Walmart Selling MacBook Air With M1 Chip for $649 Starting Today

[macfacts]

That

IS

CRZAY… this is a great price for a great machine for ~ 85% of users. It’s almost like Chromebook pricing, but better overall.

That is not Chromebook pricing.
That is apple pricing on sale at a 3rd party.
I recently bought a open box pixelbook from bestbuy for $399 cad ($292 usd) 16gb ram/512gb ssd core i7, thinner than current MacBook airs too. Better Chromebook than these "on sale" MacBooks.

 

[burgman]

For many this will be a fast computer lasting for years with a long battery life. For this price, that kind of laptop is rare

Cool kids on MR and other tech forums just refuse to understand, and distain those that don’t share their tech fetishes.

 

[burgman]

That is not Chromebook pricing.
That is apple pricing on sale at a 3rd party.
I recently bought an open box pixelbook from bestbuy for $399 cad ($292 usd) 16gb ram/512gb ssd core i7, thinner than current MacBook airs too. Better Chromebook than these "on sale" MacBooks.

Who cares? Does it run MacOs? Plus comparing open box pricing to new higher end Chromebooks erases your point

 

[macfacts]

Who cares? Does it run MacOs? Plus comparing open box pricing to new higher end Chromebooks erases your point

I was replying to someone saying this on sale (8gb ram) MacBook is as cheap as Chromebooks.

 

[keithprater]

I'm still using this computer and I've got the 8gb version. Not a problem for what I use it for. It's my daily driver and I won't be upgrading any time soon.

 

[azentropy]

Great little system as long as you don't regularily require more RAM (or internal storage).

 

[GuruZac]

The M1 MacBook Air is still an amazing computer and very capable. The display with bezels is a little dated, but otherwise is still a beautiful design and computer. I bought a base model and upped the RAM to 16GB and it still flies. I only recently bought a 14" M3 Pro MacBook Pro for the bigger display with ProMotion, extra ports, and better external monitor support. But my M1 MBA is still used and will be kept for a long time.

 

[DownUnderDan]

Even if making them still, it's almost certainly due to old stock of the parts used

No matter how you slice it ... it's old componentry (in tech terms)

Remind me not to let you near my car. The age of that will appall you.

 

[spcopsmac21]

For many this will be a fast computer lasting for years with a long battery life. For this price, that kind of laptop is rare.

Apples

Makes sense. Perhaps that is why they are discounting the M2 and M3 models now so heavily as well. Maybe Apple AI requires a better NPU and more than 8GB RAM to run smoothly, so Apple wants to encourage everybody to upgrade to M4 Mac models with more RAM.

Makes sense. Perhaps that is why they are discounting the M2 and M3 models now so heavily as well. Maybe Apple AI requires a better NPU and more than 8GB RAM to run smoothly, so Apple wants to encourage everybody to upgrade to M4 Mac models with more RAM.

People can thumb me down all they like.

Go to the new XDA 16 Beta.

8GB won’t even function.

Apple was short sighted when I went super cheap to save $.90 on a ram chip.

 

[krakenrelease]

There are going to be firesales of 8GB Mac devices.
I called it.

The newest developer platform from Apple won’t even RUN ON 8GB of ram.

Apple has been saying 8GB is the new 16GB.

Well I can’t even begin to use the newest tools from Apple because they simply will not run on 8GB.

So you know you need 16GB. This machine isn’t for you. It’s perfect for students and a lot of other non power users.

 

[burgman]

That is not Chromebook pricing.
That is apple pricing on sale at a 3rd party.
I recently bought an open box pixelbook from bestbuy for $399 cad ($292 usd) 16gb ram/512gb ssd core i7, thinner than current MacBook airs too. Better Chromebook than these "on sale" MacBooks.

Who cares? Does it run MacOs?

I was replying to someone saying this on sale (8gb ram) MacBook is as cheap as Chromebooks.

it is, when comparing new not to used open box. Look at Best Buy for pricing oh and with 8gb ram

 

[platinumaqua]

Not true, there was an intel MacBook Air released in early 2020 which is supported.
View attachment 2395373View attachment 2395374

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I have a friend who got a base model of the M1 air for college and they only replaced it recently due to wanting more storage to work with multi gigabyte art project files. The only “swap” problem was files constantly downloading and deleting from iCloud Drive due to lack of space. They said they never even noticed it slowing down, and they use art programs, blender, and rarely close their tabs in safari all at once. The M1 air is an amazing machine for people who don’t hammer their computers, it just will probably not be a super long lasting one at this point. Good for a parent or grandparent imo.

