The new 2020 MacBook Air.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Last week Apple introduced a new MacBook Air and — no surprise in these fast-moving times — it’s already on sale. Now selling at Amazon for $950, the 2020 version of Apple’s most portable laptop features the Magic Keyboard first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, 10th-gen Intel processors, a new Force Touch trackpad and 256GB of storage for the entry-level configuration. All of that is indisputably great — with the possible exception of the processor. The previous entry-level model featured Intel’s eighth-gen dual-core i5 CPU. The new one comes with Intel’s 10th-gen dual-core i3 chip, and upgrading to the Core i5 will tack on an extra $100. Oh, and the webcam specs remains inexplicably ancient, still stuck at a mere 720p resolution.
MacBook discounts, compared
| Model | List price | Best price (current) | Best price (all-time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air 2020 (256GB SSD) | $999 | $950 | $950 |
| MacBook Air 2019 (128GB SSD) | $900 | $899 | $800 |
| 13-inch MacBook Pro 2019 (128GB SSD) | $1,300 | $1,149 | $1,050 |
| 16-inch MacBook Pro 2019 (128GB SSD) | $2,399 | $2,199 | $2,100 |
A word of caution: Third-party retailers are still trying to get rid of older MacBook Air laptops. Amazon is currently selling a 2017-era model for $750 — casually labeling it as a “previous model” — while its catalog also contains a 2019-era model that’s still called “New MacBook Air.” These confusing listings will eventually be tidied up, but it’s more important than ever to pay careful attention to specs while shopping. It’s also worth noting that the Apple Store offers an educational discount to students, which can trim hundreds of dollars from the price of a new laptop or tablet.
Here are the best deals we’ve found for each MacBook Air and MacBook Pro model.
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The classic MacBook Air makes some big improvements and even cuts the starting price, making it a hard-to-beat go-to for students, creatives and almost anyone else. (And speaking of students, the Apple Store educational discount brings the price of the new MacBook Air down to $899 for eligible buyers.)
Read our 2020 MacBook Air review.
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B&H Photo is offering $200 off the previous-generation MacBook Air that Apple released in mid-2019. At the moment, that makes it $50 cheaper than the 2020 model selling at Amazon. Last year’s edition comes with an Intel Core i5 processor that’s older but almost certainly more powerful than the new Core i3 model powering the baseline 2020 model. Other compromises: This 2019 model is equipped with only 128GB of SSD capacity (vs. 256 in the new model), and — the big one — you’re stuck with the inferior butterfly keyboard.
Read our 2019 MacBook Air preview.
Sarah Tew/CNET
B&H Photo has the best price on the entry-level 2019 MacBook Pro. It’s not a bad deal but we’ve seen this model on sale for $1,050 in recent weeks. But, again, this is now the only model in Apple’s current lineup saddled with that pesky butterfly keyboard.
Read our 13-inch MacBook Pro preview.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A greatest-hits compilation of MacBook features, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro features a bigger screen, with a higher resolution; upgrades to processor, GPU, RAM and storage options; and a much-improved keyboard. This isn’t the largest discount we’ve even seen — that would be the $300 discount from a weeks back — but it’s a solid deal on the entry-level configuration.
Read our 16-inch MacBook Pro review.
Watch this:
Hands-on with the 2020 MacBook Air
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