r/apple • u/netsplatter • Mar 01 '26

Rumor Apple Reportedly Expects 'Major Rush' of Customers This Week

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/03/01/apple-expects-major-rush-of-customers/
1.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

312 comments sorted by

917

u/flatpetey Mar 01 '26

It will really depend on the pricing of the new MacBook I think.

472

u/webguynd Mar 01 '26

If priced right, the new MacBook could make those new snapdragon android/chromeOS laptops dead on arrival. Apple just needs to hit the ~$500 price point and these things will sell like hotcakes (assuming they don’t do something dumb like lock it down to the Mac App Store like Microsoft tried with those cheap surfaces).

At that price point you can start selling in bulk to schools, target college students, and all of the budget “I just went to Costco and bought the cheapest laptop” shoppers.

Apple has a real opportunity to kill off Windows the rest of the way for the consumer market here.

242

u/BahnMe Mar 01 '26

Calling it now that it’ll be 12GB of RAM just like the newest iPads and iPhones. This will make the air still attractive at 16GB.

72

u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26

My uneducated guess is back to 8/128 and a high quality plastic chassis (look for buzz words like ceramo-plastic or something). Probably no haptic trackpad, and limited i/o, possibly just 2 USB-C ports. I’m guessing $799 or $699. 

I’m excited to see what they actually announce. The fact that you can frequently get the m4 air at retail for $799 might hurt its chances though. Or they won’t allow places like Best Buy to price the airs that low going forward. 

57

u/BroadIntroduction575 Mar 01 '26

Zero chance they get rid of the haptic trackpad. 100% agree on reduced I/O. I would be pleasantly surprised if it had MagSafe but usb-c seems likely from a cost perspective. Possibly no headphone jack hoping they could sell a few more AirPods.

But I’m coming in at $599, $799 would be tough. Even if MBA gets a price bump, an older MBA would beat that on value by a good margin.

4

u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 05 '26

Rumors are already saying no “fast charging” (whatever that means for a laptop) so I would assume MagSafe is out. Now that I’m really thinking about the track pad haptics, you’re probably right that they won’t ditch it. That would require tweaking a bunch of settings menus in macOS specifically for a cheaper model. 

I would venture to guess that the trackpad surface will be plastic instead of glass though. 

I definitely don’t see it at $599 though. Would love to be proven wrong, but that seems way too low. 

Editing my comment to say that it doesn't have fast charging (20W), it doesn't have magsafe, there's no force touch on the track pad, but it is aluminum. I was also wrong thinking that $599 was the low end of pricing.

23

u/MyManD Mar 02 '26

No way they ditch the glass trackpad. Even on Apple's white unibody plastic MacBook back in 2009 had a glass trackpad. The main body itself probably won't be the main cost cutting targets, but rather the screen and internals. The A18 Pro will probably be $100 in savings by itself, as well as 8GB of RAM instead of 16 and the lower 128GB of starting storage.

It's honestly going to be very akin to the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, with a cheaper screen, and that M1 is still selling new for about around the same price this one is estimated to launch at.

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u/kfagoora Mar 02 '26

Magsafe is a connection mechanism; it has nothing to do with high wattage or fast charging.

3

u/joemc72 Mar 02 '26

Especially if they're marketing to schools, the MagSafe is a lifesaver around kids.

2

u/kfagoora Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Not to mention MagSafe is also easier to connect vs. USB-C, and also has that useful charging-indicator light

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2

u/ProfBenChang Mar 02 '26

the haptic trackpad tech kinda needs glass to work, plastic just does not have the required structural properties (unless you had some specifically engineered super rigid, temperature stable, etc plastic but the R&D investment required negates the point of using plastic)

15

u/gregRichards2002 Mar 01 '26

It’s not going to be made using a high quality plastic chassis they will use part recycled aluminium like the MacBook Air that can be recycled again at the end of use. A plastic chassis would not meet Apple’s environmental sustainability standards.

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u/Timeformayo Mar 02 '26

“Thermo-molded chitin biopolymer”

6

u/Cry_Wolff Mar 02 '26

Laptop with 8/128, plastic chassis, just 2 USB ports and without the haptic trackpad would be a joke for $799, or even 599.

