Walmart, you have no idea what you’ve unleashed. A $699 MacBook Air with the M1 chip is the Big Mac to the Hamburglar, cookies to Cookie Monster, Bonnie to Clyde. It’s the antidote to MacBook Air lust without the big investments and a game-over challenge for every affordable Wintel system Walmart has on the shelves
The Apple MacBook Air with M1 was one astonishing breakthrough. This is how I described the first application of Apple Silicon on a Mac in 2020.
There was nothing exceptional about the design – it was the same as the last MacBook Air with an Intel CPU – but that ARM-based ‘brain transplant’ delivered a product with a new, winning, super-smart and ultra-efficient personality and I was smitten. No wonder I was sad when Apple discontinued the M1 MacBook Air in favor of the latest MacBook Air 13-inch with M3, aka the best laptop you can buy. There’s still a cheaper $999 MacBook Air M2, but it has the flat design that replaced the classic MacBook Air wedge.
I’ve come to appreciate that flat and arguably less stylish look, but I’ll always miss the iconic and rounder design of the original MacBook Air. There has never been a thinner laptop – at least when viewed from the front (0.16 inches) – or one that felt better in the hand. I even miss the visible speaker grilles on either side of the Magic Keyboard. Granted, the ultraportable only had two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports (one per side!), no dedicated MagSafe charging port (that was a major upgrade over the M2’s redesign), and the screen is slightly smaller and not the excellent Liquid Retina Display upgrade we got with the MacBook Air M2. But show me a classic MacBook Air and I’ll smile wistfully.
I assumed that after Apple discontinued the model, stocks would quickly dry up at other retailers, where the system was selling for just $749. I guess I was wrong.
It’s not just that $699 is an excellent price, it is Where you can buy the MacBook Air M1. “This is the first time customers can purchase a Mac directly from Walmart,” the company said in a press release. That’s right, in the same place where you can buy a 55-inch 4K TV for under $300 and a full nonstick cookware set for under $70, you can now buy one of the best laptops ever.
I understand that this MacBook Air is now three generations old and may look outdated, but the truth is the 3.5 GHz system, the ability to run virtually all Intel supported apps and handle virtually any task (including editing multiple 4K files). video streams simultaneously), a battery life of 15 hours (20 hours if you only watch video) and a weight of 2.8 kg make this a formidable competitor for laptops that cost at least twice as much. Even with just 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, it’s a real threat to any Intel-based Windows PC under $700 that Walmart has to offer. If you never thought you could afford to make the switch from Windows to Mac, this might be your chance.
This deal changes the calculation of my laptop buying recommendation. If you’re looking for the perfect portable work, school or personal laptop, this is the system to buy.
The question is of course how long the stock will last. If you visit Walmart’s website right now, this $699 MacBook Air M1 will be the first thing you see. Apple isn’t making more of them, it could be a short-lived opportunity.
On the other hand, this is a turning point for Walmart and its customers. The company said it was the first time it would sell Macs directly, but it didn’t say it was the last time. I guess if you see a MacBook Air that you really want – maybe the M2 or even the new and powerful M3 – you might want to wait and see when it arrives on Walmart’s ever-eclectic shelves.