Should You Save $250 On The Apple MacBook Air M2, Or Is A Newer Model Better?

Oliver Cragg / Android Authority

Apple computers used to be known for being overpriced, but the market sentiment regarding these machines is changing. This is especially true since the launch of Apple’s M series chips, which brought a massive leap in performance. Now, MacBooks are very capable, and they can often be cheaper than their Windows direct competitors. For example, the Apple MacBook Air M2 is only $749 right now, thanks to this Best Buy deal. Is it the right computer for you?

Buy the Apple MacBook Air M2 for $749 ($250 off)

This offer is available from Best Buy. Keep in mind the MacBook Air M2 is from 2022, and we are seeing starting signs of it being phased out of the market. Apple no longer sells it, and certain color versions are starting to go out of stock on Amazon.

Apple MacBook Air 13-Inch (M2, 16GB, 256GB)

Thin, light, and powerful

The MacBook Air with an M2 chip brings the thin and lightweight design you’d expect from an Air, but with all the might of the M2 silicon.

While this is not the current record-low price for the Apple MacBook Air M2, it is still an excellent deal. The lowest it has dropped is $699, but that is a rare occurrence we’re not sure we’ll see again anytime soon.

Is the Apple MacBook Air M2 the right laptop for you? Honestly, we still believe it may be the best model for most users, even if it’s now two generations behind. It’s still very capable, has the same design, and we believe it offers the most bang per buck. It is a nice jump up from the M1 model, but not far behind the M3 and M4 versions, at least when you take the price into account.

Let’s start with performance, which we know is one of the main factors when picking a laptop. Can the Apple MacBook Air M2 handle your needs? I still own this model, and it has met all my needs. The Apple M2 chip and 16GB of RAM do surprisingly well. It has never slowed down on me, and I constantly use it to edit RAW photos using Photoshop and Lightroom. Some of our co-workers also claim it handles 4K video editing very well. Of course, running less power-hungry apps will be a breeze.

Mahmoud Itani / Android Authority

Additionally, the rest of the Apple MacBook Air M2 is just as impressive as the newer Airs. It has the same metal construction and general thin design that is now iconic across the industry. You’ll also enjoy a very nice backlit keyboard, a large glass trackpad, a MagSafe charging port, and an outstanding 18-hour battery life.

The display may be smaller, at 13.6 inches, but many of you see that as a pro, as it keeps the laptop very portable. Regardless, it actually has a really nice display, featuring a sharp 2,560 x 1,664 resolution. It can also reproduce the DCI-P3 color spectrum, so it’s a great option if you care about color accuracy.

All things considered, the Apple MacBook Air M2 is a great laptop. Most people won’t need more, and the current price is very reasonable. If you want one of these, you might want to take advantage of this deal relatively soon. MacBooks that are two generations behind don’t usually last long in the market. We can imagine this one will be phased out completely pretty soon.

Should you upgrade to the M3 or M4 models?

As already mentioned, we don’t believe most of you need to upgrade to the Apple MacBook Air M3 or M4 to get a pleasant computing experience. That said, some of you might want to pay a bit extra for the upgrade. Let’s go over each one and see what differentiates it.

If you want me to be completely honest, I feel the Apple MacBook Air M3 is the least exciting of these three models. The improvements are just not that significant compared to the M2 MacBook Air.

Yes, there is technically a performance bump, as it comes with an Apple M3 processor and 16GB of RAM, but it won’t be huge. Other improvements include Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6, but that only matters if you have the right router and internet speeds. The mic is also slightly better.

Otherwise, the Apple MacBook Air M3 is mostly unchanged. It has the same design, metal constructions, display, backlit keyboard, large glass trackpad, and 18-hour battery life.

It’s currently on sale, too, at $899. Is it worth the extra $150? I’d say that if you’re going to spend more, it should probably be for the newest MacBook Air.

Now, if you’re going to pay more, we’d say it should be for this one. The newest Apple MacBook Air has an M4 processor and 16GB of RAM. This is a more significant performance upgrade, and it is only $50 more than the M3 version. At least right now that it’s on sale for $949.

Aside from performance, though, the story is the same. You get the same metal design, backlit keyboard, large glass trackpad, awesome screen, 18-hour battery life, etc.

Oh, there’s a new color, which I suppose could be another nice little treat. It’s called Sky Blue, and I happen to think it looks awesome.