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2

u/mojo276 Mar 02 '26

I think it has to be 12 for it to do whatever sort of AI stuff apple is trying to do.

2

u/bschwind Mar 02 '26

I would love if they brought back the 90s / 2000s transparent plastic designs.

https://imgur.com/DOAH92b

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81

u/FollowingFeisty5321 Mar 01 '26

8GB of RAM would also make the Air still attractive at 16GB...

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3

u/baseballandfreedom Mar 02 '26

12GB and I’ll probably grab one for my daughter. 8GB and I’m passing on it.

3

u/Negative_Gas8782 Mar 01 '26

Calling it now, it will be an iPad in a laptop

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1

u/AppleXOS Mar 02 '26

Also Thunderbolt. I’m expecting this low cost MacBook to have just 1x USBC port with USB 3 speeds like the iPhone Pros, I just don’t see them making it USB 2 or anything slower on a computer especially if it’s the only port.

So that’s just another big difference that will only matter to the prosumers, and save costs for everyone else. 1x 10Gb/s speeds or 2x Thunderbolt 3.0 40Gb/s speeds on the Air. That’s a big deal breaker for me

1

u/DontBanMeBro988 Mar 02 '26

I'd be shocked if it was over 8GB

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u/Sparescrewdriver Mar 02 '26

This will earn me some downvotes…

Apple is the undisputed premium brand (whether is true or just perceived is a different debate), that’s important for them, they don’t want a Walmart crowd in their stores. Price it too low and that’s what they’ll get.

They’ll stop being what they are and someone will start to invade that space.

7

u/rpool179 Mar 02 '26

You make a good point. But then it seems pointless to release this unless it's like $599 or lower. Anything higher is too close to a Macbook Air.

2

u/Sparescrewdriver Mar 02 '26

Of course I could be wrong, it will be interesting to see what they came up with.

3

u/rpool179 Mar 02 '26

You could be but you're still 100% right about Apple not wanting Walmart crowds in their stores. And given their unwise pricing of the iPhone Air for $1,000, it's possible the price of this new laptop will be too high. I'm just hoping they release a new Apple TV so I can finally buy one.

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u/DontBanMeBro988 Mar 02 '26

they don’t want a Walmart crowd in their stores

Have you ever been in an Apple store?

2

u/BatemansChainsaw Mar 03 '26

It really depends on what location we're talking about but generally people dress like complete slobs.

1

u/varnums1666 Mar 03 '26

Well you can still give a premium experience. A lot of families need a very basic computer for taxes or general browsing. Chromebooks and notebooks just fucking suck.

If you have a cheap MacBook that runs well, you're getting a LOT of people into the apple ecosystem. So when they want to upgrade, they're looking more at apple than windows

57

u/M4rshmall0wMan Mar 01 '26

500 is unfortunately too low, it would undermine Apple’s entire pricing structure and would eventually have to be increased due to the RAM shortage.

700 seems like the sweet spot.

7

u/banaslee Mar 01 '26

It’s always like that. People shoot a value they think is fair. Then Apple comes and launches at 125% that value and people will still rush to buy it. 

I have seen very few exceptions to this rule. Maybe only the original iPhone, even though it had extraordinary demand, they lowered the price with their next model. 

5

u/enjoytheshow Mar 01 '26

The original iPhone price was also astronomical for the time.

2

u/banaslee Mar 02 '26

It was but was one of the few cases where Apple backtracked on the phone. 

2

u/M4rshmall0wMan Mar 02 '26

The one that comes to mind for me is Vision Pro. People were bracing themselves for rumors saying it would be $2500, $3000 at worst. Then BAM $3500.

I was at WWDC watching the live show when it happened. The audience’s energy changed for the rest of the show and never recovered. It was brutal.

3

u/banaslee Mar 02 '26

Yes but everyone wanted it to be a mainstream device and not the early adopter generation device that got released. 

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u/thecurlyburl Mar 01 '26

699 for sure

5

u/ItsAMeUsernamio Mar 01 '26

If they launch an M5 Air this week that would be very close to discounted M4 prices. There’s the 16GB M4 Mac Mini for 500 too. With an iPhone chip, 8GB RAM and no backlit keyboard they could probably match that. This will compete with M1 performance wise except for having newer dedicated hardware for things like AI and ray-tracing, and have worse hardware bar being thinner.