Had the MacBook came with more storage and memory, your friend wouldn't need to replace it so early

 

[Velroy]

8GB is perfectly fine if all you do is web browsing and light office tasks. For a student who doesn't need to simulate anything, make music, handle massive Excels, edit video, work in CAD or develop demanding apps you're probably fine. Hell, you're fine on a 2014 MacBook Air if all you do is write reports and read articles.

In any other case you've bought yourself e-waste.

 

[platinumaqua]

A product's useful life is not dictated by Apple's tenure of software support. People are still cheerfully using iBook G4s, Bondi Blue iMacs, and white plastic MacBooks for certain tasks just as a few examples.

Though I generally agree with that point, the majority opinion of tech companies/people is the hardware is e-waste the day software updates stop happening because of "security" (as if the computer will get hacked the day after an update comes out and is not available for that machine or the user did not install it immediately).

 

[iBluetooth]

Apples



People can thumb me down all they like.

Go to the new XDA 16 Beta.

8GB won’t even function.

Apple was short sighted when I went super cheap to save $.90 on a ram chip.

Well the RAM is on SOC and for sure costs a lot more. The new QCOM chips with the RAM on SOC also, has 8 and 16 GB versions, if it was so cheap I guess they would have learned.

 

[aknabi]

And you think the median Apple customer runs a Developer Platform? And even knows what XCode is?

Always amazes me how, apparently intelligent individuals, can still think the economic life of a Trillion$ company revolves around their particular desires and needs.

Given there are 34 million registered Apple Developers (at the end of 2023)... and they *have* to buy a Mac (with Mac sales being ~22 million in 2023) I'd say a lot... then take into account many designers and project team folks who now run developer tools in their workflow.

Not to mention folks I know within are very cognizant that the Mac developer community, along with the creative community, has long had a significant material and evangelistic impact on the Mac market... some realize Apple could do a lot more (like my never ending gripe about how they should give us a ground up replacement for Xcode that really would represent Apple's excellence in building software products).

Always amazes me how, apparently intelligent individuals, can still think the actual numbers and facts of the market revolve around their particular opinions and random thoughts.

 

[loby]

Models that are barely passable, at the time of purchase, given their AI push and its RAM needs (on Macs)

Since we are in the early stages of A.I. development, these barely passable models will still sell since most users currently do not know what A.I. can do for them.

It is a good move by Apple and third party vendors to sell up inventory. I noticed recently, even the current models are selling at discounts with sales I have never seen (discounts) before in recent years.

Until the common users know the benefits of A.I. beyond GPTChat type of usage, Selling these models can be very profitable still. Also, there are some (maybe more then known) who do not care about A.I. and just want a laptop that does what they know currently or their current usage needs.

I agree that these models may not be ideal for A.I. but they are still decent Mac’s, even in 2024.

 

[svish]

Not sure whether many will be buying an M1 MacBook today. But they are still very powerful machines and $649 is a good price. The MacBook will last long too.

 

[brofkand]

Though I generally agree with that point, the majority opinion of tech companies/people is the hardware is e-waste the day software updates stop happening because of "security" (as if the computer will get hacked the day after an update comes out and is not available for that machine or the user did not install it immediately).

That's what people say but it isn't really true to any large extent.

For a computer in use by an enterprise or government, yes they need to ensure the software is patched. But for the average user it really doesn't matter. The likelihood of an exploit coming down the wire is so small - it's far more likely they'll get their passwords stolen via social engineering, and that is something that happens even with the bleeding edge software and hardware.

 

[laptech]

Not worth it in my opinion when you consider it has already been superseded by M2 and M3 versions. $450 would be a good price for such a machine.

 

[theluggage]

8GB is perfectly fine if all you do is web browsing and light office tasks.

8GB is a non-issue at $650 for a nice system like a MacBook Air, even if it's not cutting edge. Which, to be fair, is what this thread is about.

8GB on a full-price $999 M2 MacBook Air isn't too good - if you just want the basics you can get a half decent PC or Chromebook for a fraction of that price.

8GB on a $1800 MacBook "Pro" is a bad joke.

Well the RAM is on SOC and for sure costs a lot more.

