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4th of July and the sales that came with it are now behind us, and the Prime Day deals are starting to roll out — and we’re waiting until Prime Day to shop the sales, because that’s when the best discounts will arrive, there are some early Prime Day MacBook deals happening now for those who can’t wait until July 12.
Best Prime Day MacBook Deals 2022
- Apple MacBook Air —
- 2021 Apple MacBook Pro 14 —
- 2021 Apple MacBook Pro 16 —
Apple MacBook Air — $198, was $245
Why Buy
- Great value
- Lightweight and easy to carry around
- Stylish design
- Amazing display
If you’re a fan of Apple laptops but don’t want to get one of the bigger or pricier options, this little refurbished Apple MacBook Air is a great alternative, especially since it’s still a solid laptop even if it’s a few years old. In fact, it’s like getting a budget Windows laptop, with the benefit that it’s within Apple’s ecosystem and comes with all the perks and benefits. For example, you’ll be able to transfer messages or calls between your iPhone and your MacBook Air or have your Apple subscriptions run seamlessly between all your Apple devices.
Another big bonus with the MacBook Air is that it’s only 13.3 inches and weighs nearly nothing, making it very easy to pack in a bag and carry around, which is important if you’re constantly on the move for work or studies. Since we’re talking about the screen, you get the excellent Retina display with a resolution of 1440 x 900, which should be more than enough for streaming movies or shows if you plan to use it for entertainment. The chicklet-style keys of the keyboard are also well-known for being great to type on, so if you do a lot of that, you’ll appreciate the Macbook Air.
As for specs, interestingly, this version of the Macbook Air doesn’t come with Apple’s M1 chip, but instead uses Intel’s chipset. In this case, the CPU is a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5, which is slightly on the middle to lower end of the power ratings, which makes sense given that this refurbished Macbook air is five to six years old. There’s no discrete GPU, which is the case with most Macbooks, and it instead uses the integrated Intel UHD 600, which will let you get away with playing casual games. Internal storage is only 128GB, so you may want to take advantage of one of our external hard drive deals. RAM is 8GB of DDR3, a bit dated at this point, but on par for the price.
While this older MacBook Air isn’t going to be one of the most show-stopping Prime Day MacBook deals, it’s still a great device if you’re not a power user and want a small and portable Apple Laptop. That being said, if you’re OK with going for a non-Apple laptop, you’ll likely find something newer at the same price if you check out some of the Prime Day laptop deals.
2021 Apple MacBook Pro 14 — $1,799, was $1,999
Why Buy
- Amazing battery life
- Excellent performance
- Uses the M1 Pro chip
- Beautiful XDR display
When the 2021 MacBook Pro was released, it was a bit of a revelation when it came to customer satisfaction, as it finally seemed that Apple had listened to its fans and essentially reversed all the design decisions it had made in previous models to meet the needs and wants of their base. For the MacBook Pro 14, it was a slightly larger 14.2-inch screen compared to the 13.3-inch screen of the MacBook Pro 13, which provided much-needed extra screen real-estate and let the Liquid Retina XDR display shine — and we mean that literally, as it could hit 1,600 nits of peak brightness and 1,000 nits of sustained brightness.
There were also quite a few changes under the hood as Apple ditched the traditional Intel CPU chipset and moved to the now well-known M1 chip. Even better, it utilized the newer M1 Pro chip, which has an eight-core CPU and 14-core GPU, meaning you get a ton of excellent performance, including when gaming or doing photo-editing work, a big departure from previous iterations of the MacBook Pro. It also comes with 16GB of RAM, which should be more than enough for most users, including power users who like to have several tabs and apps open simultaneously. As for storage, this model has 512GB, which isn’t too bad, although you can also get it in a 1TB storage version if you’d prefer a little bit of extra space.
The only downside that some may complain about is the notch at the top, which houses the 1080p camera. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker but certainly something to consider. There are also six speakers that provide excellent audio quality and spatial audio, and the included mics are as close to studio quality as you can get on a laptop. As for battery life, MacBooks have always excelled in that regard, and you can expect up to 17 hours or so, depending on how heavy your usage is.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for a portable yet modern and powerful MacBook laptop, this is probably one of the Prime Day MacBook deals you want.
2021 Apple MacBook Pro 16 — $2,299, was $2,499
Why Buy
- Larger screen
- More powerful M1 chip
- Better battery life
- Less noticeable notch
Comparing the MacBook Pro 16-inch vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch, there are a lot of similarities, especially since they’ve both been built around the same structural framework. The larger screen on the MacBook Pro 16 does have quite a few benefits, such as having a much less notable notch at the top, which is a big plus if you’re one of the people who find that pretty annoying. Also, given the 16.2-inch screen size, there’s much more screen real estate to work with, which is great if you’re the type of person who needs to have two or more windows open at the same time. It’s also helpful with graphics work.
The larger screen also allows for an overall larger size, which means there’s more stuff packed under the hood. While it’s still the same M1 Pro chip under the hood, this one has an updated 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, making it even more powerful for gaming and productivity than the MacBook 14 version. RAM remains the same at 16GB, which is more than enough for most users, and the storage is also at 512GB, with the option of 1TB if you need the extra space.
As for battery life, you’ll probably not be surprised to find out that it’s better than the MacBook 14 and has up to 21 hours of battery life, depending on usage. While the whole thing is a little bit heavier and bigger, making it ever so slightly more difficult to move around, the extra screen real estate and larger battery more than make up for that. If you want a top-end Prime Day MacBook deal to grab, this is likely the one that will fit your needs the most!
Prime Day MacBook deals FAQ
Is Prime Day a good time to buy a MacBook?
When it comes to Apple products, this can be a little bit of a difficult question to answer as Apple likes to keep a tight hold on the prices of its products, which is why we don’t often see a lot, if any, sales coming from Apple directly. But Prime Day is generally the best time of the year to grab some electronics, and the same applies to laptops like the MacBook. As such, while we aren’t likely to see too many significant discounts on MacBooks, Prime Day Apple deals are still likely going to be the best time of the year to grab yourself one if you’ve wanted one.
The only other time to grab good electronics deals is during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and while those sales events try to mimic Prime Day, they’re often not as great since they’re overstock events and have limited quantity. Therefore, we’d grab any Prime Day deals right now rather than wait for a potential deal in the future.
When do the Prime Day MacBook deals start?
When Amazon announced the Prime Day 2022 dates, it settled on July 12 and July 13. Amazon also mentioned that there would be a lot of deals leading up to July 12, especially on its products like the FireTV and Echo Dot. These deals already started on June 21, and we have seen some nice deals on the MacBook already starting to be available, so if you’re looking for a deal right now, you’ll likely find one.
Should you shop the Prime Day MacBook deals now or wait until July 12?
If you need a MacBook right now, you can certainly find some good deals, but if you can wait, then going for one of the Prime Day MacBook deals will serve you a lot better. The truth is, even though there are early sales going on, the best deals are going to be during the two Prime Days themselves, and given that they’re only a few days out, it’s worth waiting a little bit longer to get the best deal you can on the MacBook that you specifically want. Otherwise, you may make a purchase that you regret down the road, which is bad when it comes to products that cost hundreds and thousands of dollars.
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