Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Deals

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

October Prime Day: MacBook Air price crashes to $799

Bruce Brown
By
Apple MacBook Air M1 open, on a table.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

If you’ve been waiting for a sale on the Apple M1 MacBook Air, here’s a great deal you may not have expected. Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, also known as Prime Day October, has plenty of Prime Day deals. During this special event you buy the M1 MacBook Air today for just $799, down $200 from the usual $999.

Why you should buy the Apple MacBook Air

Amazon’s deal on the M1 MacBook Air is an easy best choice among the several Prime Day MacBook deals. The high-performance processor is the key to the M1 MacBook Air’s appeal.

Our MacBook Air M1 review dubbed it Editors’ Choice saying it “finally fulfills the promise of a small laptop without performance restraints.” The trick is the divided 8-core CPU. Four cores do the heavy lifting for the most demanding tasks while the remaining four cores handle less-intense chores that can hinder rapid execution and eat up battery power. Apple isn’t shy about the M1’s performance, either, stating that it performs up to 3.5 times faster than the earlier generation but preserves battery life

Related

. In addition to the CPU, the M1 integrates a fast graphics processing unit (GPU), a Neural Engine, and more. The GPU handles graphics up to five times faster than previous generations and the Neural Engine rips through apps that use machine learning for tasks such as image retouching and audio filtering.

“Absolutely fantastic,” wrote Digital Trends’ reviewer, continuing praise beyond the vital core CPU performance to give special notice to the M1 MacBook Air’s battery life — up to 18 hours per charge — and top-quality keyboard and touchpad. Put those elements together and you can get a ton of work done, unconcerned about running out of power, and your hands won’t be as fatigued as with lesser laptops.

The M1 MacBook Air’s performance leap is supported by upgrades in all components, from 8GB of unified memory to handle the rapid processing and the laptop’s 13.3-inch screen and 2560-by-1600 resolution Retina Display. The feature list goes on and on with fast Wi-Fi, keyboard backlighting, quiet, fanless operation, advanced privacy and security, and two ultra-high bandwidth Thunderbolt ports.

To top off its performance chops, the M1 MacBook Air is compatible with major apps from primary platforms such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Google Drive in addition to Apple’s rich software library. If you can use an iPhone or an iPad, you can start right up with the MacBook Air with no learning curve.

You won’t want to hesitate on this short-term sale because your chance to save $200 on the M1 MacBook Air won’t last beyond Prime Day October 2022. Instead of the regular $999, you can buy this versatile MacBook Air laptop for just $799.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Latest Apple Pencil is down to its cheapest-ever price
Someone using an Apple Pencil with the 10th Gen iPad.

If you just grabbed a new iPad, be sure to pair it with the Apple Pencil. It will help you get the full utility out of your expensive new device. This week is actually the best time you could buy one of the best styluses out there. Right now the stylus is only $89, $40 off its usual price of $129. There's never been a better discount on this Apple Pencil on Amazon. If the price isn't enough to convince you, let us tell you why you'll love the Apple Pencil.

Why You Should Buy the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen
Because it can be a little confusing, it's always a good idea to read our guide on which Apple Pencil works with which iPad. You can also get a little help using iPadOS's Scribble feature, which is incredibly useful when you have a stylus handy. Basically, it's a great way to leave notes for yourself about onscreen content or reading, but you will need an Apple Pencil, either 1st Gen or 2nd Gen. Either way, this deal that offers the Apple Pencil 2nd Gen for cheaper than ever is the perfect time to get yourself ready to scribble.

Read more
HP’s latest sale drops the price of this 17-inch laptop to $330
A woman video chats with her friends on an HP Envy laptop.

If you just need a cheap laptop, but you want a bit more functionality than a Chromebook, look to HP. They have some great cheap laptops that often get even cheaper thanks to great laptop deals. For instance, this 17-inch laptop from HP is down to only $320, a $180 discount from its usual $500. This isn't a high-end laptop, but it has more than enough power for daily web browsing, writing, watching movies and more. Let us tell you why we love it.

Why you should buy the HP 17z
Far from one of the best laptops, the HP 17z laptop is still a decent bet if you simply can't afford much. It has an AMD Athlon Gold processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB of SSD storage. That's basic stuff but it'll run Windows 11 Home which is included if you don't need it to juggle multiple apps at once or anything too demanding. This is very much a laptop for sticking to the basics so it's well-suited if you want to give your child their first laptop without spending a lot, or you're looking for something to browse the web or work on some documents, at home or on the move (although the 17-inch screen may be a little too big to lug around comfortably).

Read more
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon just got a massive $1,800 price cut
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 laptop, opened with a colorful wallpaper on the screen.

You can always count on Lenovo for incredible laptop deals. We'll let this discount do the talking for us: The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is $1,200 off, bringing the price from $3,609 down to $1,732. There's a reason Lenovo laptop deals are considered the best in the business. This is a powerful laptop that will be able to handle virtually anything you throw at it. Read on to see the details.

Why you should buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
Thanks to Lenovo being one of the best laptop brands out there, it knows how to construct excellent business laptops. That's the angle that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is pursuing although it'll also work well for students too. It has a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, along with 8GB of memory and 256GB of SSD storage. At its previous price, this may not have been so remarkable but at the reduced price, it's worth considering given other benefits. There's a 14-inch WUXGA screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and 400 nits of brightness. Anti-glare properties further help here.

Read more