If you thought Apple was finished disrupting the laptop market with the launch of the M3 MacBook Air, think again.
With the recent launch of the M3-powered MacBook Air, Apple was able to push the M2-powered Air down into the traditional $999 entry-level spot. That meant the M1 MacBook Air, which had occupied that spot since its launch in 2020, was put out to pasture.
At least, that’s what we thought. Apple has not stopped manufacturing the M1 MacBook Air, and consumers wanting a new M1 MacBook Air have an unexpected option.
American retailer Walmart is working with Apple and selling the M1-powered MacBook Air for $699.
This will be the first time Walmart has sold any Mac hardware directly to customers. It’s also one of the rare occasions when a new Apple product is on sale somewhere other than Apple. These aren’t returns, an exercise with excess inventory, or refurbished laptops put back on sale. While Apple does have the M1 MacBook Air in its refurbished store, it’s priced at $749, which is an attractive discount compared to the M2 MacBook Air, but Walmart is undercutting even that low price.
It’s a fascinating branding exercise. Apple has studiously kept the visible entry-level price for the MacBook Air at $999 throughout the Apple Silicon period of the macOS laptop—it was possible to pick up a $100 educational discount on some models, but you’d be hard-pressed to find this listed on the website. With the Walmart partnership, it can offer a powerful ARM-based laptop—albeit a three-year-old laptop— at an incredible price considering the performance potential without any major disruption to Apple’s flavour of luxury.
That it could take sales away from both Windows PC and Chrome OS laptops is a nice bonus for Tim Cook and his team
The laptops will be initially available through Walmart.com before going on retail sale at select locations. If you can put up with the quirks of macOS and are happy to be brought into Apple’s private ecosystem, it’s probably the best-performing laptop at $699.
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