Walmart
Apple not sells the M1 MacBook Air as of earlier this month, discontinuing it and providing the M2 model of the Air as its entry-level mannequin as a substitute. But it seems to be like the M1 Air could dwell on, not less than for some time—US retailer Walmart made a degree of asserting right this moment that it might carry and promote the M1 Air in its on-line retailer and at “select” retail places for a much-lowered value of $699.
This is decrease than the $999 that Apple was asking for the laptop only a few weeks in the past, and it is decrease than the $759 that the M1 Air goes for in Apple’s refurbished retailer. These costs are all for the base configuration of the M1 Air, with 8GB of reminiscence and 256GB of storage. Walmart affords all three coloration finishes for the M1 Air—silver, gold, and area grey—however doesn’t straight promote any variations with extra RAM or storage.
This isn’t the Air config we’d advocate to most fanatics—for them, an M3 Air or a refurbished M2 mannequin with extra RAM and storage include sufficient advantages to be price the additional value. But it’s a surprisingly low value for what stays a stable entry-level laptop, particularly provided that Walmart doesn’t supply another Macs in its shops (different Macs on Walmart’s web site can be found from third-party sellers).
The strongest argument towards shopping for an M1 Air in 2024 is software program help. Historically, Apple has supplied new macOS variations and safety updates primarily based on the date that new Macs had been launched, which for the M1 Air is November of 2020. Apple might change its strategy to software program updates in the Apple Silicon period, but it surely has been pretty constant on this level all through the PowerPC and Intel eras.
This signifies that an M1 MacBook Air bought right this moment might find yourself receiving two or three fewer years of software program replace help than an M3 Air bought on the identical day.
Still, that is unlikely to be an issue in the close to future. Apple continues to be supporting the final couple of mannequin years of Intel Macs, so we’re nearly definitely not less than just a few years out from any Apple Silicon fashions dropping help. But it’s one thing to remember as you think about long-term use, handing the laptop all the way down to different relations or buddies, or future resale and trade-in worth.