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    Cyber Monday MacBook deals are live, and these are my favorite picks

    AwaisBy No Comments6 Mins Read0 Views
    A MacBook Pro against a purple TechRadar Cyber Monday deals background

    Cyber Monday is coming in hot for Apple fans, and this year’s markdowns are genuinely impressive, with some of the steepest price drops I’ve seen on our favorite MacBooks, including several of our top recommendations.

    ● Browse Apple’s full Cyber Monday sale

    Still on the fence about which MacBook to get? I’ve spent time with nearly every modern MacBook, and further down this page I give a full comparison between the two to break down the differences between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines, as well as the various M-series chips, so you can feel confident you’re picking the right MacBook for your workload and budget.

    Today’s best MacBook Cyber Monday deals in the US

    Intel-powered MacBook Pro, to the M1 MacBook Air that got me through high school, to my current favorite: the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air.

    Apple’s chips are on another level right now, with best-in-class battery life and outstanding performance that make light work of just about every workload (though it still has a long way to go before it can rival Windows in PC gaming).

    A bunch of these Cyber Monday offers line up with our top picks for the best Macs and MacBooks of the year, so it’s worth checking out that guide if you want a deeper dive into each model. We break them down by price, design, performance, and battery life so you can be sure you’re picking the right one.

    And if you’re torn between a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro, let me quickly walk you through the key differences.

    Should I buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

    When I’m shopping for a new laptop, I always come back to the same four essentials: how much it costs, how fast it is, how it looks and feels, and how long it lasts on a charge. Here’s how I’d score the MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro in each area.

    Price winner – MacBook Air

    No contest here: if you’re trying to keep your budget in check, the MacBook Air is the obvious pick. Thanks to current Cyber Monday discounts, the latest 13-inch model drops to $749 at Amazon, and the 15-inch version is going for $949. By comparison, the most affordable new MacBook Pro (not counting used or refurbished units) still starts at $1,399 for the 14-inch M5 model, even on sale.

    Performance winner – MacBook Pro

    You pay more for the MacBook Pro, but the extra horsepower backs up the price tag. The Air is limited to the standard M4 chip, while the Pro lineup gives you access to M4 Pro, M4 Max, and M5 options, all of which offer significantly higher performance. You can also configure a MacBook Pro with up to 128GB of unified memory and a huge 8TB SSD. The Air tops out at 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.

    The M4 in the Air is still excellent for day-to-day use and even some heavier workloads like light gaming or basic content creation, but for demanding tasks—video editing, 3D work, or running large language models—the Pro’s chips pull far ahead.

    Design winner – MacBook Air

    This one’s almost a tie, since both machines are beautifully built, but the Air edges it out for me thanks to its featherweight design. The 13-inch MacBook Air comes in at about 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg), while the 14-inch MacBook Pro starts around 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg). On paper that difference looks small, but in a backpack or carried around campus, you really do feel it.

    Both offer stunning Liquid Retina displays, though the Pro’s screen is a bit more advanced. The Pro also wins on connectivity, with an extra USB-C port, an SDXC card reader, and HDMI—great if you’re working with external displays or cameras.

    Battery life winner – MacBook Pro

    When it comes to staying unplugged, the MacBook Pro takes the lead. Its 72.4Whr battery is significantly larger than the Air’s 53.8Whr pack, which translates to roughly six extra hours of video streaming on the 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 compared to the 13-inch MacBook Air M4.

    The Pro also ships with a beefier 70W power adapter, while the Air’s standard charger is 35W. If you’re really pushing the Pro with intensive workloads, you can drain it more quickly, but the faster charging helps you bounce back in a hurry.

    So, what do you need more?

    If you want a lightweight and affordable laptop that’s efficient and long-lasting, there’s no beating the MacBook Air. Creative pros and enthusiasts, as well as those who want to do some PC gaming, will want to lean towards the MacBook Pro for its powerful performance, higher memory and storage capacity, and stellar battery life.

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