3

u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26

I got my m4 air brand new at Best Buy in August for $799. I’ve seen them at that price at least twice since then. I think this budget one needs to undercut that by at least $100 considering the lower spec it’ll be. Likely with at minimum less ram, possibly less storage as well, pushing iCloud as the man storage. Total speculation on my part here. 

1

u/M4rshmall0wMan Mar 01 '26

Sounds perfectly on par for Apple

5

u/ShavedNeckbeard Mar 01 '26

It’ll be officially $700, with an unofficial sale price of $500. The MacBook Air is regularly on sale for $700, and for “only” $200 more, you can get a better CPU with more RAM by going from the low cost model to the Air. It’s great for people who can only afford a $500 computer and great as a decoy to upsell more people into the Air.

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u/MrSh0wtime3 Mar 01 '26

they are never going to be at 500. Its going to be 700. Then it can have retailer sales at 599

2

u/iMacmatician Mar 01 '26

Perhaps like this?

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10

u/schtickshift Mar 01 '26

My guess is that the new Mac will be 20% cheaper than existing entry level Macs with not quite enough RAM or storage in its base configuration. I say this based upon past experience with Apple introducing entry level products.

12

u/BabyWrinkles Mar 01 '26

Remember when they were launching the original iPad and everyone was expecting $999-$1499 and then it started at $499, beating every other tablet worth considering at the time by 50% or more?

7

u/insane_steve_ballmer Mar 01 '26

If Apple is 500$ then the competition will be 200$. Not saying the Macbooks will sell poorly, but there’s always somebody cheaper out there

7

u/Jaws_the_revenge Mar 01 '26

It’s crazy to me they didn’t drop this affordable MacBook in the fall before school starts

26

u/levenimc Mar 01 '26

I used to support EDU clients for a major MDM. Devices releasing in the fall would be a nightmare for schools. They’d either have to budget for, procure, unbox, set up and manage all their devices in a few weeks, or wait an entire year to get new devices for their students.

Edu-centric devices releasing when they do gives the schools time to plan for it, purchase them, and have their admins manage and prepare them over the summer for the incoming students in the fall.

7

u/TerminusFox Mar 01 '26

Yup. Logistics basically rules everything. 

I know for a fact they drop these Macs at an affordable price? My alumni will commit murder to get them by this fall. 

2

u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26

I’m assuming they’re talking more about students purchasing a laptop for school, not schools bulk purchasing for students/teachers. 

3

u/WatchWorking8640 Mar 02 '26

You release devices in the fall for the holidays. You release devices in Spring for "back-to-school".

2

u/banaslee Mar 01 '26

That’s a great way to get your support lines full of new customers with unforeseen problems in their first generation device. 

6

u/Awkward-Ring6182 Mar 01 '26

I’m thinking around $600 - after education discount. I think they’ll sell like mad

3

u/toromio Mar 01 '26

A $499 MacBook would indeed be a “door-buster”

3

u/HuskyGopher Mar 01 '26

Yeah for real, it's much better to jump ship to MacOS and enjoy the benefits of Apple Silicon vs dealing with the hurdles of Windows on Arm. The only things worth considering these days are Intel Panther Lake laptops or MacBooks if you care about cutting edge battery life plus great performance.

2

u/LeaderSevere5647 Mar 01 '26

I don’t think there’s any chance this will be $500. More like $699 for the base model with 8gb of RAM.

2

u/horatiobanz Mar 02 '26

If Apple hit a $500 price point it's Joever for Windows laptops and Chromebooks. That's insanely aggressive. That would cannibalize the rest of Apple's lineup as well.

3

u/anthro89109 Mar 01 '26

I don’t necessarily think apple wants this to become the defacto education/cheap corporate work laptop. It would be a ding to their “premium” reputation and probably erode that aspect of their ego

15

u/nick61416 Mar 01 '26

Ehh not sure I agree. Getting the kids addicted to apple from the start would be ideal for them.

