Do you want to know how much does an Apple laptop cost either it’s a brand new one or it’s a second hand? You are on the right spot to know the answer of this question.
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops are highly sought after, but they also have a reputation for being expensive. Why is it so?
In this article, we’ll take a detailed, clear look at how much an Apple laptop costs, so you can figure out if MacBook are right for you and how to get the best price possible.
How much does an Apple Laptop Cost?
Apple MacBook Pro and Air laptops have always been considered more expensive than normal. This has always been because, when comparing components to other laptops, you get much better specs on a Windows laptop or not?
See Also: How to Check Laptop Charger Compatibility
Let’s see, you have to establish the context well. If we compare how much an Apple laptop costs with a gaming laptop, with the latter we get much more power for the same price.
But the same thing happens if we compare the cost of a Windows Ultrabook with a gaming laptop. Quite simply, MacBook’s don’t play in this segment.
So we can come to this conclusion: Apple MacBook’s are just as overpriced as a high-end Windows Ultrabook.
For those who do not want to spend that much, there are cheaper alternatives in the case of Ultrabook’s, while Apple does not provide any options below $1,000.
In addition, it is no longer so easy to compare the price of a MacBook with a PC based on its specifications.
This is because now Apple uses its own processors, they don’t use Intel like they used to. We could say that the processor is very powerful and the graphics card is not.
See Also: Are 4K Laptops Worth it
We must also review the special features of the MacBook. There are really only two things we can’t find in a Windows laptop (other than the chips themselves):
- MacOS operating system: We can install it on a PC thanks to Hackintosh, but it is not very viable. This operating system seeks intuitiveness and stability, many users love it but there are also those who don’t like its interface and who miss some feature that are present in other OS.
- Apple ecosystem: This is perhaps the most interesting. If you have other Apple products, Macs unleash the full potential of Airdrop, iCloud, and syncing multiple things like calls, messages, focus states, and more. The Mac, iPhone, iPad and Watch are very good companions.
After seeing how much an Apple laptop costs, you should assess and take these two points into account. But there are also other advantages of MacBook’s that we can find in Windows Ultrabook’s, even better:
- Better battery: Apple laptops have a generally excellent battery, thanks to a combination of high capacity and high efficiency. Normally they give practically for the whole day.
- Screen: MacBook Retina displays are generally good quality IPS panels with a very good brightness. There are already plenty of OLED laptops out there, which could be considered better.
- External construction: The materials, the case, the keyboard, the trackpad… everything is great on the MacBook
With that said, let’s take a look at the current prices for Apple laptops, both new and used.
MacBook Air and Pro: How much does a new Apple Laptop cost
We are going to review what the MacBook offer is in August-September 2022, and thus review how much a totally new Apple laptop purchased from the official store costs. Let’s order them from cheapest to most expensive.
- MacBook Air Chip M1 (base price) from $1,219.
- MacBook Air Chip M2 (base price) from $1,519
- We went to the MacBook Pro, 13″ with Chip M2 (base price) from $1,619
- 14″ MacBook Pro, base price with M1 PRO chip from $2,249.
- 16″ MacBook Pro, base price with M1 PRO chip from $2,749 and base price with M1 Max from $3,849
As we can see, if we do not want to spend too much we have the possibility of acquiring a MacBook Air for “only” $1,219.
See Also: How to Make a Stolen Laptop Untraceable
The quotes are because the SSD storage is only 256GB, not expandable, and the RAM is “only” 8GB, again the quotes they come because macOS consumes less RAM than Windows, but it’s still quite a bit.
If we go as far as possible, we would have to take the 16-inch MacBook Pro and its M1 Max chip, designed for high-end content creation thanks to an especially powerful 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU. The most exaggerated configuration of this laptop amounts to $6,839.
Second hand Apple laptop Prices: Are they worth it?
The other option we have to save and reduce how much our Apple laptop costs is to go directly to the second hand.
We have for example the legendary Back Market store, which many trust for their refurbished Apple products. There, we have MacBook’s from only $265, let’s review some highlights:
- MacBook Air from 2012 for $265, surely it is 100% functional but with an outdated system and it is no longer a very interesting piece of equipment. At least it has an SSD.
- 2017 MacBook Air for $412
- 2017 MacBook Pro for $690
- And we arrived in 2023 with a MacBook Air M1 for $1,100, a disproportionate price that exceeds the new price that we found before on Amazon.
The other interesting option for second-hand Apple, apart from the platforms already known as Wallapop, is to resort to the refurbished ones from the company itself.
See Also: How to Make Laptop Screen Brighter than Max
As we have seen, the differential characteristics of a MacBook can quite justify its price, especially if you are going to take advantage of the operating system and the ecosystem with the other products of the apple company.
So, knowing this, we have reviewed how much an Apple laptop costs in different ways, and have come to this conclusion:
- You can get a MacBook in the official store from $1,219.
- If we go to Amazon, we could get it for just over $1,000
- In second-hand stores, the price is around 200-300 USD for very old MacBook’s, and from 600 USD for those that are somewhat more recent.
In my opinion, Apple laptops are far from the most overpriced of the brand. We can get them pretty cheap without making too many compromises on quality.
For example, the cheapest MacBook Air will continue to have a very similar build, battery, and screen to the more expensive ones.
On the other hand, if we go to the cheapest iPhone, we will have a product that even leaves something to be desired.
What do you think of Apple laptops? Do you see its price justified? How do they position themselves with respect to the competition and the company’s other products? We read you in the comments.
Faizan Ali is a Master in Computer Sciences and has been writing content for computing, gaming and mobile technologies since 2016. He has written content for number of online magazines, websites and blogs and now writes for “the buyers trend”. Feel free to contact him for any sort of writing for your technology related blog, website or magazine.