What just happened? Walmart has partnered with Apple to bring the Mac to the big box retailer for the first time. Apple's 13.3-inch MacBook Air with M1 chip is now available on Walmart's website and will be available in select stores soon. The laptop is offered in your choice of space gray, silver, or gold color schemes, and ships with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB solid state drive.
Apple introduced the MacBook Air with M1 processor in November 2020 as one of the first Macs to be powered by its custom in-house silicon. The M1 Air packs a 13.3-inch Retina display and up to 18 hours of battery life in a package that weighs just 2.8 pounds. Its successor, the M2-powered MacBook Air, was introduced at WWDC in June 2022.
The M1 Air is well over three years old at this point, and was quietly pulled from Apple's online store earlier this month with the introduction of new Airs featuring the latest M3 chips. Still, you are looking at a very solid deal at $699 on a laptop that still tops our list as one of the best ultraportables around for the price.
There is no clear indication on Walmart's site if the M1 Air it is selling is new or refurbished but if we had to guess, it is probably new considering it comes backed by a one year warranty and is eligible for extended coverage via AppleCare. Best Buy offers the same system for a bit cheaper at $649.99, but theirs is an open box model.
Adding Walmart to the list of retailers that offer Apple's Mac has major mainstream market implications. Walmart is the largest retailer in the US by a significant margin; adding the Mac to its stable will put the brand in front of consumers that might not have otherwise considered an Apple laptop. Today's news also paves the way for newer Macs to eventually find their way to Walmart's shelves, further expanding its potential reach.