Would you still purchase the 15-inch MacBook Air if it came with 8GB/256GB and started at $1399?

[VaruLV]

Even if Apple charges $2000 for 8GB/256GB people would still buy in droves.
With that out of the way, I would not buy base config regardless since my 1TB drive on M1 MacBook Pro 13” is already running dangerously low and Have to hook an external drive all the time.

No, they won't, especially in a market spoiled by lower prices and huge sales like USA. Nobody in USA in their sane mind would buy 15 inch MBA with 8/256 combo for 2000 us dollars.
Let alone in Europe where it would then cost somewhere around 2300 euros which is close to 16 inch M2 Pro.
Forget about it.

 

[VaruLV]

As I said earlier, this forum is full of enthusiasts (like myself) who wouldn't dream of getting 256/8 Mac, but the vast majority of Mac users never go near a forum and many are quite happy with 256/8. Enthusiasts can buy up as I did (2TB, 24GB RAM)

Until they hit the wall with 256gb of storage and slow loading times because ram is full and ssd can't cache fast enough due to it being full.
They then go to store and ask what's wrong and get told that they need to buy new computer and that the old one "can't be fixed".
Plenty of people out there will be hitting that wall pretty soon with personal data and apps getting bigger and bigger by the day.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Until they hit the wall with 256gb of storage and slow loading times because ram is full and ssd can't cache fast enough due to it being full.
They then go to store and ask what's wrong and get told that they need to buy new computer and that the old one "can't be fixed".
Plenty of people out there will be hitting that wall pretty soon with personal data and apps getting bigger and bigger by the day.

Yes no doubt that will happen to some.

 

[playtech1]

I think that people underestimate the expectations of the inexpert user - storage in particular is something that regular users often don't understand and then lack the skills to deal with running out of space.

But even if average users didn't care, 256GB is still objectively pathetic given that the price difference for Apple between that and 512GB is only a few dollars and we are talking about expensive laptops.

 

[generdude]

I never have done well with an iPad. I get impatient because I always forget it's not a Mac, which I've been using since they first came out. I have an older 15" MBP which I end up taking with me on trips, but it is heavy (and I'm weaker with age...). If the new Air is significantly lighter than the laptop I will buy it. I don't need more than 8/256 as I have an iMac for my larger storage needs. I also will not benefit by waiting for a possible M3 as M2 will do me fine.

 

[960design]

I have several computers and had to pay extra for all but MacPro.

Even for basic use I don’t recommend 8GB anymore. It’s not the component pricing, it’s Apple. Got my daughter a Lenovo with 1 TB SSD and 16 GB of ram for half the price of a MBA similarly spec’d. It’s for her to use Word in for high school.

What are the Lenovo specs? Version? Price you found it at?
I think 1TB SSD and 16GB is a bit of an overkill for Word, but that is why we have choice.

Here are my thoughts:
Base M1 MBA for daughter at $899. Sell for $500 in three years. Total cost = $399 or about $133 / year.
Specs for Lenovo were not provided for comparison. I did find an AMD with 256GB storage and 8GB Ram for $569! ( all the intel models cost a couple hundred dollars more than the MBA. I could not locate a used AMD, could guess three year selling price might be $100 - $200. In the end they both pretty much even out. Mostly depends on living with Windows11 or MacOS for the next three years. Lenovo AMD battery life is really not fair to compare to a MBA ).

 

[0339327]

What are the Lenovo specs? Version? Price you found it at?
I think 1TB SSD and 16GB is a bit of an overkill for Word, but that is why we have choice.

Here are my thoughts:
Base M1 MBA for daughter at $899. Sell for $500 in three years. Total cost = $399 or about $133 / year.
Specs for Lenovo were not provided for comparison. I did find an AMD with 256GB storage and 8GB Ram for $569! ( all the intel models cost a couple hundred dollars more than the MBA. I could not locate a used AMD, could guess three year selling price might be $100 - $200. In the end they both pretty much even out. Mostly depends on living with Windows11 or MacOS for the next three years. Lenovo AMD battery life is really not fair to compare to a MBA ).

The computer is a Lenovo X1 Yoga Core i7 8th Gen. My error, the SSD is 512 not 1 TB.

Yes, it's slightly old, but it was $325 for a pro lease. The machine looked new and came with a touchscreen.

I generally avoid used Macs as I've had issues with several used machines and the cost for used vs. new isn't worth the headaches for me. I manage over 15 machines between work and personal and, all but four are Macs. In this case, $325 is the perfect price for teenage daughter. The fact that her school teaches on Windows was another plus.

Regarding the 16gb ram as standard: We have several business machines that are single use machines, such as content playback, streaming, hardware control, etc. I noticed about two years ago that the machines with 8gb of ram were much more problematic than the machines with 16gb, so we stopped buying them.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Hmm.. $1,299. Wasn't expecting that.

 

[Surfsalot]

$2199AUD

 

[Saturn007]

“Would you still purchase the 15-inch MacBook Air if it came with 8GB/256GB and started at $1399?”​

Well, the verdict is in!

The polling question was unrealistic! But it was too high not too low as several had faulted the OP for!

Only $1299! Impressive!

 

[svish]

Very happy to see a lower than expected price tag. Should be a good buy.

 

[playtech1]

I have an issue with UK Mac pricing generally being toppy, but, putting that to one side, a £150 differential with the 13 inch model seems reasonable and makes this a tempting alternative.

It also has (to some extent) avoided getting too heavily into 14 inch Pro territory.

Main thing is that you can now get a larger than 14 inch screen Mac for less than £2,700, which was a crazy high entry price if you just wanted a bigger screen.

 

[clangers23]

I have an issue with UK Mac pricing generally being toppy, but, putting that to one side, a £150 differential with the 13 inch model seems reasonable and makes this a tempting alternative.

It also has (to some extent) avoided getting too heavily into 14 inch Pro territory.

Main thing is that you can now get a larger than 14 inch screen Mac for less than £2,700, which was a crazy high entry price if you just wanted a bigger screen.

£1399 for the 15" is an unreasonable increase. I understand why they increased the prices when sterling fell against the dollar but sterling has returned to recent historical rates now and the price increase remains. Having parity at the moment given the current exchange rates with regard to charging $ = £ as they did for several years might have been fair but Apple have taken the opportunity to break this and are now overcharging in the UK.

UK inflation is high but falling but then again they're not manufactured in the UK. Sales tax has remained the same in the UK over this period. Knocking only £50 off for the UK 13" is pretty poor. Apple do have form for this.

 

[playtech1]

£1399 for the 15" is an unreasonable increase. I understand why they increased the prices when sterling fell against the dollar but sterling has returned to recent historical rates now and the price increase remains. Having parity at the moment given the current exchange rates with regard to charging $ = £ as they did for several years might have been fair but Apple have taken the opportunity to break this and are now overcharging in the UK.

UK inflation is high but falling but then again they're not manufactured in the UK. Sales tax has remained the same in the UK over this period. Knocking only £50 off for the UK 13" is pretty poor. Apple do have form for this.

I totally agree with you, but in the context of Apple's current pricing matrix (and acknowledging UK prices are simply too high overall), the extra cost of the 15 over the 13 is downright reasonable!