Apple lops $500 off the price of SSD-based MacBook Air

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
With the price of NAND flash memory continuing its steady sequential decline, Apple Inc. this month cut the price of its Solid State Drive (SSD)-equipped MacBook Air by half a grand, AppleInsider has discovered.



The Cupertino-based Mac maker is now selling its super slim 13-inch 1.8GHz MacBook Air with a 64GB Solid State Drive for $2598, down from the $3098 fetching price that was listed as recently as last week.



The half-grand markdown is a result of price cuts to two separate components. First, Apple reduced the price of the Air's 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor upgrade by $100 to just $200.



Secondly, the company slashed the cost of the Flash memory-based 64GB SSD drive upgrade to $599 from $999. That means customers can now configured a 1.6GHz MacBook Air with an SSD drive for as little as $2398.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 76
    zagmaczagmac Posts: 72member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    That means customers can now configured a 1.6GHz MacBook Air with an SSD drive for as little as $2398.





    Oooohhh....Daddy want....
  • Reply 2 of 76
    LOL what a deal.



    still a large waste of money.
  • Reply 3 of 76
    lafelafe Posts: 252member
    WHAT! This is unfair! I was an early adopter! I need store credit! I need to sue someone!



    Just kidding. That was not a real rant. I am an early MBA SSD adopter, but I'm glad to have helped bring SSDs out into the marketplace more, and hopefully help drive prices down a bit. So I'm proud to have done my part!
  • Reply 4 of 76
    lafelafe Posts: 252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dontlookleft View Post


    LOL what a deal.



    still a large waste of money.



    I disagree. I love my MBA with SSD. It's snappy. It's silent. It's sleek.



    If I can afford it, and it makes me happy and fits my needs in a laptop, then my

    money's not "wasted". Far from it, actually.
  • Reply 5 of 76
    Is a 128MB SSD not far away?
  • Reply 6 of 76
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lafe View Post


    I disagree. I love my MBA with SSD. It's snappy. It's silent. It's sleek.



    If I can afford it, and it makes me happy and fits my needs in a laptop, then my

    money's not "wasted". Far from it, actually.



    Well said (no, I don't have a MacBook Air). And kudos to you for not whining and bitching about the price drop.
  • Reply 7 of 76
    bobertoqbobertoq Posts: 172member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dontlookleft View Post


    LOL what a deal.



    still a large waste of money.



    Really? For THE thinnest laptop on the market, with a CUSTOM teeny-tiny 1.8GHz Intel processor, a 64GB SSD, a 13.3" LED display, etc., etc.



    Actually, the MacBook Air is very cheap, especially the high-end model.
  • Reply 8 of 76
    zinfellazinfella Posts: 877member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H View Post


    Well said (no, I don't have a MacBook Air). And kudos to you for not whining and bitching about the price drop.



    Actually, I believe that it's "bitching and moaning".
  • Reply 9 of 76
    beepybeepy Posts: 8member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    With the price of NAND flash memory continuing its steady sequential decline...



    What is a "sequential decline?" Unless the price has dropped by the same amount say, every day, or week, or month, then it is not sequential. "Steady" is adequate to imply that the price has continuously dropped without rising in between drops.
  • Reply 10 of 76
    jawportajawporta Posts: 140member
    I'm guessing you mean 128GB, and I hope so. Although I just updated my MBP to a 320GB hard drive.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Squirrel_Monkey View Post


    Is a 128MB SSD not far away?



  • Reply 11 of 76
    mutantmutant Posts: 12member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by beepy View Post


    What is a "sequential decline?" Unless the price has dropped by the same amount say, every day, or week, or month, then it is not sequential. "Steady" is adequate to imply that the price has continuously dropped without rising in between drops.



    Yeah but Apple buys it's parts in bulk to save money. When their supply dwindles, they need to reorder.
  • Reply 12 of 76
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bobertoq View Post


    Really? For THE thinnest laptop on the market, with a CUSTOM teeny-tiny 1.8GHz Intel processor, a 64GB SSD, a 13.3" LED display, etc., etc.



    Actually, the MacBook Air is very cheap, especially the high-end model.







    it's good for rich businessmen. looking for a small, light computer that that doesn't run very fast or hold much information just to do presentations, take notes, or do other light business work.



    as for it being a good deal for your only every day use computer. no.
  • Reply 13 of 76
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    That's nice. Means if anyone bought SSD MBA in past 7 days get the refund. =)



    Hope the update will be soon for 128GB SSD.

    That will be a start of MBA for real for real. (not for play, play)
  • Reply 14 of 76
    aegisdesignaegisdesign Posts: 2,914member
    I'm guessing they've not got around to slashing the prices for the UK store. It's £190 for the 1.8Ghz upgrade and £639 for the SSD. A total of £829 (Yes, over $1600 inc tax). Or was it more expensive before?
  • Reply 15 of 76
    crocodilecrocodile Posts: 48member
    This is great news and shows just how fast SSD technology is maturing.



    Personally, I'm waiting for a 256 GB SSD drive to arrive before I put the Air on my shopping list. Sorry, but even 128 Gbs doesn't cut it as far as I'm concerned, especially with downloaded movies chewing up at least a gig of memory each.



    I'm also waiting for the next-gen Centrino 2 chipset that runs a 1.86 Ghz Penryn consuming 17 Watts. I believe it has significantly better video playback and improved graphics over current chipset. t's due to be released in September, but judging by Intel's recent record of late-shipping chips, I guess we'll be lucky if it arrives in time for Xmas. I have no idea when such a chip will show up in the MBA, my guestimate is January 2009.



    (If anyone knows anything more about this chipset and would either correct or support my comments, that would be appreciated.)



    I also want an additional USB port, but would buy the MBA without it.
  • Reply 16 of 76
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    MBA = POS!
  • Reply 17 of 76
    skottichanskottichan Posts: 193member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dontlookleft View Post


    it's good for rich businessmen. looking for a small, light computer that that doesn't run very fast or hold much information just to do presentations, take notes, or do other light business work.



    as for it being a good deal for your only every day use computer. no.



    So, because it's a niche computer, it automatically devalues it?





    Apparently, all computers have to be made specifically for YOUR needs, correct?
  • Reply 18 of 76
    thetoethetoe Posts: 84member
    The same model is still available on refurb for $2,699.00.
  • Reply 19 of 76
    ...but definitely a model for people with money to burn and bragging rights. Should be interesting when the look of the air filters down into the cheaper models.
  • Reply 20 of 76
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    That's a pretty nice drop. I'd get an Air if I didn't still play DVDs a lot.
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