Best MacBook deals and sales for May 2022

Finding a great MacBook deal is seldom an easy task. These are high-end laptops with price tags to match, and Apple keeps a tight leash on retailers when it comes to discounts and sales. On top of that, there is a broad selection to choose from, from the MacBook Air to three different MacBook Pro models, and that’s before you even consider specs. Throw in the confusing way these products are often labeled at retail outlets (as well as the countless refurbished Mac laptops that are always available) and you’ve got a lot to comb through. Let us handle the hard part for you: Our roundup of the week’s best MacBook deals can help you avoid that hassle while saving you some serious cash.

Best MacBook deals

Renewed Apple MacBook Air (2014) — $230, was $264

Why Buy

If you’re dipping your toe into the MacBook world, this Amazon-Renewed Apple MacBook Air is a great starting point. For the money, you get to see exactly how well you get on with MacOS without breaking the bank. It’s ideal to pair up with other Apple devices, all while feeling supremely portable thanks to its 13-inch size. At its heart is an Intel Core i5 processor along with 4GB of memory and 128GB of solid-state storage. While that may sound low for a regular Windows laptop, that’s more than sufficient for a basic MacOS machine. That’s because MacOS is designed to use its hardware to the fullest, ensuring you get the best experience from whatever hardware it’s working with. 4GB of memory may be low elsewhere, but with MacOS, you’ll still be able to work and multitask reasonably well.

Another feature that really stands out with this renewed Apple MacBook Air is its 13.3-inch screen. While it isn’t a Retina display like  that on later models, it still looks great, offering a sharp picture and excellent image quality. A resolution of 1440 x 900 provides more than enough definition at 13.3 inches, and remember that this is a highly portable device, too. Combined with up to 12 hours of battery life, you can easily use this all day long. It’s the perfect size to take on your commute, to the local coffee shop, or when you’re heading to class.

All Amazon Renewed products are fully inspected and tested with a minimum 90-day warranty, so you can be sure you’re getting something more reliable than you would when buying a refurbished product from a dodgy source. This renewed Apple MacBook Air has everything you need if you’re okay with an older MacOS experience at a dirt cheap price.

Renewed Apple MacBook Pro (2017) — $442, was $510

Why Buy

This renewed Apple MacBook Pro 13 proves that Apple’s high-end laptop line has a remarkable shelf life. While it may be the 2017 model, it’s still more than capable of working well with the latest apps and meeting modern needs. At its heart is a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with clock speeds of up to 3.6GHz. That means it can still provide you with reasonably speedy performance when browsing the internet, multitasking, or even running programs such as Photoshop or Lightroom. In addition, there’s 8GB of RAM which helps out extensively when it comes to multitasking and keeping things speedy. You also get a 256GB SSD which is the perfect amount for storing your most important files without having to worry about relying too much on cloud storage.

We wouldn’t count on the Apple MacBook Pro being great for gaming, but it does come with Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 with 64MB of embedded DRAM if you need to run some older games. It at least ensures that the 13.3-inch Retina Display will look its best, with a QHD+ resolution of 2560 x 1600 that’s vibrant and pixel-sharp at all times. Once the brightest Mac laptop display of its time, it still looks gorgeous five years down the line.

Weighing just over three pounds, the Apple MacBook Pro 13 is ideal for taking along on your commute to work or to class without weighing you down. That’s not bad at all for a system that’s five years old, but that only makes sense consider the MacBook Pro has always been ahead of its time. With a minimum 90-day warranty from Amazon, you won’t have to worry about this professionally refurbished purchase here, either.

MacBook Air M1 — $949, was $999

Why Buy

The MacBook Air M1 is the ideal system for those looking for the most portable MacOS solution without missing out on muscle. It sports Apple’s M1 processor which means you get an 8-core CPU that delivers performance up to 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, all while using far less power. While this isn’t a system for gaming, it will more than ably power through any work task imaginable. It’s perfect for juggling windows, image editing, and most anything else you could think of doing while on the move. 8GB of unified memory certainly helps out here, backing up that beefy CPU to allow you to multitask and move responsively through MacOS quickly.

