right now, then waiting should be easy. Maybe Walmart will have it another $50 off in a month.
A 2020 model will not EOL at the same time as a 2024 model. That's ridiculous.
My money is on: Apple still has tons of stock and looked for potential vendors. Walmart was probably like, heck yeah.
When I was in college working at a campus authorized retailer, out Apple buyer would bring deals like this. It gave us sales and moved Apple’s stock.
When I was in college working at a campus authorized retailer, out Apple buyer would bring deals like this. It gave us sales and moved Apple’s stock.
It would also sell really well at $50. Any arbitrary number can be set as what would result in a lot of sales.
This M1 MBA is 30% less than the release price ($700) in 2020. That's like Apple selling the M1 Mini for $490 (70% of $700), not $300. Granted, the Mac Mini now starts at $600 so maybe it could be $420 (70% of $600) to be comparable. That's an M2 instead of an M1, but it's still a far way away from the $300 you made up. I could see Apple agreeing for Walmart to sell the base M2 for $450 once there is a newer M3 Mac Mini out, but anything less than that would be highly unlikely.
That's a great deal- I'd choose a $699 M1 Air over a $999 M2 Air any day.
And if you do wait long enough, you might find a better deal.
Apple's back-to-school sale starts in about 2.5 months (last year's started June 5). If the sale is like last year's, the base M2 MacBook Air will be $899.99 - $150 Apple gift card, making it $749.99. $50 more is totally worth it. I'd pay that just to get the MagSafe port alone.
How do you know? These are all chips made in house by Apple and there is very little differentiation between M1, M2, and M3. (Some M1 chips have faster memory compared to the contemporary M2 and M3 chips). We are in a new era, and we have no clue what Apple plans to do. They are still shipping M1 devices today!
This is actually a great deal considering the M1 is STILL a powerhouse! I have this bad boy and it’s still going strong to this day!
However, the only downside is the piss poor webcam.
However, the only downside is the piss poor webcam.
Apple would make more money selling it themselves at this price.
But at this point in the M1 lifecycle, I see it more as a process to gracefully wind down the M1's extensive production supply chain inventory, and not an attempt to continue with M1 production for the long haul. There are likely a lot of remaining new M1 MBA-specific components within the supply chain that would otherwise have nowhere to go.
I’ll think about your comments the next time I read about a Wal-Mart employee getting trampled to death by bunch of shoppers anxious to get in on “Black Friday” deals.
Apple has always been about "pure profit". Even "your Dad's Apple" was pure profit. This isn't anything new.
As for how stupid a $699 M1 Macbook Air is... given the performance of the hardware and battery life, this makes a better Chromebook than a native Chromebook for the same price... with the added benefit of running Mac OS apps.
I swore off of all Macbooks years ago, but this deal has me seriously re-considering.
I didn't "make it up", it's what an M1 Mac Mini goes for now at Amazon through unauthorized resellers, though an authorized channel with 1 year warranty would be preferable.
That's a fair point, as historically Apple was also limited by the support practices of its software-centric chip suppliers (CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc).
On the other side, Apple also retires their older tablets and smartphones on a fairly regular schedule, so it is reasonable to predict that Apple's laptop deprecation & retirement practices will be similar.
In either case, I have fleet of M1 MBAs and will be looking to maximize their mileage. They're the best computers I've ever owned. A purchase of one for a kid today could almost certainly get them all through high school and/or college.
I don’t frown upon Walmart anything!
I said “I know folks” .. not me at all… I’m going there in an hour in fact
I suppose the return policy is such that Apple swallows the cost when Joe consumer can't install an Intel Windows app on his shiny new laptop.
Not at all. The Sculley playbook would re-badge it as the Performa Air 3405 and the Quadra II 7609e.
And Sculley would disable all the GPUs.
Because they just sold them all to Walmart for a profit *and* cleared the aging inventory (which costs money).
I see 2 markets for this:
1. If you are a Windows PC user, but wanted to try out a Mac, this is a way to do it without a huge investment.
2. Purchasing one at this price for your school-age kid.
In my personal case, although I have an iPhone and 2 iPads (an Air 5, and an older Mini 5), I am an Engineer in my 60's and have been a Windows user since Version 3, and currently own a well-equipped 13" HP laptop. I am not in the market for a Mac as I have too much invested in Windows, am used to it, my work computer and software is all Windows, plus IMO, Windows and Apple work well enough together to meet my needs.
1. If you are a Windows PC user, but wanted to try out a Mac, this is a way to do it without a huge investment.
2. Purchasing one at this price for your school-age kid.
In my personal case, although I have an iPhone and 2 iPads (an Air 5, and an older Mini 5), I am an Engineer in my 60's and have been a Windows user since Version 3, and currently own a well-equipped 13" HP laptop. I am not in the market for a Mac as I have too much invested in Windows, am used to it, my work computer and software is all Windows, plus IMO, Windows and Apple work well enough together to meet my needs.
What’s stupid about making products available at a more accessible price point for customers?
And of course profit is the goal - Apple is a business.
$699 is a great deal on a still powerful and useful MacBook Air. End of story.