Since early July 2024, Walmart has been selling the older M1 MacBook Air for about $699, often discounting it to $650 and even $599.
Even though Apple discontinued the M1 Air in March 2024, it was a good deal for a machine that was originally priced at $999.
Guess what? The laptop went out of stock at Walmart about eight days ago.
Coincidence? I think not.
No official sales numbers have been released by either Apple or Walmart, but the fact that America’s biggest budget retailer kept selling a discontinued MacBook at Chromebook prices up until this point suggests it was probably pretty popular.
Tim Cook hasn’t come out and said so, but I suspect that Walmart’s success was a big factor in Apple’s decision to release a truly low-cost MacBook — which we will very likely get a first peek at next week.
Economies of scale also probably come into play. By assembling the new machine from the iPhone and MacBook parts bin, Apple can keep costs down.
But there could be a huge fly in the ointment that Cook and Co. didn’t see a year or two ago that may spoil the party. We’ll see next week!
Also in today’s newsletter:
A new standard for smart home locks isn’t the sexiest topic, but it’s definitely going to play a big role as Apple pushes hard into the segment this year.
If Apple releases new M5 MacBook Pros next week, as expected, they’re going to be monsters.
Talking of monsters. Get a glimpse of Titan X in the latest Apple TV teaser for season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Woah! Get 50% off this great-looking, three-in-one travel charger, just $10 on Amazon (be sure to clip the coupon).
Steve Jobs caught a lot of flak when he discontinued the Newton after returning to save Apple. There were even protests in Apple’s car park!
Cult of Mac‘s resident Mr. Headphones David Snow put together a great roundup of open-back versus closed-back headphones, helping you decide which design to go for.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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OK, tell me what’s wrong with this place. It’s the products! So what’s wrong with the products? The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore!
Today’s poll
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