Walmart's holiday sale has an Apple MacBook Air for just $649 — time to bite! - Yahoo! Voices

Apple laptops routinely get high marks for battery life and ease of use, but walk into the Apple Store, and you’ll get sticker shock with the thousand-dollar starting price. That’s why this amazing MacBook Air deal — just $649 — at Walmart is so exciting. The laptop is just the right size and weight for everyday use, plus it sports Apple’s iconic Retina display, making images come to life like no other computer we’ve seen. This is only one of many big sales going on during Walmart Holiday Deals days, and when it comes to tech, you can save on tons of great items for gifting (to others or yourself). If you’ve been meaning to upgrade from your rusty ol’ laptop, it would be wise to act quickly — the sale only runs through today or while supplies last!

Apple

This is the most affordable factory-new Apple laptop you can buy. There are newer models, but this is speedy and sleek and it’s got the goods you need at the lowest price we’ve seen.

$649 at Walmart

Why is it a good deal? 💰

Thanks to an exclusive arrangement with Apple, Walmart sells factory-new versions of the M1 MacBook Air priced at just $699. And right now — continuing a deal that’s been available for awhile — Walmart is shaving another $50 off that price, dropping it to just $649. That’s $100 to $200 less than we’ve seen newer MacBook Air models priced at Amazon and elsewhere, even during their Prime Day lows.

Yes, the M1 chip is a couple of generations behind: The latest MacBooks sport the new Apple M2 and M3 chips. But compared to older Intel-powered models, the M1 chip and 8GB RAM mean it’s still a snappy and efficient option for everyday workers and students.

Why do I need this? 🤔

The MacBook Air 13.3-inch M1 costs hundreds less than newer models with M2 and M3 processors, yet serves you in many of the same ways. At just 2.8 pounds, slide it into your laptop bag and take it with you anywhere, from working at the coffee shop to your next business trip, or while commuting to and from the office or school. The 18-hour battery life means you can even leave the charger at home. This is the best value you’ll find for a MacBook Air right now. Who cares if it’s an older model when it’s fast, powerful and supports all the new goodies Apple has to offer.

You can even update this model to the latest and greatest macOS Sequoia operating system. Among the upgrades are those cool Apple Intelligence features you’ve been hearing about — new Writing Tools summarize long text e-mails or documents. You’ll be able to create unique images and Genmoji. Even Siri will soon be smarter — able to call up the e-mail with the name of that restaurant your friend mentioned that’s slipped your mind, or dig up the recommended software a co-worker messaged about somewhere ages ago.

With Continuity, you can mirror your iPhone on the MacBook’s screen and control it remotely, even if it’s in sleep mode charging in another room. And with a later software update, that feature will support the ability to drag and drop content between devices as well. That doesn’t sound very 2020 to us at all.

The powerful Apple Silicon processor enables seamless multitasking, video streaming and calls, web surfing, content creation, and more. Despite being an older model, this will still outperform Intel-based Macs (and many PCs) both in terms of speed and battery life.

Walmart Macbook — Choose from three colors: gold, silver and space gray. (Walmart)

What reviewers say 💬

Slick and quick, the MacBook Air M1 will suit most users, as evidenced by the more than 3,000 five-star reviews on Walmart’s website.

Pros 👍

“Plenty powerful,” wrote one fan. “You’re getting Apple quality, build and performance for a great price. Why? The technology has finally caught up. You’re not seeing drastic increases in performance anymore compared to processors of generations past. … It can easily handle light photo/video editing. And I doubt most of you are even using it for that. Word processing, web browsing, email, work. That’s not taxing this machine unless you’re pushing fairly hard. It’s finally the democratization of Apple and I love it. Good for students especially.”

“It’s a zippy machine that’s a great size and has excellent build quality,” wrote a five-star reviewer. “The 8GB RAM isn’t an issue with the M1 chip! This is my first Mac and I’m loving it so far.”

Another happy shopper shared: “The material is great quality. It feels nice to work on. I love how thin it is — it can fit in my tote bag, battery life is a major plus and has a good-sized standard keyboard to work on. I love the light that goes with it.”

Cons 👎

This shopper is happy that it’s “very fast, has incredible battery life and is extremely high quality” but has concerns about the future: “The only caveat might be how long Apple will support this first M1 model when they’re already releasing iPad Pro’s with M4 chips. If Apple would support this with new Mac OS updates for the next three years, this laptop is a bargain!”

A final fan added, “The only downside for some people might be the limited ports and screen size but as far as processing power battery life and portability it is worth every dollar.”

Apple

A MacBook Air for well $649? Someone pinch us. Another plus: The battery life is impeccable, with up to 18 hours of use on a single charge.

$649 at Walmart

Want to save even more? Make sure you’re signed up for Walmart+. It’s easy to sign up for your free 30-day trial here. You’ll get free shipping and grocery delivery, savings on gas and prescriptions, exclusive access to major deals, and more. (And by the way, those without Walmart+ still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.