The Best Prime Day MacBook Deal Is Not the One You Think

We've been hawking the M4 MacBook Air deal all week as we hunt for the best Prime Day deals, and for good reason, as $850 for the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air is a great price on what is clearly the best laptop you can currently buy.

But now a MacBook deal has dropped that just might top it. Over at Walmart, you can now buy the M1 MacBook Air for just $599, bringing that laptop to an unprecedented low. That's $50 off the price it's been for the past year and $400 off the price it was when it launched in 2020.

These aren't refurbished models either, which you'll find at other retailers for cheaper. Walmart has been the exclusive seller of new M1 MacBook Airs for the past couple of years at a discounted rate, but this might be the lowest price new MacBooks have ever been sold for.

You might be scratching your head, though, wondering why someone should buy a nearly five-year-old laptop. It's a good question, and in most cases, I'd recommend against it. Discounts on laptops this old are rarely worth the compromise.

But in this case, I do think the M1 MacBook Air is a great option for shoppers on a budget. No, it doesn't have the GPU performance of the M3 or M4 MacBooks, and the design is a bit outdated. It also only comes with just 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, with no option for additional configurations. If you can afford the extra $250, it's well worth buying the M4 MacBook Air (9/10, WIRED Recommends)—especially since it starts at 16 GB of RAM.

But I also know that $250 is a big gap at this price point. And as a general laptop for students or basic work, you'll be surprised how well the M1 chip holds up. I know plenty of people who are still happily using their M1 MacBook Air, and a new one should last you many years.

You just can't find a Windows laptop at this price that can match this performance, battery life, and display quality. If you've always wanted a MacBook but balked at the price, your day has come, my friend.

For more deals, check out the rest of the best Prime Day laptop deals or follow along with our Prime Day liveblog.