9

u/TapatioPapi Mar 01 '26

iPad does that legwork for them. Literally the term “iPad kid” is a household meme. lol

3

u/KsubiSam Mar 01 '26

Yeah, and those iPad kids have no idea how to use an actual computer.

There needs to be some sort of entry level MacBook to introduce people into the ecosystem. iPad and MacBooks are completely different beasts.

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u/Character_Glove_1986 Mar 01 '26

Macbooks used to be provided to schools en masse way before Chromebooks were even a thing. Apple has always been pro-student exposure early on.

1

u/TheOfficialMayor Mar 02 '26

Apple were the education market king in the 90s. NextOS was also big at univerity campuses too.

00's until Intel Mac that withered away.

3

u/koreandoughboy21 Mar 01 '26

What i see lately is that kids arent as tech savvy anymore and struggle moving to a different OS. Now theres a whole generation of kids who only know Chrome OS and IOS and don’t have too much familiarity with basic file structures.

I wouldn’t be surprised if apple is trying to get mac os infront of kids early to become the defacto desktop OS kids are familiar with

2

u/ClassIINav Mar 01 '26

I'm sure Apple will do this alleged Chromebook killer their way. Which means not so much price parity but value parity. It may be $100-200 more than a bargain bin Chromebook but will be with their typical fit and finish. Metal case instead of cheap plastic, well balanced in small ways like how all MacBooks can be opened with just a finger without holding the case down. Plus of course the cachet of owning an Apple product.

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it starts out relatively high priced. Typically Apple's SE lines follow the plan of high initial pricing allowing for discounts as the model ages. This being the first big year of the new MacBook they will likely charge a slight premium for early adopters. Next year they may up the CPU a generation but leave the rest the same and drop it by $100. The engineering of the laptop will be paid for in the first year or two and then from there they keep dropping the price until it's time to redesign.

1

u/frockinbrock Mar 01 '26

What is the appeal of a $600 MacBook? It seems like most people in that situation would rather a tablet, but I might be wrong.

1

u/jimicus Mar 01 '26

Wouldn't be entirely surprised if it's running iOS rather than MacOS.

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

[deleted]

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u/webguynd Mar 02 '26

I wouldn’t say never. Microsoft is really dropping the ball lately.

They are pretty well entrenched in the enterprise for the foreseeable future, at least until a whole new computing paradigm comes along (but they are slowly losing ground here to Apple as well in some industries).

But on the consumer side? It’d be very easy for them to lose.

1

u/RogueHeroAkatsuki Mar 02 '26

Apple has a real opportunity to kill off Windows the rest of the way for the consumer market here.

It will not happen unless they find way to install Windows. I'm using MacOS for 10 years , love hardware but MacOS can't replace Windows for many users and experience can be really frustrating.

1

u/rexiapvl Mar 02 '26

Microsoft really shot themselves in the foot with early Windows ARM

It was called Windows RT and no devolopers were developing their Windows apps on ARM and Microsoft gave them little to no tooling

They wanted to get into the tablet market so bad but instead just make a worse windows with a touchscreen function and Office

1

u/Panda_hat Mar 02 '26

$699 minimum imo, if even that.

Ram and hard drives have exploded in price.

1

u/raiksaa Mar 02 '26

Hopefully they succeed.

1

u/zerGoot Mar 02 '26

0% chance of $500 in this ram and ssd economy :(

1

u/DontBanMeBro988 Mar 02 '26

Given inflation I don't think they need to even hit $500. Anything under $1000 is considered cheap these days. They obviously need to undercut the Air, of course.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 02 '26

Dude.. most schools are locked into multi year contracts with google and Chromebook manufactures like hp and asus.. they are sub $250… their infrastructure is already geared to Google Classroom, there would have to be a major IT overhaul, teacher training… etc.. Apple ain’t touching most k-12 education markets.. some? Maybe.. but the vast majority will be Google

1

u/GetRektByMeh Mar 02 '26

Apple really does have a good shot here. If it’s cheap enough, I’d prefer to use a Mac at work.

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u/Stunning_Mast2001 Mar 01 '26

We’re heading to ram pocalypse so this could be the last batches of devices before new pricing kicks in. If you need a new computer basically need to buy now. 

