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Credit: Illustration by Zain Awais and product image courtesy of Amazon.
The new lineup of M4 MacBook Airs had a ripple effect on all of the other MacBooks, but the M1 is seeing a particularly big discount. Walmart has the M1 MacBook Air 13.3-inch laptop for $599 (originally $999.99), which is $100 cheaper since the M4 was released, according to price-tracking tools. Although the M4 is $799.99 and a better value for your money, not everyone will be able to afford it. For those who need the extra cash in hand, the M1 MacBook Air is a good deal still in 2025.
This M1 is the basic model from 2020. It has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. You can expect about 18 hours of battery life. Although it pales in comparison to the new M4 chip (Apple says the M4 Air is up to twice as fast as an M1 Air) and all of its new features, the M1 is still enough for most of us. As Lifehacker’s Senior Technology Editor Jake Peterson pointed out, the M1 is still a fantastic computer years after its release. The main reason behind this is that Apple is able to optimize macOS to the M1, embracing new macOS versions gracefully and enjoying their new features while Intel Macs struggled. That’s why the M1 today will outperform an i9 Intel Mac.
If you’re worried about software support from Apple, Jake says the M1 doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. The only thing you’d be missing from the new macOS Sonoma is the ability to connect hearing devices to your Mac.
What do you think so far?
Keep in mind that Apple did discontinue the M1 MacBook Air after the release of the M3 and no longer sells them on its website. If you’re looking for a reliable MacBook that has withstood the test of time and is still a great buy in 2025, get the M1 for $599.99.
