The Amazon Prime Early Access Sale will soon be over — it’s the last day of the event — so you’re running out of time to capitalize on the best Prime Day MacBook deals. This sale brought with it another round of insane discounts as a follow-up to the Prime Day deals that happened in July. If you missed out during the original event, you’re planning to start your holiday shopping earlier this year, or you’re just looking to get your hands on a new Mac laptop and don’t want to wait for the Black Friday rush, there are some fantastic October Prime Day MacBook deals up for grabs.
Amazon isn’t the only retailer kicking off big promotions and discounts. Be sure to shop around for more excellent offers. The Walmart October Rollbacks event, for example, is basically just a Walmart Prime Day sale. It’s live now too!
Of course, it’s no secret that Prime deals are typically as good as or sometimes even better than Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but Amazon’s big annual event usually happens in the summer, as it’s a celebration of the online retailer’s birthday in July. Amazon delivering another Prime Day event in its October Prime Early Access Sale is a welcome treat for shoppers, as you don’t have to wait until late November (when Black Friday rolls around on the 25th of that month) to score some great deals on brand-name tech. As you an imagine, Prime Day laptop deals are some of the most sought-after offerings during these sales, and that includes Apple’s excellent lineup of MacBooks. We’ve even rounded up the best Prime Day MacBooks deals to shop today, which you can check out below.
Today’s best Prime Day MacBook Deals
MacBook Air M1 — $850 at checkout, was $999
The MacBook Air M1 is the ideal system for those looking for the most portable MacOS solution without missing out on muscle. It sports Apple’s M1 processor which means you get an 8-core CPU that delivers performance up to 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, all while using far less power. While this isn’t a system for gaming, it will more than ably power through any work task imaginable. It’s perfect for juggling windows, image editing, and most anything else you could think of doing while on the move. 8GB of unified memory certainly helps out here, backing up that beefy CPU to allow you to multitask and move responsively through MacOS quickly.
Alongside that, the Apple MacBook Air M1 simply looks beautiful. That’s thanks to its stunning 13.3-inch Retina display. Colors are incredibly vibrant with the panel boasting a crisp 2560 x 1600 resolution. Pictures, videos, and text are sharper and clearer than you’ll see on other laptops in this price bracket. The 2020 MacBook Air is a real game-changer and it’s a great way of getting the most out of MacOS, no matter what you’re doing. That MI CPU is pretty amazing and punches well above its weight.
The Apple MacBook Air M1 is intelligently engineered elsewhere, too. It has a fanless design yet it always stays cool while being completely silent thanks to the thermal efficiency of the M1 CPU. On top of that, you get the benefits of an incredible 18 hours of battery life so you won’t need to recharge it too often, which is a boon when you’re on the move. Portability is everything here, too, and the Apple MacBook Air M1 is suitably lightweight so you can easily bring it to work or class. Designed for maximum efficiency in every way, the Apple MacBook Air M1 is a delight to use, whether you’re relaxing with some videos or working hard.
Apple MacBook Pro M1 13-Inch — $950, was $1,300
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 is a superb high-end device as you would expect from the Pro line. It offers everything you could possibly need from a MacBook, exuding power, style, great performance, and an incredibly delightful display. If you’re looking for might be the perfect investment in a MacBook, this is the laptop for you. At its heart is the Apple-designed M1 chip which was specifically engineered with MacOS in mind. The performance is truly something to behold, and there’s no Mac quite like ones packing the M1 chip. It offers an eight-core processor that delivers noticeably faster performance than last-gen CPUs, and features with an 10-core integrated GPU for up to five times faster graphics. Simply put, it’s super fast.
That’s helped further by the inclusion of 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of solid-state storage. It’s all been designed to cope admirably with anything you throw at it, from video editing and browsing the internet to even some light gaming thanks to the CPU’s graphical processing juice. An active cooling system helps ensure that overheating is a thing of the past, too. Its screen is a delight as well, with the 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 Retina display providing you with 500 nits of brightness so you get to enjoy vibrant colors and incredible image detail every time.
There’s also a front-facing FaceTime HD camera which is more than good enough for video calls and conferences. Efficient with its 18-hour battery life and sheer processing power, the Apple MacBook Pro 13 is a dream come true for long-time MacOS fans. If you’re looking for one of the most powerful MacBooks available right now, this is the one to buy.
Apple MacBook Pro M1 14-Inch — $1,799, was $1,999
Apple announced two new MacBook Pro sizes at the Apple “Unleashed” Event in October 2021. The new 14-inch and 16-inch Pro models are an upgrade from the 13-inch model, with enough differences that Apple will continue to sell the 13-inch for the time being. Apple has removed the Touch Bar on the new MacBooks in favor of a more classic row of function keys. This model is all about power.
The base model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro is available for order now, and it retails at $2,000. It includes an 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The enhanced power comes from Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Apple boasted a 70% increase in performance between their M1 chip and the new Pro and Max versions. The Max chip will probably only be useful to video editors and game designers, but everyone will notice the increased speed of the Pro.
The new 14-inch comes with some standard redesigns. The edges of the laptop are now flat and squared off instead of rounded like previous models. The 120Hz display has a 3024 x 1964 native resolution with 1600 nits of peak brightness. There’s a new notch in the top of the screen, which is bound to turn some users off. If you aren’t sure which model you want, compare the 14-inch vs. 16-inch MacBook Pros.
Should you shop these Prime Day MacBook deals or wait until Black Friday?
The proximity of the Prime Early Access Sale to the holiday shopping season inevitably raises the question: Should you shop the October Prime Day MacBook deals, or wait until Black Friday in hopes of scoring a bigger discount? In our experience, there’s really no reason to wait. With inflation driving more shoppers to seek out deals online this year, you can bet that competition will be fierce during these sales, and retailers know it. And if previous sales are any guide (and they always are), any Prime Day MacBook deals you’re likely to see in October will be just as good as what will be on tap during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The catch, of course, is that you’ll need a Prime membership if you want access to the best Prime Day MacBook deals during the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale. Like Prime Day, this two-day event is for Prime members, and the official deals offered by Amazon are usually in the form of limited-time Lightning Deals that often sell out quickly. That means you’ll also want to narrow down your MacBook choices and be ready to buy when the opportunity presents itself.
The MacBook lineup is fairly wide, featuring four current models as of 2022 — the MacBook Air and three different MacBook Pro variants — as well as varying hardware configurations. Apple currently offers its laptops with either the last-gen M1 chipset or the newer M2 CPUs, with the newer models naturally being more expensive. You probably already have a budget in mind and some idea of what you’re looking for, but if you still need some help deciding, check out our guide to the best MacBooks as well as our reviews of the MacBook Air M1, MacBook Air M2, and MacBook Pro 13-inch M1, as well as our side-by-side comparison of the MacBook Pro 16-inch and MacBook Pro 14-inch.
Editors' Recommendations
- Apple Memorial Day Sale: iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and accessories
- This deal knocks $600 off the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max
- Mother’s Day Apple Deals: Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watch
- Best iPad Deals: Save on iPad Air, iPad Mini and iPad Pro
- Best tablet deals: Save on Android tablets, iPad and more
