I’m sure Apple made some decent profit selling those remaining ones to Walmart to sell
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Walmart Begins Selling MacBook Air With M1 Chip for $699 in U.S.
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It’s a little early to say that
Price alone may not be the only thing keeping people from buying Macs, especially ones that are totally non upgradable
A basic PC shopper at Walmart might rightfully wonder why you can’t just slide an SD card in or something to add some storage
Maybe? I’ve worked with thousands of people in IT support over the years. Questioning the lack of and SD port is one thing that would probably come up.
That said, the idea that a normal person is looking at an SD slot for *storage* is not something I’ve ever seen a non-techie suggest before 🤷♂️
What I have seen, plenty of times, is the decision between laptop X and MacBook Y coming down to price.
In this price point, I don’t think you’re going to find anything comparable to the refinement of a Mac.
I mean when Apple already provide solution natively why people still keep complaining when in fact iPhone camera is far better than any webcam included in any PC notebook even in M1 original price point? And it's not that you can plug in a webcam but all the software features that come with it as well.
It just boggles my mind.
I wonder if Apple is also getting ready to move on from the M1 chip. When the iPads get refreshed, I imagine the pro models will get the M3 while the air models utilise the M2. There really won't be any devices left that use the M1 in any meaningful capacity.
So opting not to sell any more M1 devices could be due to as simple as reason as wanting to streaming their manufacturing.
You say it boggles your mind that people complain about a webcam for being crap because they can:
A) buy an iPhone
B) buy a device to atttach said iphone to laptop screen
C) mess around with software to get it set up
Yeah, cos that's just as cheap and easy as Apple not using a $2 webcam in their Airs...
Admittedly I wasn’t really looking that hard but I saw 15 pm/14/Se on display and I didn’t see any mentions of carriers.
Drop in your local store.
I have a feeling you've never use Continuity Camera?
You just mount it in landscape, lock your phone and choose it on the video call app you're using. Messing around? 😂
B. Oh we have to spend a few bucks on a clip. 🙄 We should sue Apple right?
I mean if a few bucks is a hurdle for you then you don't really care for quality of your web cam, right? Then why complaining in the first place? 🤷🏻
A. If they don't use iPhone then that's on them. It's the best selling phone and miles better than Android in terms of security. There is no reason to. You can even use old iPhone (which is very cheap now) for this feature so budget is not an excuse.
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All that is nice, but it's still ok to strongly desire a better built in webcam too
Personally speaking I wish Apple omitted webcams to accommodate <5mm screen bezels. There are laptops that does this.
Less bezels =
- more screen size at same physical dimension & weight
- more compact physical dimension at lesser weight at same screen size.
For anyone who knows about cameras it needs enough thickness of the image sensor + lens to produce a good image quality.
That cannot be done with ultra thin screen lids. This is why phones have camera bumps to accommodate the physics/tech limitation of light recording.
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Is it even possible to have a better webcam, given how thin the lid of the MBA is? I always assumed it was more a problem of engineering, and less that Apple is attempting to cut corners by deliberately including an inferior offering.
I mean yes, absolutely. I complained about it too when it was first released. Not now. Not when it's selling for 700 bucks and have a very good option to use even better web cam built in macOS.
Walmart is gross I’m sorry not sorry. I wouldn’t dare buy food from there and question the legitimacy of even seal apple products lol
As far as brand houses like LV if I were them I’d take old unsold stock and just re-release is 20 yrs later as part of a “vjntage collection” or something. Burning? What is this, the Inquisition lol smh
Let’s just say I’ve visited the south before and Walmart is the cool place to be down there…enough said : /
Nah not quite….
Obesity, diabetes and 8 children are standard (damn near mandatory) issue for trips to Wally World.
Haven’t set foot in ages nor do I ever want to ever again.
And yes, target’s not much better just a “cleaner” image but still that same compulsive shoppers mentality. Now THATS sad, son.
Interesting how Apple pushes extended data on iPhone but not MacBook. Haha whateva. It all works out in he end more or less…
So I’m on 2020 4 thunderbolt 16 gb 1TB Pro with the full suite of Apple studio software….i really am interested in better battery life and am thinking of this m1…I checked the spec comparisons on apple.com and it seems the screen nit brightness is better on my pro and better “dynamic” speakers….would the air be an upgrade in any way besides battery?…or not worth the hassle of trading this old one in and transferring data and buying an external HD?…
In addition to an M1 Air, I also have a 2018 13" 4-Thunderbolt 16GB i5 MacBook Pro, so very similar to yours. My wife now uses it as her daily driver, but she's the opposite of a computer nerd.
In comparison to the M1 Air, I'd take the Air, every single chance. Lighter, all-day battery, very responsive. I would say the screens are equal. Possibly the MacBook Pro has the edge in speakers, but it's been a while since I compared side-by-side. The M1 Air speakers are certainly good enough for casual listening, but if you're doing real work or watching long content, you're gonna want to use AirPods or similar, anyways.
