Here's why you shouldn't buy the newest MacBook Air this Prime Day

A top down view of two M1 MacBook Air laptops.
(Image credit: Future)

It's a bit of a running joke in the office, but I love my M1-chipped MacBook Air. Due to my job, July means searching for the best Apple Prime Day deals, including discounts on the mighty Air, and I'll happily blurt out my feelings for this slender, powerful laptop to anyone who will pretend to listen. In fact, I like the Air so much, I've got a prediction – it's gonna win Prime Day, and for a very good reason. Stick with me.

Now, I get that Prime Day isn't a competition, and that people buy what they need (or want), and that might not be a 13-inch Apple laptop. But winning Prime Day is when the best product gets the best relative discount. And so: I think the MacBook Air is the best laptop for the majority of users out there; right now it's on sale for a record-low price of $749 at Amazon, down from $899; therefore – it wins.

It probably has all that you need

The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) in action - open at my desk.

(Image credit: Future)

A quick clarification. I'm not talking to the majority of creative pros here. Video editors and 3D artists will need more than the M1 chip has to offer. The 15-inch M1 Pro onwards will do you right (which happens to also be on offer right now). Not that the M1 Air is a lettuce. It handles my day-to-day use that involves tens of tabs open, 4K video streaming, and photo editing all going at once. 

My massive arm holding the small MacBook Air.

(Image credit: Future)

The bottom line is the M1 MacBook Air is unbelievable value for money, and it's still, in 2023, fantastic tech. Sure, in Apple World, the M2 Ultra takes the biscuit, but you have to ask yourself: do you need that power? The capabilities of PCs has sky-rocketed in recent years, but the work most people are doing on them hasn't really. 

Of course, we like shiny new things, and we'll always be intrigued by the massive new potential of this year's latest offering. But for the majority of people out there, who want a thin, light, super-portable, capable laptop with oodles of style, the MackBook Air, at its current price, is hard to beat. 

Get the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) at its record-low price of $749 right now, or head over to our Apple MacBook live blog where we'll be reporting on all the best Apple laptops bargain of Prime Day. 

Beren Neale
Deals Editor

Beren has worked on creative tech magazines and websites at Future Publishing for 13 years. He started this journey as Staff Writer on the digital art magazine ImagineFX, and in 2012 found himself bridging the magazine/website divide as Commissioning Editor on the newly launched Creative Bloq. Since then he took the editor role on ImagineFX, was Launch Editor of the fine art magazine Paint & Draw, moved to Canon Pro Europe website as Deputy Editor, and then edited the graphic design magazine Computer Arts. In 2020 he moved back to Creative Bloq, the biggest global art and design website, and as Deals Editor has applied his expertise in creative tech to help digital creatives get the best deals on the kit that they need and love. Outside of work, Beren likes nothing better than to climb himself a bit of rock.