This story is part of Gift Guide, our year-round collection of the best gift ideas.
Apple unveiled MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models based on its new M2 chip earlier this year. The updated MacBook Air is bigger than the previous model, and a bit faster as well. Along with a bigger 13.6-inch display and M2 processor, however, comes a higher price. Gone is the $999 starting price; the new M2 MacBook Air line starts at $1,199. The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip starts at the same $1,299 list price as the previous generation.
As the holiday shopping season arrives, we’re starting to see some big MacBook discounts — many are selling at all-time-low prices for Cyber Monday. You can save $150 on the M2 MacBook Air at Amazon and $200 on the M2 MacBook Pro at B&H. If you’re sad to see the Air’s $999 starting price disappear (we are; sniff), you can get the previous-generation MacBook Air with the M1 chip and 13.3-inch display for $799 at Amazon — a savings of $200. The 14-inch MacBook Pro and its larger 16-inch Pro sibling, both based on Apple’s M1 Pro chip, are the company’s biggest and most powerful MacBooks. You can save up to $499 now on the 14- or 16-inch models.
Apple’s own Black Friday deals for 2022 will run from Nov. 26 through today, though based on the information in the announcement its deals — as usual — won’t be as aggressive as those from third parties like Amazon and B&H.
US pricing for Apple MacBooks
While Amazon has the best prices at the moment, one benefit to paying full price and buying from Apple is that you can customize the machine and add more RAM or a higher-capacity solid-state drive. The models sold by Amazon and other retailers are fixed configurations.
Want to go the refurbished route? You can find refurbished M1 MacBooks on Apple’s Certified Refurbished Mac page. Refurb inventory changes rapidly so you may not always see an M1 MacBook Air or Pro listed. It’s worth keeping an eye out, however, because you can lock in substantial savings, up to $200. Rick Broida, CNET’s Cheapskate emeritus, is a big fan of refurbs, particularly Apple’s — which are often as good as new.
It’s also worth noting that the Apple Store offers students an educational discount, which can trim hundreds of dollars from the price of a new laptop or tablet.
Keep reading to see the best MacBook laptop deals currently available for Apple’s current and previous-generation MacBooks. We update this list periodically.
MacBook discounts, compared
| Model w/ CPU (and storage capacity) | List price | Best price (current) | Best price (all-time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 MacBook Air (256GB) | $999 | $799 | $750 |
| M1 MacBook Air (512GB) | $1,199 | $1,199 | $1,000 |
| M2 MacBook Air (256GB) | $1,199 | $1,049 | $1,049 |
| M2 MacBook Air (512GB) | $1,499 | $1,299 | $1,299 |
| 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro (256GB) | $1,299 | $1,099 | $1,099 |
| 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro (512GB) | $1,499 | $1,299 | $1,299 |
| 14-inch MacBook Pro w/ M1 Pro chip (512GB) | $1,999 | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| 14-inch MacBook Pro w/ M1 Pro chip (1TB) | $2,499 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 16-inch Macbook Pro w/ M1 Pro chip (512GB) | $2,499 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 16-inch Macbook Pro w/ M1 Pro chip (1TB) | $2,699 | $2,200 | $2,200 |
| 16-inch Macbook Pro w/ M1 Max chip (1TB) | $3,499 | $3,100 | $3,100 |
*Note that “all-time” means the best price that we’ve seen at an Apple-authorized retailer in the product’s lifetime. Prices change frequently and may differ between color variants.
Best MacBook deals
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Dan Ackerman/CNET
The MacBook Air from 2020 features Apple’s M1 processor, which has an eight-core CPU, a seven-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. The M1 MacBook Air starts at $999 from Apple and features 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It lacks the Touch Bar (which could be viewed as a positive), and does have a 13.3-inch Retina display, Touch ID and the Magic keyboard. The step-up model costs $1,199 from Apple and doubles the solid-state storage to 512GB.
You can save $200 on the 256GB model at Amazon right now for Cyber Monday. The new M2 MacBook Air has a $149 discount at Amazon but still costs $250 more than the M1 model.
You’re receiving price alerts for Apple MacBook Air M1 (256GB, space gray)
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Dan Ackerman/CNET
In addition to receiving the second-gen Apple silicon chip, the M2 MacBook Air boasts a larger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display and is available in two new colors: starlight and midnight. It also ditches the Air’s tapered wedge shape and now looks more like the squared-off, slablike Pro models. The webcam has also been upgraded to a 1080p resolution for better video calls. At Apple, the M2 Air starts at $1,199, which is $200 more than the previous model. It features an M2 processor with an eight-core CPU and eight-core GPU, 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. The step-up $1,499 model has an M2 chip with an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 8GB of memory and a 512GB SSD.
B&H and Amazon are selling the 256GB model at a $150 discount, which is the best price we’ve seen yet for it (though not the first time it’s been that low). Want more storage? You can save up to $200 on the 512GB model at Amazon.
Read our M2 Apple MacBook Air review.
You’re receiving price alerts for MacBook Air M2 (Silver, 256GB, 8-core)
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Apple
Aside from the new M2 chip, the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro remains mostly unchanged from the previous iteration. It’s now the only laptop in the updated Apple lineup that has the generally disliked Touch Bar. It also lacks the new MagSafe charger and offers the same two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports for both charging and peripherals. Pricing remains the same as the previous series. The baseline model costs $1,299 and features 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The step-up $1,499 model doubles the SSD to 512GB.
You can save $200 on the 256GB model at B&H for Cyber Monday –that’s the lowest price we’ve seen yet. You can also save $200 at B&H on the arguably more useful 512GB model.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
The baseline model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,999 and features an M1 Pro chip (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU), 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. The $2,499 step-up model features a higher power version of the chip with 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display has a 3,024×1,964-pixel resolution.
You can save $399 on the 512GB model and $499 on the 1TB model at Amazon.
Read our 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro review.
You’re receiving price alerts for 14-inch MacBook Pro (512GB SSD): $1,600
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Sarah Tew/CNET
The baseline model of the new 16-inch MacBook Pro lists for $2,499 and features an M1 Pro chip (10-core CPU, 16-core GPU), 16GB of RAM and a 512B SSD. There are two step-up models: The $2,699 model upgrades the storage to a 1TB SSD, and the $3,499 model features the M1 Max chip, which bumps up to a 32-core GPU, as well as 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display packs 3,456×2,234 pixels.
You can save $499 on the 512GB or 1TB model model of the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Those are the biggest discounts yet for Apple’s largest MacBook.
Read our 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro review.
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