A short while ago, Apple’s refreshed, reduced-price 2014 MacBook Air went on general sale, adding an upgraded Intel Haswell processor for a slight improvement in performance. But the bigger news story is the knock-on effect that the refresh has had on the pricing of the older, refurbished MacBook Air, which can now be picked up from Apple with the standard one-year warranty for a very enticing $599.
The Apple notebook range is famed for pricing a large chunk of consumers out of the market, but at $599 for a refurbished 2012 MacBook Air, the interest of those with less extravagant spending power will surely have been piqued.
$599 for a MacBook of any description is unprecedented, and now, the ultra-thin notebook is of comparable price to the Cupertino’s iPad range. At $499, the base-level iPad Air seems the perfect device for those in search of an Apple gadget with a decent amount of display real estate and fast processor, but the 2012 MacBook Air – which packs an Intel core i5 Ivy Bridge CPU – may prove even more tempting for the consumer out for maximum productivity.
These refurbs sell on a first-come, first-served basis, so once they’re gone, you’ll have to wait for the next batch of refurbished models to arrive. Still, given that they’ve been given the once-over by Apple and arrive with the one-year warranty, we daresay the machines are as good as new, and if you aren’t fussy about your MacBook Air being brand new and of the latest technical configuration – the design does, after all, remain unchanged from two years ago – then be sure to check out the current deals Apple has going.
Despite becoming both faster and cheaper today, there’s a lingering feeling that the MacBook Air product line still has something else up its sleeve for release in 2014. Rumor has it that a 12-inch Retina model — which may even be thinner than what we already have — is in the pipeline for release in Q3 of this year, and even though consumers desperate for the uber-sharp panel could just as easily grab the Retina MacBook Pro, a large faction of the community still hopes that the Air will see an improved resolution display that would afford the notebook a sense of completion.
Interesting in grabbing one up? Simply head here, and like we said, the Airs are available on a first-come first-serve basis so hurry up!
(via: 9to5Mac)
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