Apple retail stores are seeing an unprecedented boom in Mac trade-ins this week, with volumes surging more than 100% compared to recent averages. The catalyst? Massive demand for the breakthrough MacBook Neo, Apple’s most affordable laptop ever starting at just $599, alongside the newly released M5 MacBook Air. Customers are primarily trading in older, entry-level Macs to snag these high-value upgrades, signaling strong enthusiasm for the new affordable lineup powered by state-of-the-art Apple Silicon.
Hartley Charlton for MacRumors:
A reliable source speaking to MacRumors revealed that the quantity of Macs traded in at Apple retail stores this week increased over 100% compared to previous weeks, likely driven by demand for the MacBook Neo and M5 MacBook Air.
Older, low-end models dominated this week’s trade-ins, suggesting that customers are upgrading to the MacBook Neo and the M5 MacBook Air, rather than the new MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
The scale of increase is noticeably different from most previous Mac launches. While the launches of new Macs understandably cause a slight surge of trade-ins, the increase is typically much smaller than the one seen this week, suggesting heightened consumer enthusiasm for the new models. Evidence suggests that this is the biggest surge in Mac trade-ins since the launch of the first Apple silicon Macs between 2020 and 2021.
MacDailyNews Take: Despite all of the digital ink spilled over MacBook Neo the past several days, we bet there was a huge contingent of pent-up demand for the M5 MacBook Air starting at just $1,099 for the 13-inch model and $1,299 for the 15-inch model. The M5 MacBook Air is just an insanely great value!
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