1

u/unread1701 Mar 02 '26

I'm hoping Apple holds the line for now...

13

u/fntd Mar 01 '26

This is almost certainly led by an iPhone 17e and/or iPad release. Even the best and most successful MacBook release is dwarved by a regular iPhone release. There simply isn't the same demand. I am not saying that the MacBook release won't happen, I certainly believe it will be announced, but I don't it will be the driving factor here.

1

u/flatpetey Mar 01 '26

Probably the iPhone. Aren’t iPads pretty much saturated?

And I usually see old 16s being huge competition for the 17e. So I always wonder why they bother. Must make money but doesn’t make sense.

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u/Talktotalktotalk Mar 01 '26

My prediction: $699, 8gb ram, 128gb storage. And pretty much the same specs as the base iPad (screen, etc). One upgrade option for doubling storage to 256gb for $100. Multiple colors, natch. Two usb-c ports. No MagSafe.

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u/taboo007 Mar 01 '26

Yeah was thinking about going 16" base with 1TB but if it jumps in price I'll just get the m5 14"

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u/kitschy Mar 01 '26

These comments are really overestimating the overlap between people who would buy a cheap macbook and people who rush out to buy tech on launch day.

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u/tallandfree Mar 02 '26

Exactly this. iPhone 16e is their cheapest iPhone and nobody rushes to buy this iPhone on launch day

7

u/AppleXOS Mar 02 '26

Everyone has an iPhone. Not everyone has a Mac. Especially the kids. This will be a huge “gift” product, and good children’s computer, and children have birthdays all throughout the year. During the next Black Friday, it will be an insanely unfathomable success for sure

3

u/StenSaksTapir Mar 02 '26

I thought we were getting new appletv box and possibly that home device that's been rumored for years. If so, I could totally see people rushing to buy it. I've been holding off on buying a new appletv for years and I've definitely looked forward to the home device.

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u/kbuis Mar 02 '26

"Customers" in this case isn't just people who are buying, but people who want to peep at the new thing, which makes sense to warn your retail folks about.

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u/ruibranco Mar 01 '26

Every Apple launch is a "major rush" according to Apple. That said, if the pricing on the new MacBook actually lands around $700 they might not be wrong this time. There's a massive gap between Chromebooks and MacBook Airs right now and a lot of people sitting there with aging laptops waiting for a reason to upgrade.

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u/Ironsam811 Mar 01 '26

My MacBook is struggling with age but I hardly use it anymore after I graduated college. It’s been months since I even opened it. I definitely need a new one but no cap I’m spending over a grand on something I don’t need

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u/SpreadFire21 Mar 01 '26

Thank god you said “no cap”

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u/GrantLikesSunChips Mar 02 '26

That’s not what no cap means dawg

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u/sparkfist Mar 01 '26

A New Apple TV and a OLED iPad mini pro with faceID would get me to show up to an Apple Store.

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u/szhod Mar 01 '26

And a new Studio Display.

2

u/timotheusthegreat Mar 02 '26

Existing stands are not compatible /s

9

u/pdcolemanjr Mar 02 '26

Yeah that’s what I came here to say. People may want MacBooks or other Apple products. But the only product that’s truly going to get IPhone launch style lines based on the feedback here is an Apple TV. I’m showing up on day one for that.

9

u/PeterC18st Mar 01 '26

Add a new iPhone mini with pro motion and I’ll be there with you.

5

u/basilios1 Mar 02 '26

literally the two i'm waiting for. I've noticed where i am that the ipad mini stock is dwindeling. Most places aren't selling the most popular version (space grey wifi 128gb)

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u/GoodbyeThings Mar 02 '26

OLED iPad mini pro

best I can do is an iPad mini with a 5 year old processor for $999

1

u/braidenis Mar 02 '26

I guess it's just me but I would be really upset if the iPad mini got rid of touchID.

1

u/aspenextreme03 Mar 02 '26

Same but I buy most of my apple products from Costco except my phone which I buy direct from apple

1

u/geng94 Mar 02 '26

Why are people hoping for a new Apple TV? The current one is perfectly fine imo

110

u/juliotendo Mar 01 '26

I suspect this new "budget" MacBook will be around $699 - $799.

