Summary

  • After years of waiting, a budget MacBook Air is finally available for purchase at an affordable $700 price point.
  • The M1 MacBook Air, despite being older, remains competitive with Windows laptops and Chromebooks in both price and performance.
  • Walmart's move to offer a budget MacBook Air provides more choice for budget-conscious consumers shopping for laptops.

We've wondered for years what a budget MacBook might look like, at a price point that could rival devices like Chromebooks and mid-tier Windows laptops. It's been a popular idea among the Apple community that the company could do a better job at making a budget or midrange laptop than the competition. Throughout the nearly two-decade lifespan of the MacBook, that kind of idea has been just that — nothing more than a distant hope. Budget laptops just aren't in Apple's DNA, people thought. For reference, the first-ever MacBook was made out of plastic and cost $1,300 in 2006, and would be priced at $2,000 today.

Eighteen years later, there's finally a budget MacBook available for purchase. No, it's not a brand-new laptop made to hit a price point well under $1,000. In fact, it isn't even sold directly from Apple. The M1 MacBook Air is the budget-oriented Apple laptop we've been waiting years for, although it's a machine more than three years old that has been partially discontinued.

Why the M1 MacBook Air got a price cut

It's now two generations old — yet it's still capable thanks to Apple Silicon

Source: Apple

The story behind the M1 MacBook Air, and how it became the cheapest MacBook to hit the market, is rather interesting. When Apple began its transition to Apple Silicon processors, the MacBook Air was one of the first great Macs to get the boost to the M1 system-on-a-chip. While the laptop's chassis remained completely unchanged from Intel versions of the 13-inch MacBook Air, it now featured a fan-less design and the M1 processor. That was in late 2020, and despite new iterations of MacBook Air and Pro following the laptop's release, the M1 MacBook Air hung around in Apple's lineup at the $1,000 price point for many years.

However, when Apple introduced the M3 MacBook Air this month, it finally discontinued the M1 MacBook Air in a corresponding move. We thought that was the end of the M1 MacBook Air's run, which had an impactful role as the laptop leading the transition to a new era of Apple laptops. But we were wrong. Just weeks after Apple discontinued the M1 MacBook Air, Walmart announced it is bringing back the laptop at a new MSRP of $700. This makes the M1 MacBook Air the cheapest Apple laptop in the company's lineup, and it's officially part of the budget and midrange categories.

How competitive is the MacBook Air's price?

The MacBook Air now rivals mid-tier Windows laptops in price and performance

Source: Apple

Apple dropped the MacBook Air's price when it updated the laptop in 2020, bringing the cost down to $1,000. Still, while that's a low price to pay for a Mac, it's a fair bit higher than budget and midrange laptop alternatives. That's why the M1 MacBook Air's new $700 starting price is a game-changer. There's now a brand-new MacBook that can compete with budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks in both price and performance. If you don't believe me, one of the cheaper options on our best Chromebooks list is the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, which costs $650. Our top cheap laptop overall is the Lenovo Yoga 6, and that laptop retails for $700.

👁 Front view of the Lenovo Yoga 6 Gen 7 showing both the keyboard deck and display with the desktop background
Lenovo Yoga 6 Gen 7 Review: A major improvement in almost every way

The Lenovo Yoga 6 Gen 7 manages to address pretty much all our complaints about the previous models, and it's a fantastic budget laptop now.

Sure, there's always going to be a cheap Windows laptop or Chromebook that'll undercut MacBook pricing. But the laptops that people are actually buying — and the ones we comfortably recommend to buyers on a budget — cost around $700. For the first time, there's a MacBook in the conversation.

Why it matters

For some, choosing a Windows laptop was a necessity due to cost

Source: Apple

People on a budget have been limited to Windows laptops and Chromebooks in the past, since MacBooks started at $1,000 minimum. Now that the $700 M1 MacBook Air exists, buyers in the midrange and budget markets have an option that can run macOS. Although the hardware is a few years old, it'll still hold up against devices at the $700 price point in 2024. That's because these machines often feature older or low-end Intel processors without a lot of power.

Compared to these chips, the M1 SoC in the MacBook Air can still blow them out of the water. The display, chassis, and keyboard can be traced back to 2018 — and that's something to consider. However, the aluminum build and Retina display are both still solid for this price range. Regardless of whether you think the M1 MacBook Air is a superb or horrible value at $700 in 2024, it is beside the point. People can now choose for themselves whether they want a macOS, Windows, or Chrome OS machine if they're on a budget, and more choice is always better for consumers than less.

Is the M1 MacBook Air a better deal than new ones?

There's a case to be made for choosing an M1, M2, or M3 MacBook Air

At its new MSRP of $700, the M1 MacBook Air immediately becomes one of the best-value laptops you can buy today. Surprisingly, there's a reason you might want to choose each generation of MacBook Air in the Apple Silicon era. For budget buyers, the M1 MacBook Air is hands-down the best value MacBook ever, and it's a great deal. Students and educators can snag the M2 MacBook Air for $900 using Apple's education discount, and that's an excellent value as well. Of course, we can't forget the newest M3 MacBook Air, which offers unparalleled power in the thin-and-light form factor. Put simply, Apple has been crushing it with the MacBook lineup since switching to Apple Silicon. With the help of Walmart, the first MacBook Air to feature Apple Silicon ended up becoming the budget MacBook we've waited years for.