Apple Lowers Price of New M4 MacBook Air Despite Tariffs
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US President Donald Trump just imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, along with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports. While these moves appear to be triggering a trade war, Apple just made a somewhat unexpected move that we already touched upon.
This week, Apple released the M4 MacBook Air. Many publications, including us, have reported surprise at the new base price of $999 for the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air. Last year’s 13-inch M3 MacBook Air started at $1,099, while Apple kept the older 2022 M2 MacBook Air on the market at the lower price point.
Paying $100 less for Apple’s newest and most powerful chip amidst the tariff turmoil is a reason for pause and celebration. But there’s more: a quick check of Apple’s pre-order page also shows the base 13-inch M4 MacBook Air, with 256 GB of storage and 16 GB of memory sells for only $899 with Apple’s Education Savings program.
What’s Apple’s Education Savings program? According to Apple, current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff and homeschool teachers of all grade levels qualify. You’ll need to provide proof in the form of an academic ID form or your academic photo ID to get the discount.
The new M4 MacBook Air is available in both in 13 and 15-inch sizes and can be pre-ordered from Apple now. It will be in Apple Stores and other retailers on March 12. You get up to 18 hours of battery life, support for two external displays — even with the lid open — and Apple Intelligence with all models.
Is Apple capitalizing on the press and willingly taking the financial hit? With the Education Savings discount, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air starts at $899 or $74.91/month at 0% APR, or $999 or $83.25/month without it. Either way, we’re happy to see Apple is reducing prices where possible. Hopefully, this precedent will continue with other new product launches this year. Stay tuned to find out!