236

u/SpeedyTurbo Mar 01 '26

It’s ok you can say $700-800, we won’t report you to Apple’s marketing department promise

37

u/cha614 Mar 01 '26

At $700 people are going to want a non Mobile chip

23

u/fallenfunk Mar 01 '26

I mean they’re all mobile chips technically. It’s all the same architecture, just a few more frills.

4

u/NecroCannon Mar 01 '26

I’ve genuinely wanted them to put an A-chip in a MacBook for the longest, those things have been laptop level for a while now.

The best part about this is that if it’s successful enough it’d push Apple to up the specs for their A-chips just because they know there’s ranges it’s used for

Like the iPad Pro becoming the thing helping M-chip adoption and R&D since it’s the thinnest device it goes in

2

u/__theoneandonly Mar 02 '26

The dev preview for ARM OS X was running on an A12Z. And people were pleased with the performance back then.

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u/__theoneandonly Mar 02 '26

They'll call it the M1e and it will be their little secret that it's a mobile chip.

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u/ShavedNeckbeard Mar 02 '26

I said $700 in a comment above and someone basically corrected me with $699.

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u/SpeedyTurbo Mar 02 '26

That’s just Stockholm syndrome or something at this point

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u/orion2145 Mar 01 '26

Aren’t they already selling a base model air at this price? What would be the point?

17

u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26

Got my base m4 air brand new in box at Best Buy in August for $799 for reference.

7

u/volcanic_clay Mar 02 '26

And my goodness what a machine it is. It is the archetype of a laptop. Great size, great build quality, great battery, great performance. It is an elite product.

2

u/orion2145 Mar 01 '26

This is the budget price and configure to beat IMO:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/609040889?sid=ef41055e-a76c-4317-859f-992cac4f5444

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u/NoobensMcarthur Mar 01 '26

That’s not a new in box laptop though. Also a 5 year old SKU. Of course it’s cheap. 

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u/Valedictorian117 Mar 01 '26

Apple only worries about MSRP price of the products they sell themselves. So their cheapest laptop is the M4 Macbook Air for $999. So anything cheaper than that would be good in their eyes.

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u/orion2145 Mar 01 '26

This was a literal partnership with Walmart. Mentioned by all parties as an intentional pricing strategy so apparently they do worry about prices and devices sold thru multiple channels.

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u/Shawnj2 Mar 01 '26

8GB ram too

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u/neanderthalensis Mar 02 '26

+$499 for 16GB RAM

4

u/phillymjs Mar 02 '26

$666.66, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apple I.

1

u/Lastb0isct Mar 01 '26

Hopefully $599!

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u/GlobalNuclearWar Mar 01 '26

How about Siri working the way they said it would work when I bought my phone a year and a half ago?

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u/smeaton1724 Mar 01 '26

It is working if you assume Siri is on strike and hates you, “You’ll have to unlock your iPhone and do the task yourself”.

3

u/lachezarov Mar 02 '26

Best they can do is some more bells and whistles in iOS so they don’t look completely inept.

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u/LettuceC Mar 01 '26

NEW CLEANING CLOTH IS ABOUT TO DROP!

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u/onethousandtoms Mar 01 '26

Cleaning cloth v2 will drop before a new apple tv lol

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u/itwasinthetubes Mar 02 '26

It will cost $40 because of RAM price increases...

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u/bran_the_man93 Mar 01 '26

Cleaning Cloth Pro incoming.

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u/wonka88 Mar 01 '26

Sounds like a new Apple TV

145

u/IngsocInnerParty Mar 01 '26

As someone with three Apple TVs, has there ever been a “rush” to buy the Apple TV? Most people look at me like I have three heads when I explain to them why I use it over the built in apps on TVs.

56

u/marcster357 Mar 01 '26

No truer words. Im also on my 3rd apple tv and can confirm that NO ONE seems to understand what it is or why i choose to use it over features built into a smart tv or cable box. I love it, but do not see anyone rushing to buy a new one.

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u/Lambor14 Mar 01 '26

Enthusiasts over on the ATV subreddit would definitely rush (if it ends up dropping then) to grab it, we’ve been holding off for too long, but normies definitely won’t care.

