MacBook Air Built For Apple Intelligence Is A Steal At $699 Ahead Of Black Friday
Who would have guessed that Apple would eventually become a strong value play in the laptop space? Sure, there are some decked-out MacBook Pro laptops that command a hefty premium, but there are also far more cheaper options that offer a lot of bang for your buck, especially as we head into the Black Friday shopping season. Just look at discounted MacBook Air lineup.
13-Inch MacBook Air (M2) Is On Sale For A Low $699
Simply put, the MacBook Air is one of the best value propositions on the market right now, and you have multiple options. If you're looking to go a little bit cheaper than the discounted M4 models we've highlighted recently, then check out the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air (Silverlight) that's on sale $699 at Best Buy (save $100). If you're not a fan of the Silverlight colorway, you can score the Midnight SKU for the same price.
Color option aside, this MacBook Air is a little bit older now, but still a capable machine. it features a 13.6-inch display just like the newer models, along with the same 2560x1664 resolution, 500 nits brightness, and True Tone technology.
Sitting inside is Apple's custom M2 silicon. The core counts are the same as the newer variants, which means a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core neural engine. You also get Apple Intelligence support, just like on the newer models.
Other features include 16GB of unified memory, 256GB of SSD storage, Touch ID support, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, four built-in speakers with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support, two Thunderbolt/USB4 ports, Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, a 3.5mm audio jack, and up to 18 hours of battery life.
M4 MacBook Air Is On Sale Too
The only thing that prevents the M2 13-inch MacBook Air from being a slam dunk deal is a deep discount on the newest M4 13-inch MacBook Air, which is still on sale for $749.99 at Amazon (save $249.01). Up until recently, this same model could routinely be found discounted to $799.99, but it hit a new low price last week.
As such, there's only a $50 difference between the M2 MacBook Air featured above and the latest-generation M4 model. Is it worth the small premium? If you can swing it, we'd say the M4 model is the one to get. If not, the M2 is still a great option.
While the core counts are the same on the M4 chip inside the newest MacBook Air, architectural improvements make it a faster slice of silicon, both for the CPU and GPU. You also get a little bit more memory bandwidth at 120GB/s versus 100GB/s.
Other upgrades include a bump to a 12MP Center Stage camera, enhanced microphones with voice isolation and wide spectrum modes (plus better voice clarity in audio and video calls), and Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6.