Even with moderate workloads, once you make the move the Apple Silicon, it's painful to go back to Intel, in my direct experience.
Look at webcams some other companies use... Apple (like most manufactures) use cheap ones, according to bill of materials lists and replacement part costs. (Though supposedly the Pro ones cost a fair bit more?) The situation is now nowhere near as bad as the M1 potato cam, though. I'd rather the camera and notch were an optional extra I could opt out of, though.
Regarding messing about with Continuity Camera... well, it takes your phone out of commission while you do it 😅
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I suspect, with a $300 price drop they took a big margin hit; especially since Walmart is paying less than the retail and is known to drive tough bargains with suppliers. Walmart's average gross margin is ~25%, Apple's on products ~35%. To keep those margins, Walmart would COS would have to be $524. Since COS also includes wages, benefits and a few other items, at Walmart and Apple, for Apple to keep its margins they'd have to be able to keep COGS under $340. That doesn't leave Apple a lot of room to maintain margins, let alone increase them.
Walmart exclusivity does not preclude parents and students from learning of the M1's availability and price.
The Walmart exclusive deal makes me even ore convinced it's not a new sales channel for a cheaper MBA. If you were going to a mass market sales channel, why not include Target? Or why keep it US only if the production line is still running? I'm not saying Apple isn't going to keep it around, just all the signs point to getting rid of a significant amount of discontinued stock is what is happening.
Other lines, not other products within a line. A significant hit to M2/M3 Airs would not be OK.
However, how much services sales revenue are they likely to get to make up for the revenue/margin hit? Price sensitive shoppers are not likely to buy a lot of programs or services like iCloud and AppleCare.
That's great if you don't travel much. If you do, it's yet another thing to carry, ensure is charged or powered from your laptop via a cable, etc. For me, the notch is a small price to pay, especially since MacOS lets me hide it between menubars.
I know, but for a ot of users superior is not needed, just good enough. Using Continuity Camera ties up your iPhone since it needs to be pointed at you; thus you can't check a text, email, open a document, etc. It also means I can't forget my phone or to charge it; and requires having a newer iPhone or even having one at all.
My point is the built in one is a good solution for those of us who travel and need to web conference, getting rid of it would make the Mac less useful and require spending more to add the capability. The iPhone may be a better webcam, and I've used it in my home office, but in this use case better is definitely the enemy of good enough.
You’re mistaking my comment on the ecosystem for Services. 50%+ of US kids have an iPhone. If they get a Mac to go to school, they’re likely going to continue being an Apple customer for years down the road.
Regarding margins, Apple has already recouped the R&D and marketing on the M1 MBA, any further continuation of those production lines is even better ROI over the course of the lifetime of the product. The price “drop” likely keeps the M1 MBA right in the margin range Apple has had for them now that the original Capital investment is returned. There’s absolutely no way it costs the same for Apple to manufacture these on the mature production line 2+ years after starting.
Anyway you look at this it’s a win for Apple.
Fair enough, but Apple has to avoid becoming the "I can get it cheaper at Walmart" brand; and if such a MBA took off Apple's other authorized retailers would want i. on the deal. That would further reduce Apple's margins and sales of higher end MBA's.
The cost of parts and manufacturing is only part of the COGS; there's shipping, warehousing, labor, depreciation, warranty allowances, etc. R&D may be amortized already but there are other ongoing costs, some of which have risen. All of that cuts into margin.
That's not even looking at the opportunity costs of keeping a line open that could be making other, higher margin products.
Consider this: If Apple could make the desired margins, why only Walmart? Why only the US? If you're keeping a line open it makes sense to run it at the highest possible capacity, and I doubt Walmart can sell enough to do that.
True, and I think the win is getting read of old products quickly.
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Just a heads up... Costco has the M1 Macbook Air 8GB/256GB for $650. The sale ends today (3/17). I couldn't resist this sale, so I'm back in with a Macbook. 😂 It is a "death star" item so when they're gone, they're not coming back. Also, don't rely on the Costco website to accurately report inventory in the store. I used the website to check the inventory in all of the local Costcos and they were all marked "out of stock".
I keep getting told you'll be able to get these for $699 at Walmart in perpetuity and probably on a sale there also, at some point
So...there's that
(if one actually believes that it's a long term play between Apple & Walmart and not just inventory clearing)
Reading the Walmart press release again, I have no clue why anyone thinks this is some long term or ongoing partnership around the M1 MBA continuing to exist.
(I guess listening to Gruber, which is always a mistake)
There isn't one word or phrase or anything to indicate anything other than "we are selling M1 MBAs for right now"
Sure looks like "when they are gone, they will be gone from Walmart too"
(I guess listening to Gruber, which is always a mistake)
There isn't one word or phrase or anything to indicate anything other than "we are selling M1 MBAs for right now"
Sure looks like "when they are gone, they will be gone from Walmart too"