Genuinely good MacBook deals have been harder to come by in the wake of Apple's summer price hikes. Thanks to Prime Big Deal Days, that's finally changing.
Live now through Oct. 7, Amazon's 48-hour fall savings event for Prime members serves as its unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season. (It's often referred to as "October Prime Day.") The first day of the sale has already ushered in sizable MacBooks discounts, the likes of which we haven't seen in months. Of special note is a $200 discount on the M5 MacBook Air that completely erases its price increase; this week marks the first time shoppers have been able to buy it for as low as $1,099 since June.
Check out my running list of the best October Prime Day MacBook deals below. I'll continue to update it as the sale continues.
How I picked the best October Prime Day MacBook deals
The Mashable team has reviewed every current MacBook and monitors their prices continuously throughout the year. The deals I'm personally recommending here involve the lowest prices on select models in at least three months, which I vetted using the Amazon price-tracking tool camelcamelcamel and our past coverage of MacBook deals. Things are looking a bit better than usual so far: MacBook Pro deals maxed out at $400 off last Prime Big Deal Days, but right now, select models are up to $600 off.
If you're willing to wait, I think some MacBook Pros could get even cheaper as Prime Big Deal Days rolls on. I've marked them as "MacBook deals to watch" for the time being. That's also the section where I've plopped the best live deals on the budget MacBook Neo, which is only $10 off on Amazon right now. (That's its biggest discount outside of the Apple Store's education pricing, but I'd like to see if Amazon gives us $25 to $50 off at some point. Hang tight, people!)
Finally, I'm keeping an eye on other retailers' MacBook deals this week to see if any of them manage to beat Amazon's prices. None of them have yet, though Best Buy was matching some of its offers at the time of writing. Check there if the configuration you want happens to sell out during Prime Big Deal Days.
Best MacBook Air deal
The latest MacBook Air is a Mashable Choice Award winner and one of our top-reviewed products of the year. In his testing, Mashable tech editor Timothy Beck Werth found the M5 chip to be ridiculously powerful (probably more powerful than the average person really needs, TBH). It also has a fantastic display, a great-sounding speaker system, and a sharp Center Stage webcam.
The 13- and 15-inch sizes of the MacBook Air are both now $200 off on Amazon, starting at just $1,099 and $1,299, respectively. Best Buy was matching those deals the last time I checked.
More MacBook Air deals
Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,399
$1,599(save $200)Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,599
$1,799(save $200)Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,599
$1,799(save 200)Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,799
$1,999(save $200)
Best MacBook Pro deal
$3,199 Save $500
The M5 Pro chip is one of Apple's upgraded laptop CPUs. It's designed to handle the ultra-demanding workloads of "pro users — like data modelers, post-production sound designers, and STEM students — who require robust processing power and graphics," according to a company press release.
Right now, you can save $500 on a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip that has 18 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores, plus 24GB of RAM and a healthy 2TB of storage. This laptop typically retails for $3,199, but you'll pay $2,699 — a 16% savings. Best Buy is also price-matching Amazon here.
As mentioned up top, Amazon's October Prime Day MacBook Pro deals usually max out at $400ish. With that in mind, this is one deal that probably won't improve within the next two days. I also want to point out that it costs the same as a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the same amount of RAM and storage, but a lesser M5 Pro chip with 15 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores. If you're splurging on a new laptop for AI or creative work, this is more of a bargain.
More MacBook Pro deals
Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,839
$1,999(save $160)Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,039
$2,199(save $160)Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Max, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $3,499
$4,099(save $600)
MacBook deals to watch
Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $689
$699(save $10), $599 in the Apple Store with student discountApple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $789.99
$799(save $9.01), $699 in the Apple Store with student discountApple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,249
$2,399(save $150), was $1,944 in JulyApple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,345
$2,499(save $154), was $2,149.99 in JulyApple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5 Pro with 15-core CPU/16-core GPU, 24GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $2,699
$2,999(save $300), was $2,499 in AugustApple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,749
$2,999(save $250), was $2,649.99 in JulyApple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Pro, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $3,299
$3,599(save $300), was $3,049.99 in JulyApple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Max, 36GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $3,899 $
4,399(save $500), was $3,799 in early OctoberApple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Max, 48GB RAM, 2TB SSD) — $4,499 $
4,999(save $500), was $4,349.99 in July
