In the Apple Silicon era, MacBooks have become more affordable than ever – with brand new models starting as low as $599. With looming global tariffs, these great deals could potentially be coming to an end soon – so if you’re in the market for a new MacBook for any reason, now may be one of the best ever times to purchase.
Apple’s latest macOS Tahoe update also dropped support for practically all Intel Macs (with some small exceptions). If you’d like to stay on the latest and greatest Apple software, nows a fitting time to upgrade.
M1 MacBook Air
Apple has launched 4 MacBook Airs since entering the Apple Silicon era, with the M1, M2, M3, and M4 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 for as low as $599 at Walmart in all 3 colors: Silver, Space Gray, and Gold.
- 13-inch MacBook Air (M1) with 256GB of storage, 8GB of memory: $599 at Walmart
M3 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. This fresh new design was introduced with the M2 chip, and it’s lived on since.
M2 MacBook Airs have mostly cleared out of stock, and thats unfortunately also becoming the case for M3 models – though there are still a few, particularly with the 15-inch MacBook Air.
15-inch models with M3 chip:
- 15-inch MacBook Air with 512GB of storage, 24GB of memory: $1099 at Amazon ($600 off!)
This MacBook is an excellent offering if you’d like more unified memory than most people, which can be highly valuable for multi-tasking.
M4 MacBook Air
In March, Apple announced a refreshed MacBook Air with M4 chip. This computer is mostly similar to the previous model, except it now features a new Center Stage webcam and a new Sky Blue color that replaces Space Gray.
Currently, you can save at least $100 across the board on the latest MacBook Air models. Apple is reportedly working on a new entry-level MacBook with an A18 Pro chip within the next year or so – but at these prices, I’d honestly just get the MacBook Air and not have to deal with any compromises.
13-inch models with M4 chip:
- 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage, 16GB of memory: $897 at Amazon
- 13-inch MacBook Air with 512GB of storage, 16GB of memory: $999 at Amazon
- 13-inch MacBook Air with 512GB of storage, 24GB of memory: $1199 at Amazon
15-inch models with M4 chip:
Despite being the latest and greatest, there are some incredible deals on the M4 MacBook Air, mostly thanks to its already lower starting price.
M4 MacBook Pro
Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro in 2021 with a brand new 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 MacBook Pro isn’t as affordable as the MacBook Airs listed, if you want that amazing display and the extra ports, there are still some good deals to find. All of the models listed below are M4 and M4 Pro chip models, providing the latest and greatest performance and features.
14-inch models:
16-inch models:
- M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 512GB of storage, 24GB of memory: $2229 on Amazon
- M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 512GB of storage, 48GB of memory: $2599 on Amazon
- M4 Max MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage, 36GB of memory: $3099 on Amazon ($400 off!)
- M4 Max MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage, 48GB of memory: $3588 on Amazon
Apple is likely going to announce a new M5 MacBook Pro model this month, so you should likely stick to MacBook Air models or wait a little bit if you’re in the market for a new Mac.
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