Today only: Get the M1 MacBook Air for only $800 ($200 off)

The newest MacBook Air is one of the best laptops you can buy right now, as long as you’re fine with using macOS instead of Windows or Linux. Apple updated it last year with its new ARM-based M1 chip, giving the Air impressive battery life and performance, all in the same thin-and-light package as older models. The entry-level M1 model has been $900 for a while now, with occasional drops to $850, but now it’s on sale for just $799.99.

This is the entry-level M1 MacBook Air, with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 8GB RAM all on the same chipset. You also get 256GB of SSD storage, a backlit keyboard, a FaceTime HD webcam, and a 13-inch Retina Display. Not a bad package at all for $800, especially compared to most sub-$1,000 Windows laptops.

Most mainstream macOS software already supports the M1 chip natively, but most older x86-based applications can run in the Rosetta compatibility layer. Mac computers with M1 chips can’t boot into Windows (which is possible on x86 Macs), but you can still run Windows for ARM in a virtual machine with Parallels. There is also slow-moving progress on allowing desktop Linux distributions to boot on M1 hardware without complex hacks or workarounds.

If you’re not sure if the MacBook Air is for you, we have a roundup of the best Macs, which explains which of Apple’s computers are the best options for a given use case and budget. The new Apple MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 (2021) might be worth considering if you need something better than the MacBook Air. The new MacBook Pro can be purchased with more powerful M1 chips, more storage, and more RAM, and all configurations have more hardware ports and a larger display than the Air. Of course, all that comes at a price, which makes the Air a great deal by comparison.