The M1 MacBook Air Is Missing, But Why?

The M1 MacBook Air has gone missing, and it may never come back.

Walmart started selling brand-new M1 MacBook Air models in March 2024 for $699. The price later came down to $599, and was sometimes as low as $549 during sales holidays. However, that Walmart deal may have dried up. The product is no longer in stock if you try to have it shipped, and just one store in my area has units available for in-store pickup.

What gives? Apple didn’t immediately respond to my request for comment. I’ve come up with a few possibilities, though the most likely reason might just be the sad state of the 2026 laptop market.

Did Apple Cut Its Losses in the Memory Shortage?

The first and most plausible reason I can imagine is that Apple simply decided it was no longer worth producing new-in-box M1 MacBook Air laptops given soaring memory prices.

It’s unlikely that Walmart has been sitting on these laptops for more than a year, especially not at every store in the US. When memory was still reasonably priced, it was not a heavy lift for Apple to produce more M1 MacBook Airs for Walmart to sell online and in stores. But now, selling one of these laptops for $599 or $699 might not make financial sense. Those prices were already quite aggressive before RAM costs spiraled out of control.

(Credit: Walmart)

Apple could just raise the M1 MacBook Air price, right? Not really, no. Apple has sold the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air for as little as $749 for the past several months, periodically. A price hike would leave little reason for shoppers to buy an M1 model, with the latest version barely much more expensive. Now, Apple could raise all of its Mac prices in response to the crisis, but that would make the M1 Air a bad deal regardless.

Is a New Budget-Priced MacBook on the Way?

You know how the Apple Store often goes down just before a new product drops? Perhaps something similar is happening over at Walmart. Maybe even the rumored cheap MacBook.

Could Apple be working to…

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