Evidence? Why should surface-mount soldering chips alongside the CPU die cost more than surface-mount soldering chips to the mainboard? It's still commodity LPDDR5x RAM and - at the quantities Apple consume - even different chip packaging is unlikely to be significant.

The new QCOM chips with the RAM on SOC also, has 8 and 16 GB versions,

Irrelevant, but also not true - Snapdragon X Plus and Elite have RAM soldered to the mainboard alongside the SoC, see this Surface Laptop 7 teardown.

if it was so cheap I guess they would have learned.

They have - minimum spec for the new "Copilot+" branding is 16GB - and the systems are selling at prices broadly compatible with new MacBook models that only come with 8GB.

Even the MS Surface Laptop 7 starts at $999 for 16GB/256GB - and past Microsoft Surface systems were not famous for delivering bangs-per-buck (they're about the closest thing to Mac "fit & finish", and have gorgeous displays, though).

Sure, you can almost certainly find 8GB PCs on sale that look like a bucket of spare parts for under $700 - but if you're paying $1000+ for something remotely comparable to a current MacBook model you'll have to cherry-pick to find one with only 8GB/256B

 

[Marty80]

This would’ve been a deal 2 years ago.

For perspective, would you buy a base model iPhone 12 today for $519?

Same discount on same aged tech.

My aged iPhone 12 Pro Max runs iOS 18 developer well. As for the MacBook Air its a bargain for individuals who surf the web & check there email.

 

[iBluetooth]

8GB is a non-issue at $650 for a nice system like a MacBook Air, even if it's not cutting edge. Which, to be fair, is what this thread is about.

8GB on a full-price $999 M2 MacBook Air isn't too good - if you just want the basics you can get a half decent PC or Chromebook for a fraction of that price.

8GB on a $1800 MacBook "Pro" is a bad joke.


Evidence? Why should surface-mount soldering chips alongside the CPU die cost more than surface-mount soldering chips to the mainboard? It's still commodity LPDDR5x RAM and - at the quantities Apple consume - even different chip packaging is unlikely to be significant.


Irrelevant, but also not true - Snapdragon X Plus and Elite have RAM soldered to the mainboard alongside the SoC, see this Surface Laptop 7 teardown.


They have - minimum spec for the new "Copilot+" branding is 16GB - and the systems are selling at prices broadly compatible with new MacBook models that only come with 8GB.

Even the MS Surface Laptop 7 starts at $999 for 16GB/256GB - and past Microsoft Surface systems were not famous for delivering bangs-per-buck (they're about the closest thing to Mac "fit & finish", and have gorgeous displays, though).

Sure, you can almost certainly find 8GB PCs on sale that look like a bucket of spare parts for under $700 - but if you're paying $1000+ for something remotely comparable to a current MacBook model you'll have to cherry-pick to find one with only 8GB/256B

You can't say they are similarily priced as the GPU's are totally different. Also, they are intro machines so Qualcomm has to sell them with low margin to build up a market share, especially now that many apps and games are still not working.

 

[Bodhitree]

Though I generally agree with that point, the majority opinion of tech companies/people is the hardware is e-waste the day software updates stop happening because of "security" (as if the computer will get hacked the day after an update comes out and is not available for that machine or the user did not install it immediately).

Linux for M1 computers was coming along decently not long ago…

 

[theluggage]

You can't say they are similarily priced as the GPU's are totally different.

They're similarly priced because they are similarly priced and a similar product (thin & light ultrabook) - and the tests so far seem to suggest that, yes, the GPU is weaker than Apple Silicon but, OTOH, Snapdragon X has more CPU cores and is faster on multi-core benchmarks, so its not all one way. It's not like any of these thin & light laptops are intended for serious gaming or 3D workloads.

Then you've got factors like being able to drive dual external displays (as well as the internal ones).

...but its funny how all these entry-level users buying small and light laptops supposedly don't need 16GB of RAM but do need super-powerful GPUs and care whether their game runs at 39 FPS or 40 FPS..,

Also, they are intro machines so Qualcomm has to sell them with low margin to build up a market share

And Apple didn't have to do that with the M1?

especially now that many apps and games are still not working

...which, by all accounts, is rapidly improving - and Apple isn't exactly standing on the high ground when it comes to the number of games and major applications that are Mac compatible.

The new Snapdragon chips might not be beating Apple Silicon just yet, but the honeymoon is over.