In the Midst of Ramageddon, You Can Buy a MacBook Neo for $599.
The global memory crisis , commonly referred to as RAMageddon, continues to push up the prices of virtually all electronics. Even Apple, a company with a market capitalization of $4.5 trillion, can’t survive the market upheaval without raising prices . Furthermore, Apple is having trouble producing enough Mac computers to meet demand, as you can see if you try to buy a MacBook Air right now . While buying used tech is always a good idea, it makes more sense now than ever.
It just so happens that if you’re looking for Apple’s budget Mac, the MacBook Neo, now is the perfect time to buy a used one. Apple initially launched the MacBook Neo for $599, a fantastic price for a fully featured Mac. But due to a RAM shortage, the company raised the starting price to $699—not bad, but certainly not as attractive as it was just five months ago when it launched.
MacBook Neo has appeared in Apple refurbished stores.
But now the MacBook Neo is officially available directly from Apple at its original price of $599—provided you buy it refurbished. However, unlike buying used equipment from a friend or at a random store, Apple’s refurbished store operates similarly to buying new: the company claims to subject “certified refurbished” products to a “rigorous” refurbishment process, including testing, cleaning, and repackaging. Refurbished Apple products also come with the same one-year limited warranty as new products, as well as a 14-day return policy, and you can optionally purchase AppleCare.
So, buying a MacBook Neo from a refurbished store should be virtually the same as buying new—except you’ll spend $100 more. You’ll get the same A18 Pro processor with 8GB of RAM, a 13-inch display, a 256GB SSD, and two USB ports (one USB 3 and one USB 2). If you need more storage and an integrated Touch ID sensor, you can opt for the 512GB model, also refurbished, for $679 .
As technology becomes more expensive and companies produce fewer products for sale, it’s worth checking out Apple’s refurbished store to see other devices. Nearly every product category is represented, so you can explore the selection before buying a device at full (and inflated) price.