Best MacBook Deals: First Price Breaks for M2 MacBook Air and Pro Models
Amazon is offering the first discounts on the M2 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Pro. And you can save up to $300 on a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple unveiled new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models based on its new M2 chip at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The new MacBook Air is bigger than the previous Air, with the promise of more power. Along with a bigger 13.6-inch display and new M2 chip, 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 price of $1,299 as the previous model.
The new M2 machines have received their first discounts at Amazon. You can save $22 on the M2 MacBook Air and $100 on the M2 MacBook Pro.
If you are 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 $850 at Best Buy -- a savings of $150. That makes it more than $300 less than the 256GB model of the M2 MacBook Air. The difference between the M1 and M2 models with the 512GB SSD is more than $400 right now.
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. They are up to $300 off at Amazon right now and selling at the lowest prices we've seen yet.
We'll update this page with any notable MacBook price drops, so be sure to check back.
US pricing for Apple's MacBooks
The new M2 MacBook Air starts at $1,199, and the previous M1 MacBook Air starts at $999. The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,299, the 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $2,499.
While Amazon has the best prices at the moment, one benefit to paying full price and buying from Apple is 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 now 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.
