Apple is one of the best laptop brands out there. If you’ve grown up using the operating system and can’t move to Windows, or you’re just impressed by the high-quality internal components and gorgeous designs, you know you’re an Apple fan for life. They’re perfect for creative professionals and casual users alike. These devices are significant investments though, so shoppers who are interested in them should be on the lookout for any discount they can get. We’re here to help with that — we’ve rounded up some of the best MacBook deals you can take advantage of right now, but you need to hurry because there’s no telling how long they’ll stay online.
Best MacBook deals
- Apple MacBook Air 2020 (M1 Chip, 13-inch, 256GB SSD) —
- Apple MacBook Air 2022 (M2, 13-inch, 256GB SSD) —
- Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (M1 Pro, 16-inch, 512GB SSD) — $2,100, was $2,499
- Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (M1 Pro, 14-inch, 1TB SSD) — $2,199, was $2,499
Apple MacBook Air 2020 (M1, 13-inch, 256GB SSD) — $800, was $1,000
Why Buy:
- Retina display
- M1 chip
- Beautiful Apple design
- Big Sur iOS
If you love Apple but hate their high price points, the MacBook Air is for you. It’s a classic laptop option for students and casual users who love iOS and the Apple aesthetic but can’t afford the more expensive laptops. That’s not to say this is a flimsy machine. In fact, it has Apple’s M1 chip, which is a powerful processor and was once top of the line for Apple. It has 8GB of RAM, average for a mid-range computer, and a fairly light 256GB memory. The one thing Apple never skimps out on is the display. The screen on the 2020 MacBook Air is a gorgeous retina display, the same technology on your iPhone. It’s worth shelling out the Apple price just for that, since you spend hours at a time staring at it. This one has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, so anything short of 4K will look its best.
Apple MacBook Air 2022 (M2, 13-inch, 256GB SSD) — $1,099, was $1,199
Why Buy:
- 2560 x 1664 resolution retina display
- M2 chip
- 18 hours of battery life
- Up to 512GB of SSD storage
If you love the sleek look of the MacBook Air, but the M2 chip just doesn’t cut it power-wise, the MacBook Air 2022 model has your back. It has several improvements over previous models, both in the design and internal components. Arguably the most important improvement is the switch to the M2 chip. It’s a speedy chip that can handle a lot more demanding processes than the M1 on the 2020 MacBook Air can. The outside of the laptop has been redesigned too. It’s now the lightest it’s ever been, at only 2.7 pounds. Technology in general has improved by leaps and bounds in the past two years, and the MacBook Air reflects that. You can upgrade the processor to up to ten cores from the 2020’s eight, and you now have the option to get 512GB of storage instead of being capped at 256GB. The retina display, an Apple staple, is now 13.6-inches and runs at 2560 x 1664 resolution.
Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (M1 Pro, 16-inch, 512GB SSD) — $2,100, was $2,499
Why Buy:
- 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- Narrow bezels
- Amazing laptop for video calls
- Abundance of ports
While Apple’s M2 chip is the newer one, the M1 Pro has shown superior performance, which you can enjoy on the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro 2021. The laptop’s Liquid Retina XDR display offers extreme dynamic range and contrast ratio, with a notch that houses the camera module and a host of other sensors to be able to decrease the size of the bezels surrounding the display. The laptop’s enhanced 1080p FaceTime HD camera, six-speaker sound system with spatial audio, and studio-quality mic array will make you look and sound amazing during video calls. There’s also an abundance of ports, including a MagSafe 3 port, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC card slot. Apple promises up to 21 hours of battery life for the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro 2021, which comes with a 512GB SSD.
Apple MacBook Pro 2021 (M1 Pro, 14-inch, 1TB SSD) — $2,199, was $2,499
Why Buy:
- Better portability with 14-inch display
- Narrow bezels remain
- Same ports as larger model
- Massive storage space
If you’re willing to get a smaller display for the 2021 MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip for double the storage space, then this is the deal for you. The screen still features Liquid Retina XDR technology, with narrow bezels thanks to moving components to the notch. This version of the 2021 MacBook Pro also comes with the same 1080p FaceTime HD camera and lineup of ports. The 1TB storage space, however, will prove to be important to professionals such as graphic designers and video editors, as their work deals with large files. While the 14-inch screen may be too small for some users, the laptop still packs amazing power, especially when combined with MacOS Ventura.
When are the best MacBook deals?
If you’re looking for a new MacBook, it’s quite likely that you need one right now. When your existing laptop or MacBook has failed, you rarely have the luxury of waiting for the next seasonal sale to replace it. If that’s the case, there’s no harm in buying now. There are always worthy MacBook deals going on if you know where to look, so just pick the model that’s best for you, find the best price you can, and enjoy. However, if you’re thinking long-term and are able to wait, there may be better times of the year to buy a new MacBook.
Prime Day happens every summer as a celebration of Amazon’s birthday. However, it’s not just Amazon that gets in on this action, as many other retailers also run their own concurrent sales. You’ll need to wait a few months to see what happens, but Prime Day is often a great time to take advantage of deep discounts on tech and score a MacBook for less. Markdowns on Apple products aren’t always huge during this event but with some luck and good timing, you can catch something great on sale.
Otherwise, there’s always Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Again, there’s no guarantee of what the discounts will be, but technology is often the star of these shows. The catch? It’s not until the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s not till the end of November. That’s a long time to wait to buy a new MacBook if you need one soon. Worse, you may find your disposable income a lot lower because you’re doing holiday shopping for other people as well. Holiday shopping can always be stressful which is why it might be a better idea to buy right now. After all, you get more time to enjoy the delights of your MacBook if you buy today, and the MacBook deals we’ve found are still plenty good.
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