Don't be fooled by this cheap Cyber Monday MacBook Air deal — here's what you should get instead

One of the most attention-grabbing Cyber Monday MacBook deals is the MacBook Air M1, dropping to just $599 at Walmart. MacBooks are great, but often painfully expensive, so seeing a new MacBook for under $600 will get you to sit up and take notice, but if you want the best value, it isn't the MacBook you should buy for Cyber Monday.

The MacBook Air M1 celebrated its fourth birthday last month, encroaching on geriatric in laptop years. Still, it's less about the MacBook Air M1 and more about what's happened to the rest of the MacBook Air lineup that should drive you to look elsewhere when considering a new MacBook during Black Friday.

One big factor is Apple's move to 16GB of RAM as the base option on the current M2 and M3 MacBook Air. This was previously a $200 upgrade that I recommended for the Air, and it's not available as part of the M1 Air deal, while the M2 Air for $799 at Amazon and the M3 Air for $844 at Amazon both include 16GB of RAM.

This, in addition to the upgraded M2 and M3 chips, which are roughly 25% and 40% faster than the M1, respectively, will allow you to use either laptop happily for likely 3-5 more years than the M1. So, if you view your laptop purchase as a cost per year of ownership rather than the purchase price alone, you're getting a better experience today and a better value over time on either the M2 or M3 Air.

Now, if you are looking at the Air M1 as a secondary laptop like a Chromebook that is purely going to be used for web browsing, go right ahead, but if this is your primary laptop and a long-term investment for you, either the M2 or M3 Air is the better choice. Considering the MacBook Pro? You can check our Cyber Monday MacBook deals for the best prices on every model right now.

Today's best 13-inch MacBook Air deals

Lowest Price

Apple M3 MacBook Air 13: was $1,099 now $844 at Amazon

Amazon takes $255 off the 13-inch Apple M3 MacBook Air for Black Friday! This is the best laptop to buy if you're looking for a portable and reliable daily driver. We gave it a shining 4.5 out of 5 stars in our MacBook Air M3 review. Plus, it's the Editor's Choice best overall laptop for its outstanding 15-hour battery life and powerful performance.

Features: 13.6-inch (2560 x 1664) 500-nit Liquid Retina display, M3 8-core processor, 8-Core GPU, 16-core neural engine, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three-mic array with directional beamforming, Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, quad-speakers with Spatial Audio support, macOS

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Lowest Price

Apple M2 MacBook Air (16GB/256GB): was $999 now $799 at Amazon

Take $200 off the M2 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage. In our MacBook Air M2 review, we were floored by the MacBook Air M2's elegant redesign, fantastic performance, and bright, colorful screen. Its battery life lasted 14 hours in our Laptop Mag Battery test which is impressive.

Features: 13.6-inch (2560 x 1664) Liquid Retina display, M2 8-core processor, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage., Magic Keyboard, Touch Bar, and Touch ID.

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Lowest Price

Apple M1 MacBook Air: was $999 now $599 at Walmart

The 2020 M1 MacBook Air is $400 off and the cheapest MacBook you can buy right now! Succeeded by the M2 MacBook Air, it's still one of the best laptops out there. It packs blazing-fast performance and long battery life into a slim, unibody design (in fact, it's the last MacBook with the iconic "wedge" design).

Features: 13.3-inch (2560 x 1600) IPS Retina display, Apple M1 8-core processor, 8GB RAM, Apple M1 7-core GPU, 256GB SSD, macOS

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