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

[JPack]

For a lot of uses Facetime’s 32 concurrent users in a group call is enough. Zoom’s number of 100-500 users is for more exceptional cases, webinars and so on.

It’s not about the number of users but rather bare essential features like having a waiting room, cohost settings, breakout rooms, whiteboards, polls, participant logs, proper screen sharing with pause control, cloud recording, AI meeting summaries, etc.

Comparing FaceTime with Zoom is like comparing a pair of roller skates with a passenger car. Both are technically forms of transportation, but you wouldn’t want to use the former unless you had no other choice.

 

[Bodhitree]

It’s not about the number of users but rather bare essential features like having a waiting room, cohost settings, breakout rooms, whiteboards, polls, participant logs, proper screen sharing with pause control, cloud recording, AI meeting summaries, etc.

Comparing FaceTime with Zoom is like comparing a pair of roller skates with a passenger car. Both are technically forms of transportation, but you wouldn’t want to use the former unless you had no other choice.

It really depends on what you are doing. For me FaceTime has always been enough, functionally, but then I’ve just been calling with small groups and not trying to do a large business meeting.

 

[jlc1978]

For a lot of uses Facetime’s 32 concurrent users in a group call is enough. Zoom’s number of 100-500 users is for more exceptional cases, webinars and so on.

True, but also means everyone has to have an Apple device, whereas Zoom is device agnostic; plus Zoom offers features such as screen sharing, chat, etc. that FaceTime doesn't. FaceTime is great for a video call, but lacks features to replace Zoom or Teams or Meet, etc., in many situations. As a result FaceTime s unlikely to replace any of them for most business uses in the near future.

Apple could, if tehy wanted, build a cross-platform Zoom killer; but cross-platform seems to not be part of their lexicon.

 

[sracer]

Nice to see Walmart drop the price to $650. I bought one back in March from Costco for the same price. It has been a good price / performance value. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I have been able to do everything with it that I use my M2 Mac Mini for, but in a more portable form-factor... just a little slower (difference between the M1 and M2).

I'm enjoying it, but as with any consumer device, it isn't for everybody. As usual and as expected, there are some who take it as a personal insult that Apple would sell something that isn't for them. People are people, but I could never undestand why such people respond so emotionally.

For office productivity, this MBA works great. For content creation, it is only adequate... and that is mostly due to the screen size. (disclaimer: I don't create 4K content, only HD) I think it is a good entry-level option for students. I think that it's also very good for retired people.

The battery life on this thing is insanely good. It's the first notebook that I've owned where the battery life is so good that I don't need to be concerned about it no matter what I'm doing or how long I've been using it. It far exceeds the battery life of the chromebooks I've owned (which were really good).

 

[jlc1978]

I'm enjoying it, but as with any consumer device, it isn't for everybody. As usual and as expected, there are some who take it as a personal insult that Apple would sell something that isn't for them. People are people, but I could never undestand why such people respond so emotionally.

My theory is for some people the device becomes an extension of themselves, and thus alternate viewpoints is taken as an attack on who they are; even if it a subconscious reaction that manifests itself a the need to argue on the internet.

Of course, religious wars over technology nothing new; I've seen it in stereo equipment, camera (even though it's clear Canon rules), programing, and vi vs emacs (vi, clearly is the right choice), etc.

I suspect Ogg and Thag, two cavemen in a cave, were arguing over flint vs obsidian spear heads until they decided to go over to Thogg's and look at the latest dirty pictures scrawled on the wall and argue if "chaw - k" or "chall - k" is how you pronounce what was sued to make them.

For office productivity, this MBA works great. For content creation, it is only adequate... and that is mostly due to the screen size. (disclaimer: I don't create 4K content, only HD) I think it is a good entry-level option for students. I think that it's also very good for retired people.

The battery life on this thing is insanely good. It's the first notebook that I've owned where the battery life is so good that I don't need to be concerned about it no matter what I'm doing or how long I've been using it. It far exceeds the battery life of the chromebooks I've owned (which were really good).

Great points. For someone who want a Mac for everyday use the M1 is a great machine; especially at WalMart's price point.

The only argument I would make against it for such users is the M2 with educational pricing is less than $100 more (pre sales tax) if you want AppleCare since you can use the gift card to pay for AppleCare and still have $21 to spend at Apple; or if you plan to buy some accessories you can use the gift card for that. If not, the M2 is far less and compelling for many users th M1 would be a great choice.

 

[JPack]

It really depends on what you are doing. For me FaceTime has always been enough, functionally, but then I’ve just been calling with small groups and not trying to do a large business meeting.

For casual calls for 5 or so participants, FaceTime is fine. But anytime someone has to present, Zoom is the only real option.

 

[Bodhitree]

True, but also means everyone has to have an Apple device, whereas Zoom is device agnostic; plus Zoom offers features such as screen sharing, chat, etc. that FaceTime doesn't. FaceTime is great for a video call, but lacks features to replace Zoom or Teams or Meet, etc., in many situations. As a result FaceTime s unlikely to replace any of them for most business uses in the near future.

Apple could, if tehy wanted, build a cross-platform Zoom killer; but cross-platform seems to not be part of their lexicon.

