Apple unveils MacBook Air models with $100 price cut despite tariffs

Apple on Wednesday announced recent MacBook Air models that update the corporate’s bestselling laptop with a faster M4 chip and an upgraded videoconferencing camera.

The computers also got a $100 price cut within the U.S., despite tariffs by President Donald Trump that took effect on Tuesday that experts have said could cause the value of electronics to rise. 

The 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $999, and the larger, 15-inch model starts at $1,099. Users will pay more for memory and storage upgrades.

Even though it has the identical design as last 12 months’s MacBook Air, the brand new computer will even be available in a fresh sky blue color, and it now supports two external monitors. The brand new MacBook Air goes on sale March 12.

The MacBook Air is one in every of Apple’s most crucial products. Mac sales rose 15% within the December quarter to just below $9 billion in sales. The corporate attributed that increase to higher sales of laptops regardless that overall Mac sales, which also include desktop models, are still down from the corporate’s fiscal 2022. That was a period when computer sales were elevated consequently of individuals needing laptops for work or school through the pandemic.

Apple’s MacBook Air announcement caps off a flurry of latest product releases by the corporate over the past few weeks.

Along with the brand new laptops, Apple on Wednesday announced a high-end Mac Studio desktop with a chip that may run advanced AI. The corporate also upgraded its iPad Air with an M4 chip on Tuesday, and last month, it announced the low-cost iPhone 16e.

The Mac Studio has more processing power and is designed for individuals who work on computer graphics, audio or video production or artificial intelligence. It is not low-cost — the pc starts at $1,999, and more powerful configurations can cost over $14,000.

The MacBook Air price cut comes as Apple’s U.S. pricing is being closely watched by each Apple customers and investors to see what the iPhone maker does in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs. 

Apple’s announcement signals that the corporate is not jacking up prices yet. 

The brand new iPad Airs announced this week didn’t see any price change and still start at $599. Nevertheless, the iPhone 16e costs $599, and it replaced the older low-cost model from 2022 that began at $429.

Analysts at Bank of America Securities last month forecast that PC makers including Apple would likely attempt to pass increased costs onto buyers. Rival Acer already announced price increases on laptops last month as a consequence of U.S. tariffs.

“Tariffs on imported PCs act like a tax that PC vendors largely pass to finish customers,” the BofA analysts wrote.

Nearly all of Apple’s products are made in China and may very well be affected by two sets of 10% tariffs Trump placed on Chinese imports. Apple’s operations and third-largest market may very well be affected by Chinese retaliation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Trump on the White House last month. After the meeting, Trump said that Apple “doesn’t need to be within the tariffs.” Cook told investors in January that Apple is “monitoring the situation.”

Apple has expanded its supply chain lately. Some Macs are actually assembled in Malaysia or Vietnam, production locations which might avoid Chinese import duties. Apple didn’t say where the brand new MacBook Airs are assembled.

Correction: The brand new MacBook Air supports two external monitors. An earlier version of this text said it supported three external monitors.

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