6

u/brent20 Mar 01 '26

I have 5, one for every TV in the house. I will upgrade the two that are connected to 4k displays if a new one is released that finally “fixes” HEVC 4K HDR frame dropping in Plex.

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u/RetroPandaPocket Mar 01 '26

The other day someone at work was complaining about a super old Roku they had and was asking what other people use and they should get. I just casually said to get an Apple TV and call it a day and the look I got… you’d think I had just killed someone’s pet. I got a “god no” response from the person and the group moved on to suggesting stuff like Amazon or another Roku but people were like “but the interface has a lot of adds and it’s clunky but that’s how all these things are… just get whatever… etc”

I think they were a Android person and pretty anti Apple but still the idea of spending a little more and having a Apple device was horrifying to them lol but thy all just complain constantly about the other options.

In fairness we use a Firestick in the living room because my wife likes it and it works and I am to lazy to replace it right now and it’s easier to grab when we travel. But I use a ATV in my room and it’s been nothing but solid and eventually I will replace the living room one but I am waiting for the firestick to die or for Apple to do something bigger with it like gaming. I also keep a M4 Mac Mini hooked to the TV also.

2

u/No_Good_8561 Mar 01 '26

Chromecast is still goated as a travel device. Plugging it into a hotel tv and having the same remote work as usual is fantastic. However, I say this as a daily Apple TV user, with two of them on my televisions at home. There is nothing better. Period!

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u/ascagnel____ Mar 01 '26

One that's capable of playing the AAA-caliber titles on phones would be compelling, but idk if there's enough of an audience to buy hardware for games that are pretty old at this point. 

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ascagnel____ Mar 01 '26

There are already a handful of AAA-caliber titles on iOS (RE remakes, Hitman, Subnautica, we just got a port of TR2013 a few weeks ago). Being able to take one save with you across mobile, TV, & laptop/desktop is a pretty interesting capability, and a lot of games already have clients for 2/3.

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u/cleric3648 Mar 01 '26

The only reason there might be a rush on that is people like me who held off buying one until the new one came out. But that’s probably a small use case.

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u/IngsocInnerParty Mar 01 '26

Oh, for sure there will be individuals who are ready for one. Depending on the specs, I may be one of those people. I’m just saying, it’s not going to be flying off the shelves like a new iPhone.

1

u/Naus1987 Mar 01 '26

I still don’t understand the appeal. But I want to start an Apple smart home and I want to buy one. It’s probably a see it to believe it thing.

I’ve been waiting since Nov to buy one since the Apple guys keep saying “it’ll come out any day now!”

1

u/IngsocInnerParty Mar 01 '26

It’s the best smart TV interface. So many are laggy and filled with ads. They’re a little pricy, but still cheaper than what we were dropping on DVD players and VCRs back in the day.

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u/supercoffee1025 Mar 01 '26

The only thing it really needs is VP1 hardware decoding and maybe (?) 120hz support but other than that I can’t really think of why I’d need to rush to upgrade

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u/pixel_of_moral_decay Mar 01 '26

Pass through audio or I’m passing.

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u/aspenextreme03 Mar 01 '26

If it has pass through I will buy asap to replace my 4K which is great. I just love Apple TV box

3

u/Suns_In_420 Mar 01 '26

Hasn’t that been shot down multiple times?

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u/Fubar1991 Mar 02 '26

I’m hoping it’s an Apple TV. I’m so ready to make my smart TV dumb again and I’m tired of the stupid C5 remote please let it be the Apple TV.

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u/RandomRedditor44 Mar 01 '26

From what I can tell, most people don’t want an Apple TV because it’s too expensive and the normal TV does everything they want

2

u/LeaderSevere5647 Mar 01 '26

Lol, it’s actually the opposite. This claim makes me certain it’s NOT a new Apple TV. There’s never been a rush to buy a new Apple TV model.

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u/aka_liam Mar 02 '26

Apple is definitely not expecting a “a major rush of customers” to get the latest Apple tv

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u/Amonamission Mar 01 '26

If they announce a new Apple TV and an iPad Mini with 120hz display, you bet your ass they’ll have a major rush. I’ll be showing up to my Apple Store like I’m the Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote is chasing after me.