FaceTime can be accessed via weblink, which works in any browser…

 

[jlc1978]

FaceTime can be accessed via weblink, which works in any browser…

However, IIRC, you can join via a link but not initiate a call; only Apple devices can do that.

 

[Bodhitree]

The thing is, there are a ton of uses for video calling which are not large business meetings, and for most of those FaceTime is a perfectly adequate zoom replacement.

 

[jlc1978]

The thing is, there are a ton of uses for video calling which are not large business meetings, and for most of those FaceTime is a perfectly adequate zoom replacement.

As always, it depends on the use case. If all you are doing is the equivalent of a conference call it no doubt works. However, there are plenty of use cases which are not large business meetings for which FaceTime is not adequate. For example, I often have 2 or 3 person calls that need screen sharing or Excel Live, or both.

Again, YMMV

 

[JPack]

The thing is, there are a ton of uses for video calling which are not large business meetings, and for most of those FaceTime is a perfectly adequate zoom replacement.

Sure, but nobody is debating that. You suggested FaceTime was close to being a "Zoom Business replacement." Most users wouldn't see the value of FaceTime being included in the cost of a Mac. Given its limitations, FaceTime is comparable to free versions of Teams and Google Meet.

 

[BigMac420]

lol how did this thread turn into a video calling software discussion? Most people who are in the market for this laptop probably couldn't care less about that stuff. Its funny that we've come to that and I haven't seen anybody mention yet the screen cracking issue that so many people complain about with these Air models which is more of a concern to me!

 

[Lactoes]

I'm still on Intel everything. I'm cheap and want a deal, but if I'm going to upgrade it's gotta be 16GB RAM.
What's the best deal on a 16GB M-chip machine?

(I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say I loathe soldered RAM.)

 

[sdfox7]

They were until this March.


Mac Pro 1,1: Launched 2006. Discontinued 2008. Not compatible with Mountain Lion, 2012 but the last compatible OS, MacOS Lion launched in 2011 was supported until mid 2014 - about 6 years of support after model's discontinuation.

2017 iMac: Discontinued 2019. Not compatible with Sequoia but last compatible OS Sonoma (2023) is the current version - on past performance - probably receive support until MacOS 2026. 6-7 years of support after model's discontinuation.

2019 MacBook Air: Discontinued early 2020. Not compatible with Sequoia but last compatible OS is Sonoma (2023) so, again, supported until 2026, 6 years after model's discontinuation.

2014 Mac Mini: Discontinued 2018. Last compatible Mac OS: Monterey - still receiving updates 6 years after model's discontinuation.

Probably the worst case: 2013 Mac Pro: Discontinued late 2019 (but Osborned with extreme prejudice in 2017). Last compatible Mac OS: Monterey which is still receiving updates in mid 2024 - so even a machine that was obsolete years before it was dropped has still seen the thick end of 5 years (and counting) of support after it was discontinued.

Looks like there's a pattern here. Machines get dropped by the next MacOS when the usual 2-3 years of updates to the current OS will see them well into "Vintage" status (Products are considered vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago: direct quote from Apple)

...so, given that the M1 Air was still being distributed by Apple until a few months ago - and the rumours suggest that none of the M2/M3 Macs should be starting any long books right now - I don't see much worry about picking up a M1 now if the price reflects the age of the product.

If it's really important to you to always be running the absolute latest version of MacOS then it's probably equally important to have the latest generation Apple Silicon chip, so why would you even be thinking about a M1?

All that said - 6-7 years of critical updates before you have to rely on an enthusiast-supported firmware replacement ain't great compared to the PC world - but it's the best you can get with Apple. However, endless legacy support is also largely why Windows is like... well, Windows and even MS is getting a little bit more axe-happy with old hardware now. I suppose there's always Asahi Linux...

Fascinating post. I own the 2012 MD101LL/A MacBook Pro, and to my knowledge it's the only Mac to ever support 9 versions of the OS, from 10.7 to 10.15.

That machine was sold until 2016 and is the final one with a DVD burner and upgradable RAM, HDD/SSD, etc. I don't think you'll ever see that kind of support ever again!

 

[Bandoholic]

I bought mine almost 2 years ago for $799. Price aside, it’s all about your needs and what it will be used for. Personally I made a mistake and should have bought a large screen iPad.

 

[pockyparfait]

Fascinating post. I own the 2012 MD101LL/A MacBook Pro, and to my knowledge it's the only Mac to ever support 9 versions of the OS, from 10.7 to 10.15.

That machine was sold until 2016 and is the final one with a DVD burner and upgradable RAM, HDD/SSD, etc. I don't think you'll ever see that kind of support ever again!

MacBook Air 2013, MacBook Pro 2013, etc. were all supported all the way up to macOS Big Sur, with updates all the way to 2023. These were old Intel Macs, and there may still be more critical security updates for them this year.

In other words, Apple have supported them for about 10 years and counting. It would be unlikely and very strange if Apple supported their much more powerful Macs with the M1, M2, M3, etc. shorted than 10 years. So all the M1 Macs will probably be supported all the way to AT LEAST year 2030.