Everyone knows that Mac computers and Apple products in general aren’t exactly cheap. At least, if we compare them to other alternatives like Windows PCs, or the latest arrivals, Google Chromebooks.
For some time now, with the arrival of the proprietary Apple Silicon microarchitecture chip, Apple seems to have managed to significantly lower its prices in exchange for offering more features. However, it is clear that you will hardly find a laptop that costs less than $ 1000.
If you’re on a tight budget and want to buy an Apple device with macOS, there are some options available at discounted prices. Obviously, will not match the latest versions of Apple, but these are equipment that the brand keeps for sale that can meet your needs.
However, the announcements of the new 24-inch iMacs, MacBook Pro 14 and 16 and Mac mini with Apple Silicon M1 chipset, slightly lowered the prices compared to the modality of computers with Intel Core, with which the Apple offer did not. never before was so interesting, spacious and well priced.
Next, we wanted to bring you closer to the equipment configurations that we consider to be the most interesting if you are planning to buy a Mac computer with macOS. We show you the different options and which of them are the cheapest and the cheapest if your budget is very tight.
Follow our recommendations and buying advice. If, on the other hand, you have a big budget, we recommend that you check out the article on the best MacBooks of 2021.
Also, don’t forget that in the coming weeks we will be celebrating a new edition of Black Friday, the annual event in which the greatest number of offers and discounts are focused on the purchase of new products. That day, you can probably find one of these teams for sale.
The best cheap Apple Macs
Mac mini with M1 chip – The cheapest macOS device of all
- Advantages
- Compact size
- Price and performance ratio
- The inconvenients
- Accessories and screen supplement
- Extension possibilities
New Mac mini Apple Silicon with M1 chipset It was introduced by the company last year, making it the cheapest Apple computer with macOS of anything you can buy, whether it has an M1 chip or an Intel Core.
As an aspect to emphasize, this is the only Apple desktop computer with an M1 chip that you can buy today for less than $ 1000. Now the processor triples the processing speed with a chip containing 8 cores.
There are two configurations you can already purchase and they come with 8GB of unified memory, built into the card, in addition to Gigabit Ethernet connectivity. Both have the same M1 chip, so they differ in the rest of RAM and storage components.
You may be able to find for sale the Mac mini with Intel Core i5 processor at 3 GHz and Turbo Boost at 4.1 GHz, accompanied by 8 GB of RAM and 512 of storage, but at a higher price than the M1, which makes its purchase worthless.
MacBook Air with M1 Chip – The Best Mac to Take Anywhere
- Advantages
- The lightest macOS
- Versatility
- Great autonomy
- The inconvenients
As you may already know, the 2020 MacBook Air was the first Mac with the M1 processor announced by Apple, alongside the 13-inch Mac Mini and MacBook Pro.
Thanks to the inclusion of the M1 processor, its performance gained integers, as we can well see in our in-depth review. In this sense, the CPU should be 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, and up to 5 times faster graphically.
Physically, it has a similar appearance and connection ports, but differs from the generation of Intel chips because Apple decided not to include an active fan in the MacBook Air, which allows the dissipation design to be passive and silent.
It comes with different possibilities for customization, such as 8 or 16 GB of RAM, as well as storage that you can scale from 256 GB to 2 TB. Still according to Apple, it offers 15 hours of web browsing and 18 hours of web browsing. video playback.
New Macbook Air Its starting price is $ 1,129 / MXN $ 25,999, or $ 70 less in Europe and $ 1,000 more in Mexico than the previous generation. Apple long ago removed the MacBook Air with an Intel chip from its Apple Store.
24-inch iMac – The Mac designed for the whole family
- Advantages
- Superior performance
- Greater connectivity
- The inconvenients
- Integrated screen without height adjustment
The new 24-inch iMac family is bigger, brighter and much better in performance, with a variety of colors never seen before. Which configuration is the best for you?
And is this the new one iMac
This way, unlike the Mac Mini, think carefully about what configuration you need before purchasing it as subsequent expansions are extremely limited. The cheapest 24-inch iMac starts at $ 1,449.
So the biggest problem It’s the fact that you can get a lot more bang for your buck if you look at the Mac mini, which while lacks the 4.5K display, offers pretty much the same features for almost half the price.
MacBook Pro 14 (2021) – Best Mac Buy To Pay Long Term
- Advantages
- Power and performance
- Increased number of ports and connectivity
- The inconvenients
- Higher price than the rest
- Future purchase
Beyond the new equipment designs, with a larger screen size and display area, if there is one thing that stands out for both the MacBook Pro 14 and the MacBook Pro 16, it is is because of the more ports and connectors they now offer. .
Both models come with three Thunderbolt 4 ports for connecting peripherals of all kinds at maximum speed. An SDXC card slot is also added for reading Memory cards, an HDMI port for monitors and televisions and an audio jack.
The highlight in the software arena is that all Apple applications for Mac are already optimized to work natively with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, with over 10,000 applications being part of the Universal platform.
The two base configurations that appear on Apple’s website have the new M1 Pro chip, being able to choose between the new M1 Max chip with 10 CPU and 32 GPU cores, or the M1 Pro. Cheapest MacBook Pro 14 option starts at $ 2,249
Cheap Mac Buying Tips
If you’re in the market for a new Mac, the Mac mini is once again Apple’s cheapest device with the arrival of last year’s Apple Silicon M1 chip setup. Apple has updated all available configurations, so the cheapest starts from just $ 799.
By ship soon, you might think the entry-level iMac is a good option, especially if you’re planning to buy a device that you won’t have to carry around. Despite purchasing the keyboard, mouse and monitor separately, this is definitely the home equipment if you don’t need mobility.
In the case of the MacBook Air, Apple added the M1 chip models to its catalog and removed the MacBook Air with Intel Core from online sale. In this way, the so far cheaper model with 10th gen Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD memory can be found cheaply on Amazon while supplies last.
You can read all the news here MacBook Air, in our review of this new edition.
Another alternative is to consult and be attentive to the offers of Refurbished or refurbished computers available from the Apple Store. Apple offers them at an attractive price, especially considering the fact that they retain the official warranty of the brand.
We left out the list teams like him 12 inch MacBook, given that Apple made it clear when upgrading its Macbook Air line, that this family has passed away. In fact, you can still find a model for sale in department stores but only with Intel Core chips.
Likewise, going for an iMac Pro doesn’t seem like a great idea if what you’re looking for is the Mac with the best features at an entry-level price.
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