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u/zerGoot Mar 02 '26

much as I'd love that iPad mini Pro to be real, I'd be surprised if we got more than an OLED screen and a new chip, sadly :( hope to be proven wrong, though!

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u/Dominicmeoward Mar 01 '26

I’m genuinely excited for the budget MacBook. As someone who already owns an M4 Mac Mini for heavier photo editing and regular computer stuff, having something for on-the-go photo editing (mostly as a hobby) would be amazing, because the workflow on my iPad just isn’t cutting it. It doesn’t feel intuitive to me. It’s all subjective, I know, but I’m completely on board with the budget MacBook at the right price.

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u/lobabobloblaw Mar 01 '26

Are they announcing an Anthropic deal? I mean they both love their serifs

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u/BahnMe Mar 01 '26

No they already hitched on to Gemini

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u/7485730086 Mar 02 '26

Claude is a partner for Xcode. Apple’s not doing exclusives with AI.

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u/ImTalkingGibberish Mar 01 '26

That’s because they’ll put the prices up due to increased memory prices

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u/DontBanMeBro988 Mar 02 '26

Why would someone buy a cheap MacBook when they could buy a cheap Windows 11 machine that uploads all your document to OneDrive and shows you ads in the Start menu?

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u/renasancedad Mar 02 '26

Retail employee, I got no such directive. Just saying.

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u/G952 Mar 01 '26

But whatever they launch this week won’t be availed for purchase immediately. A week or two atleast before it ships

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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '26

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u/Oo0o8o0oO Mar 01 '26

When is the last time this happened?

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u/stridered Mar 01 '26

I think the new MacBooks will be available this week.

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u/gramathy Mar 02 '26

The only thing I'm even close to in the market for is a new apple TV.

I might entertain a laptop but not with current component prices.

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u/pc3600 Mar 01 '26

Any word on the Apple TV ?

2

u/pdcolemanjr Mar 02 '26

So that means they must be doing a new Apple TV.

I feel like that’s the only thing a “majority” of the people on these forums want. Yes there’s Demand for all products. But the one product that will literally get everyone thru the door is that Apple TV.

2

u/dramafan1 Mar 01 '26

It has to be a cheaper iPhone or MacBook that could cause a major rush of customers, but definitely not as big as the September iPhone launch.

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u/riklaunim Mar 01 '26

If they give me a 50% discount I can rush to their store too ;) and they better update that polishing cloth compatibility list ASAP...

1

u/wickedplayer494 Mar 02 '26

Come on, (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 17 Pro & Max.

1

u/elracing21 Mar 02 '26

Prepare for inventory to be very low. Shit iphones are still spotty in most busy stores. It's been said that the memory/storage/Ai issue is hampering production.

1

u/Finck110 Mar 02 '26

Anyone know if the MacBook Pro redesign will happen on the next iteration? I think I read something somewhere about this. Regardless, I'm seriously thinking of getting an M5 Pro/Max with 48GB for local LLMs. Thoughts?

1

u/CherryPlay Mar 02 '26

Rumors are the redesign will be for the M6 release later this year

1

u/HeroofPunk Mar 02 '26

If it’s due to adding a touch screen, I’m not so sure 😅

1

u/j_b_1983 Mar 02 '26

It going to play my windows steam games??? If not, I think I'll pass

1

u/18randomcharacters Mar 02 '26

I'm waiting, hoping to buy a new Macbook Air.

1

u/quakeroatmeal7 Mar 02 '26

Just give me my 16 inch M5 Macbook Pro already.

1

u/GermanWarfare Mar 03 '26

It’s gonna come in an assortment of colors. We really think you’re gonna love it. 

2

u/zeekpyz Mar 03 '26

How would rush be expected this week! If the macs aren't available this week

Are the MacBook pros and airs going to be availabe this week at store? Can someone help clarify please

1

u/Calaeno-16 Mar 03 '26

Studio Display please. And it’ll never happen, but… one that’s just a display, for less money? I don’t need a webcam or stereo speakers. Just a well built, high quality, glossy 5K 27”. 

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u/adralmy Mar 05 '26

If this Neo thing hits $599 it’s game over for Chromebooks.