Apple’s official website’s M1 MacBook Air is reduced by 1,000 yuan!

Apple's self-developed ARM architecture chip has been released for more than half a year, and three Mac computers using Apple M1 chips have also been shipped on a large scale. With powerful performance and resource allocation algorithms, although some software still has compatibility issues at this stage, Mac products using M1 chips are still favored by many consumers.

But looking at the laptop market, despite the outstanding cost-effectiveness of the M1 Mac, the high entry threshold still excludes many potential users. Even the 8+256GB MacBook Air laptop used for light office work has an official website price of 7,999 yuan, and it still costs 7,099 yuan after Pinduoduo's 10 billion yuan subsidy. You must know that in the Windows camp, 7,000 yuan can buy a computer that is as good as a MacBook Air in terms of performance or portability. In comparison, the MacBook Air with M1 still needs to improve its core competitiveness.

Since the performance cannot be changed, the only option is to lower the price. On March 4, Apple China launched a batch of officially refurbished M1 MacBook Airs on its online store. Compared with the "retail version" sold by the Apple Store, the price of this batch of "official refurbished versions" is generally about 1,000 yuan lower. From a price point of view, it is cheaper than the education discounts on Pinduoduo or the official website, and can even use the official 24-period interest-free installment plan, which can be said to be the best choice for "getting on board" with M1.

But what is the price of 1,000 yuan cheaper?

What is an official refurbished phone?

Let's first answer everyone's biggest question about refurbished phones: What are refurbished phones? Does Apple really repair broken devices and resell them?

The answer is no. Generally speaking, Apple's "official refurbished" machines are refurbished machines that were damaged when (or before) they were delivered to users. In other words, the source of official refurbished machines is usually DoA (Defective on Arrival) machines. For example, if an unfortunate forklift driver "overturns" a pallet of computers in an Apple warehouse, or an unlucky logistics driver is rear-ended while delivering goods, the damaged goods are "DoA" models.

For cost considerations, brands usually recycle these DoA devices and find out the ones that are worth repairing and refurbish them. In terms of condition, these devices are already damaged when they arrive, so they have naturally not been used by users. Therefore, the term "second-hand refurbished" that is circulated on the Internet is not accurate - if users have not activated and used them, how can they be considered second-hand phones?

But everyone knows that in addition to retail and official refurbished phones, Apple also has another category called "official replacement phones." Although the names of "official refurbished phones" and "official replacement phones" are only one letter different, they are actually fundamentally different - in theory, official refurbished phones are "unsold devices", but official replacement phones need to be discussed in different situations.

For devices that enjoy the national three guarantees policy, whether it is an iPad or an iPhone, because the three guarantees stipulate that "new products should be provided when replacing goods", the "exchanged" mobile phones from Apple after-sales service are all brand new mobile phones with simple white packaging. At the same time, according to the three guarantees:

After the goods are exchanged, the validity period of the three-guarantee policy will be recalculated from the date of exchange. The seller will stamp the back of the invoice, indicate the date of exchange, and provide a new three-guarantee certificate.

This means that the three-guarantee replacement will reset the three-guarantee time.

However, for devices purchased overseas that do not enjoy the "three guarantees policy" (such as the Japanese iPhone

, US version iMac or Hong Kong version iPad), because the products are not subject to the three guarantees, they do not need to comply with the three guarantees clause "the seller shall be responsible for replacing new optional parts for consumers free of charge" during repair. This means that from the perspective of relevant documents, devices that do not enjoy the three guarantees policy can use non-new parts during repair, and the three guarantees period will not be reset. This means that the "official refurbished machine" "replaced" with overseas version equipment is not necessarily a brand new machine.

What is the difference between official refurbished products and retail products?

Since these computers have never been used by consumers, does that mean that the 1,000 yuan saved is just the cost of the "color box packaging"? If that is true, wouldn't everyone buy "official refurbished computers"?

Of course not. If we carefully look at the description of the official refurbished machine in the Apple Store, it is not difficult to find that behind the 1,000 yuan price difference of the official refurbished machine, there are more "secret" terms: Click on the purchase link of a refurbished MacBook Air at random, and we can see this computer in the description:

Enjoy the one-year limited warranty provided by Apple;

Enjoy Apple's 14-day returns policy.

But if we click on this "One-Year Limited Warranty" and find the details of the "Apple One (1) Year Limited Warranty", we can see the following statement in the second paragraph: "Apple's One (1) Year Limited Warranty applies to Apple Certified Refurbished Products. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple Certified Refurbished Products expressly waive the above statutory rights."

In the section "How will Apple fulfill its warranty commitment?", Apple clearly stated: "Apple can use certified refurbished parts to repair certified refurbished products." This means that the parts used to repair your "official refurbished computer" may not be brand new, but may be "previously broken, but repaired" parts.

Also, this one-year limited warranty does not reset your warranty period - according to Apple: the warranty period is the longer of the following periods:

(i) the remaining term of this Warranty;

 

(ii) ninety (90) days from the date of replacement or repair;

 

or (iii) the period required by applicable law.

Although Apple has also left a "safety net" clause for itself, saying that Apple will be exempted from certain responsibilities to the maximum extent of the law, how many people will think of the relevant provisions of the "Three Guarantees" when it comes to actual after-sales service? To give a simple example, how many people know that according to the regulations, "if a mobile phone has a performance failure during the "Three Guarantees" period and still cannot be used normally after two repairs, it should be directly replaced"?

So the official translation is doomed to fail?

So, since there is such a difference in after-sales service between the two, does the official refurbished product mean that "whoever buys it will be cheated"? That's not the case. As mentioned earlier, Apple is still subject to relevant laws, and even the most basic "one-year limited warranty" can basically cover the warranty scenarios of daily use. At the same time, Apple also mentioned in its support page that "three guarantees and limited warranty" are not mutually exclusive. On Apple's support page, Apple also lists a detailed comparison of different after-sales services.

Moreover, Apple's refurbished products have the same 14-day return policy as the retail version. But if you have any reservations about the one-year warranty, don't forget that Apple also has the "ultimate warranty option" - AppleCare+. As long as you buy AppleCare+ (AC+), AC+'s complete after-sales service will cover the one-year limited warranty service time and provide up to 3 years of technical support and accidental warranty. For consumers who are going to buy AC+, compared with the original retail version, the refurbished product is obviously a more cost-effective choice.

Because Apple has a "bottom line clause", if the warranty is blocked, we can also take legal action to protect our legal rights and interests. Moreover, Apple refurbished products can only be purchased in the store on Apple's official website, which means that when it comes to warranty, we don't need to be "played by football" by third-party e-commerce platforms and merchants, and can directly find Apple to request after-sales service. This is also one of the "hidden benefits" of purchasing in the official store.

The emergence of refurbished models provides consumers with a variety of choices, and also reduces the amount of "electronic waste" to a certain extent, and lowers the "entry threshold" for consumers. From this perspective, refurbished products actually have their own merits. But before buying, I still recommend that you consult the official pre-sales customer service first, and buy the product according to your actual needs. If the performance cannot be brought into play, it is just a worthless selling point. "Don't buy it and get a 100% discount" is the biggest discount for consumption.