Alongside that, the Apple MacBook Air M1 simply looks beautiful. That’s thanks to its stunning 13.3-inch Retina display. Colors are incredibly vibrant with the panel boasting a crisp 2560 x 1600 resolution. Pictures, videos, and text are sharper and clearer than you’ll see on other laptops in this price bracket. The 2020 MacBook Air is a real game-changer and it’s a great way of getting the most out of MacOS, no matter what you’re doing. That MI CPU is pretty amazing and punches well above its weight.

The Apple MacBook Air M1 is intelligently engineered elsewhere, too. It has a fanless design yet it always stays cool while being completely silent thanks to the thermal efficiency of the M1 CPU. On top of that, you get the benefits of an incredible 18 hours of battery life so you won’t need to recharge it too often, which is a boon when you’re on the move. Portability is everything here, too, and the Apple MacBook Air M1 is suitably lightweight so you can easily bring it to work or class. Designed for maximum efficiency in every way, the Apple MacBook Air M1 is a delight to use, whether you’re relaxing with some videos or working hard.

Apple MacBook Pro M1 13-Inch — $1,150, was $1,299

Why Buy

The Apple MacBook Pro M1 is a superb high-end device as you would expect from the Pro line. It offers everything you could possibly need from a MacBook, exuding power, style, great performance, and an incredibly delightful display. If you’re looking for might be the perfect investment in a MacBook, this is the laptop for you. At its heart is the Apple-designed M1 chip which was specifically engineered with MacOS in mind. The performance is truly something to behold, and there’s no Mac quite like ones packing the M1 chip. It offers an eight-core processor that delivers up to 2.8 times faster performance than last-gen CPUs, and features with an 8-core integrated GPU for up to five times faster graphics. Simply put, it’s super fast.

That’s helped further by the inclusion of 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of solid-state storage. It’s all been designed to cope admirably with anything you throw at it, from video editing and browsing the internet to even some light gaming thanks to the M1’s graphical processing juice. An active cooling system helps ensure that overheating is a thing of the past, too. Its screen is a delight as well, with the 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 Retina display providing you with 500 nits of brightness so you get to enjoy vibrant colors and incredible image detail every time.

There’s also a front-facing FaceTime HD camera which is more than good enough for video calls and conferences. Efficient with its 20-hour battery life, great thermal performance, and sheer processing power, the Apple MacBook Pro M1 is a dream come true for long-time MacOS fans. If you’re looking for one of the most powerful MacBooks available right now, this is the one to buy.

When are the best MacBook deals?

If you’re looking for a new MacBook, it’s quite likely that you need one right now. When your existing laptop or MacBook has failed, you rarely have the luxury of waiting for the next seasonal sale to replace it. If that’s the case, there’s no harm in buying now. There are always worthy MacBook deals going on if you know where to look, so just pick the model that’s best for you, find the best price you can, and enjoy. However, if you’re thinking long-term and are able to wait, there may be better times of the year to buy a new MacBook.

Prime Day is coming up soon. It happens every summer as a celebration of Amazon’s birthday. However, it’s not just Amazon that gets in on this action, as many other retailers also run their own concurrent sales. You’ll need to wait a few months to see what happens, but Prime Day is often a great time to take advantage of deep discounts on tech and score a MacBook for less. Markdowns on Apple products aren’t always huge during this event but with some luck and good timing, you can catch something great on sale.

Otherwise, if you can wait even longer, there’s always Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Again, there’s no guarantee of what the discounts will be, but technology is often the star of these shows. The catch? It’s not until the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s not till the end of November. That’s a long time to wait to buy a new MacBook if you need one soon. Worse, you may find your disposable income a lot lower because you’re doing holiday shopping for other people as well. Holiday shopping can always be stressful which is why it might be a better idea to buy right now. After all, you get more time to enjoy the delights of your MacBook if you buy today, and the MacBook deals we’ve found are still plenty good.

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