Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

October Prime Day: MacBook Air price crashes to $799

Apple MacBook Air M1 open, on a table.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

If you’ve been waiting for a sale on the Apple M1 MacBook Air, here’s a great deal you may not have expected. Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, also known as Prime Day October, has plenty of Prime Day deals. During this special event you buy the M1 MacBook Air today for just $799, down $200 from the usual $999.

Why you should buy the Apple MacBook Air

Amazon’s deal on the M1 MacBook Air is an easy best choice among the several Prime Day MacBook deals. The high-performance processor is the key to the M1 MacBook Air’s appeal.

Our MacBook Air M1 review dubbed it Editors’ Choice saying it “finally fulfills the promise of a small laptop without performance restraints.” The trick is the divided 8-core CPU. Four cores do the heavy lifting for the most demanding tasks while the remaining four cores handle less-intense chores that can hinder rapid execution and eat up battery power. Apple isn’t shy about the M1’s performance, either, stating that it performs up to 3.5 times faster than the earlier generation but preserves battery life

. In addition to the CPU, the M1 integrates a fast graphics processing unit (GPU), a Neural Engine, and more. The GPU handles graphics up to five times faster than previous generations and the Neural Engine rips through apps that use machine learning for tasks such as image retouching and audio filtering.

“Absolutely fantastic,” wrote Digital Trends’ reviewer, continuing praise beyond the vital core CPU performance to give special notice to the M1 MacBook Air’s battery life — up to 18 hours per charge — and top-quality keyboard and touchpad. Put those elements together and you can get a ton of work done, unconcerned about running out of power, and your hands won’t be as fatigued as with lesser laptops.

The M1 MacBook Air’s performance leap is supported by upgrades in all components, from 8GB of unified memory to handle the rapid processing and the laptop’s 13.3-inch screen and 2560-by-1600 resolution Retina Display. The feature list goes on and on with fast Wi-Fi, keyboard backlighting, quiet, fanless operation, advanced privacy and security, and two ultra-high bandwidth Thunderbolt ports.

To top off its performance chops, the M1 MacBook Air is compatible with major apps from primary platforms such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Google Drive in addition to Apple’s rich software library. If you can use an iPhone or an iPad, you can start right up with the MacBook Air with no learning curve.

You won’t want to hesitate on this short-term sale because your chance to save $200 on the M1 MacBook Air won’t last beyond Prime Day October 2022. Instead of the regular $999, you can buy this versatile MacBook Air laptop for just $799.

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
The 5 best Prime Day phone deals you can shop today
Prime Day 2022 smartphone deals graphic.

There are some fantastic Prime Day phone deals around at the moment. In fact, there are so many, we thought we'd help you out by picking out the five best Prime Day deals for phones today, so you don't have to spend a long time looking for yourself. Read on while we guide you through our five highlights -- each being ideal for different budgets and needs, and all involving some of the best phone brands around.

Apple iPhone SE (2022) -- $149, was $379

Read more
Shark robot vacuums, air purifiers discounted for Prime Day
The Shark Ion RV761 Robot Vacuum cleaning a tile floor.

Prime Day 2023 is here, but things are a little different this year. While we're still seeing a lot of electronics, smart home gear, and smaller items, some of the best Prime Day deals this time include necessities like cleaning products, home goods, supplies, and beyond. Included in those more functional categories are Shark robot vacuums, air purifiers, and hair dryers, all of which are discounted heavily at Amazon right now. There are so many, in fact, that it's probably best to head over and browse for yourself just to see what you can find. Of course, if you want a quick peek at some of our top picks, you'll discover those here, as well.

Shark is a well-known purveyor of smart home tech, including robot vacuums, air purifiers, and -- you guessed it -- hair dryers, all precisely what's included in this exclusive Prime Day sale. Let's not forget upright and cordless vacuums, as they're included too! But you're probably wondering, what's the big deal? Why should I shop all of this gear?

Read more
You can buy a MacBook Air for $299 for Prime Day – but should you?
Restored Apple MacBook Air and Airpods with mouse and black cas

There's a growing industry of refurbished and restored electronics, and while that usually doesn't engender a lot of faith from consumers, they're well worth considering if you're on a tight budget. Luckily, there are a lot of great deals for refurbished products during the Walmart Prime Day sale, such as this MacBook Air bundle. You can grab for $299 rather than the usual $399, but you might want first to consider a couple of different options. It's important to note, though, that this deal is only going available for Walmart Plus subscribers, but you can grab a , which is a great deal in and of itself.

Why you shouldn't buy this MacBook Air
The biggest issue with this MacBook Air is that it's quite outdated for several years, and it can't even run the latest MacOS 14, so you're going to be missing out on a lot of features. Since this is a version of the Macbook Air that was discontinued after 2017, you're likely getting a 7th Gen Intel i5, at best, and more likely, it's a 6th Gen. There's also the issue that the 1.6Ghz CPU version of the Macbook air was part of the 2010-2017 run that had performance issues due to overheating and the CPU having to be throttled. While these aren't massive issues, especially since you're getting generic earbuds and a mouse bundled in, it's not an ideal deal if you're looking for something more modern that will stand the test of time.

Read more