Finally made up my mind to get this mac and turns out its out of stock everywhere, is it still available anywhere in India?

How is the model suddenly out of stock everywhere? Is it going to come back anytime soon?

Finally made up my mind to get this mac and turns out its out of stock everywhere, is it still available anywhere in India?

How is the model suddenly out of stock everywhere? Is it going to come back anytime soon?

TL;DR:
Cybersecurity/CSE student in Bangalore looking for a long-term MacBook upgrade under ₹1.3L. Workflow includes VAPT, embedded/firmware security, Docker/K8s, coding (Python/C/Rust), light creative work, and eventual local LLM experimentation. Already have a gaming laptop, so this would be a dedicated productivity/dev machine for the next 5+ years.

Wanted the Best Deals i can get in India or US, Torn between stretching for ProMotion/MBP vs getting better value with an Air. Looking for realistic advice from people who actually work in similar domains.

Hey everyone,

Need second opinions from people who actually work in this space and understand these workflows.

I’m a CSE Cybersecurity student in Bangalore, and I’m planning my next laptop purchase likely moving into the Apple ecosystem for productivity/dev work while keeping my current Windows machine for gaming.

Current Laptop

ASUS TUF F15 FX506LH
i5-10300H • GTX 1650 • 16GB RAM • 15.6"

Planning to keep this as my gaming/general-purpose Windows machine.

My Workflow

Primary use cases would include:

• VAPT / pentesting
• Firmware & embedded security
  • ARM TrustZone
  • HSMs / hardware security modules
• Development in:
  • Python
  • C
  • Rust
• VS Code
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• CI/CD pipelines
• General Linux-heavy workflows

I also do occasional/light creative work:

• Lightroom
• Photoshop
• Premiere Pro / Final Cut
• Light video editing (not daily professional editing)

Constraints / Requirements

Budget

• Hard ceiling: ₹1.3L
• Can stretch slightly only if the value difference is genuinely substantial

Longevity

• Planning to keep this machine for 5+ years
• Want something that’ll age well and still feel solid years later

Purchase Timeline

• Flexible
• Can wait 3–6 months for the right deal

Display

• Minimum: 14"
• Prefer: 15"
• I strongly prefer 120Hz/ProMotion, but I know that comes at a serious premium

Storage

• 512GB minimum

External Displays

Currently using one 1080p monitor, but I want to future-proof for:

• dual 1440p/2K monitors eventually

I’m completely fine using clamshell mode

I do not need dual external displays while keeping the internal display active.

LLM / AI Usage

Not running local models right now, but I likely will in the future.

Potentially:

• 13B models locally
• maybe even 33B eventually

Not sure how much this should influence RAM/storage decisions today.

Ecosystem Situation

Currently have:

• iPad

Potential future move:

• iPhone

So Continuity/Handoff/AirDrop/etc. would actually be useful to me

Buying Options

India Purchase

If buying locally, I can use:

• GST invoice/business claim OR
• Apple Education pricing

(Confirmed those don’t stack.)

Questions:

• Any other stackable deals?
• Has Apple India Back to School 2026 been announced yet?
• If BTS returns with free AirPods like last year, does that stack with education pricing or is it either/or?

US / Import Option

Can potentially get one through friends abroad, so:

• no customs concerns

My friend got MacBook Pro M3 Pro 18GB/512GB for ~₹1.3L from the US last year so was seeing if theres a probability i could get pro some how

Also trying to understand whether waiting for:

• Prime Day (July)
• Black Friday (November)

could realistically make:

• M4/M5 Air
• or even Pro models

hit worthwhile price points again.

How deep are the discounts actually in practice?

I also really like the idea of ProMotion/120Hz.

But the pricing gap is brutal.

For example:

• MacBook Pro 14" M5 Pro in India starts around ₹2.5L
• which is almost ₹1L above my ceiling even after discounts

Import pricing helps, but it’s still a significant stretch.

So the real question is:

Is the 60Hz display on the 15" MacBook Air genuinely noticeable coming from a 144Hz laptop?

My current ASUS TUF runs at 144Hz, so that’s one thing I’m genuinely worried about.

At the same time, I’m trying to be rational about:

• actual workflow impact
• thermals
• longevity
• battery life
• portability
• value per rupee

Would really appreciate opinions from people using Macs for:

• security research
• backend/devops work
• containers/K8s
• embedded work
• or heavier dev workflows in general.

Also completely open to people disagreeing with my current thinking and convincing me otherwise.