With Apple Intelligence requiring an M1 chip or newer, it’s never been a better time to buy your first MacBook, or upgrade an older MacBook you’re still holding on to. MacBooks are more affordable than ever in the Apple Silicon era, with the cheapest options starting below $700. These are the best deals if you’re looking to buy a new MacBook on a budget.
M1 MacBook Air
Apple has launched 3 MacBook Airs since entering the Apple Silicon era, with the M1, M2, and M3 chips. The M1 MacBook Air still utilizes a more familiar wedge design from the Intel era, although a lot of users might prefer that.
The M1 MacBook Air, despite being four years old, remains an excellent laptop for its price. It boasts blazing fast performance thanks to the M1 chip, a stunning retina display (though with thicker bezels compared to the newer MacBook Airs), a great keyboard, up to 18 hours of battery life, and it doesn’t sound like an airplane that’s about to take off when you open it in public.
Since the M1 MacBook Air is the oldest on this list, it’s also the cheapest. One caveat with the M1 MacBook Air is that it’s harder to find new ones with more than 256GB of storage, so if you need a lot of storage, you’ll have to buy a newer Air. On the bright side, it does remain to be the only Apple Silicon MacBook to come in a proper Gold color.
You can buy the M1 MacBook Air at Walmart, which offers the laptop for the best price. It comes in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold with a 256GB SSD for $649, which is $350 off the original starting price.
M2 MacBook Air
In 2022, Apple introduced the redesigned MacBook Air with a thinner design, a bigger display with slimmer bezels, and reintroduced MagSafe. It also came in new Starlight and Midnight colors in addition to Silver and Space Gray, although Gold was no longer. Apple also introduced a new 15-inch model of the MacBook Air in 2023, also with the M2 chip.
If you’re looking for a modern MacBook but also want to save money, this will be your best bet. Since it’s not the latest model anymore, it goes on sale quite frequently. Other than it being a little slower than the M3 models, it’s practically the latest and greatest. Unlike the M1 MacBook Air, you can buy these in new condition with more than 256GB of storage if you wish.
There’s a number of good deals for the M2 MacBook Air, starting at $799 with 256GB of storage and 8GB of Unified Memory from varying retailers – up to $200 off! Since the M2 15-inch MacBook Air was discontinued when Apple introduced the M3 model, lower tier models aren’t available.
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M2) with 256GB of storage: Amazon, Best Buy – $799
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M2) with 512GB of storage: Amazon, Best Buy – $999
- 15-inch MacBook Air (M2) with 1TB of storage, 16GB of memory: Best Buy – $1699
M3 MacBook Air
Apple refreshed the MacBook Air earlier this year with the M3 chip, and this remains the latest model. It features the same design as the prior MacBook Air, just faster. It likely won’t see an M4 refresh until sometime next year, although there are still some nice deals to look at here if you want the latest chipset. Right now, you can secure up to $150 off on all models.
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 256GB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon – $849
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 512GB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon – $1049
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 512GB of storage, 16GB of memory: Amazon – $1249
- 15-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 256GB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon – $1049
- 15-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 512GB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon – $1249
- 15-inch MacBook Air (M3) with 512GB of storage, 16GB of memory: Amazon – $1449
14-inch MacBook Pro
Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021 with a brand new 14-inch miniLED display with ProMotion, more ports (most notably an HDMI port and SD card reader), as well as bigger batteries and better thermals. It also gained a 1080p webcam for the first time.
Although the 14-inch MacBook Pro isn’t as affordable as the other MacBooks listed, if you want that amazing display and the extra ports, there are still some good deals to find.
There’s two versions of the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The lower tier model starts with 8GB memory and the baseline M3 chipset, has no USB-C port on the right side, and also lacks an extra fan. The higher tier models come with the M3 Pro or M3 Max chips, and don’t compromise on the aforementioned features. Both models feature the same great display, which is the most important part.
It’s been a while since Apple introduced the M3 version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, so there are some good deals to be found, with up to $300 in savings across the board:
- 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3) with 512GB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon, Best Buy – $1299
- 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3) with 1TB of storage, 8GB of memory: Amazon, Best Buy – $1499
- 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3) with 1TB of storage, 16GB of memory: Amazon, Best Buy – $1699
- 14-inch MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) with 512GB of storage, 18GB of memory: Amazon, Best Buy – $1699
Of course, there are a ton of options to consider. However, if you’re looking to save money while still buying a new MacBook, these are the best options available. Although the pricing ladder spans from $649 to $1699, all of these models are excellent choices depending on your needs for your next computer.
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