The M4 MacBook Air with 512GB of storage is $949 during Amazon's spring sale

SAVE UP TO $250: During Amazon's Big Spring Sale, M4 MacBook Airs start at just $899 at Amazon. Our recommendation? Grab the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) while it's only $949, a 21% discount and a record-low price.

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Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD)

$899 at Amazon
$999 Save $100

 

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Credit: Apple

Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD)

$949 at Amazon
$1,199 Save $250

 

Get Deal

Apple's new M5 MacBook Air is here, and it's very good, but very iterative (shocker). All variants of it are $50 off at Amazon during its Big Spring Sale, live through March 31. But if you want to save way more on an effectively identical laptop, grab last year's MacBook Air with the M4 chip instead. Amazon still has some configurations in stock, and they're on sale for up to $300 off right now.

One of the cheapest options that's still available is a 13-inch M4 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (the same specs you get in the M5 base model, now $1,049). It usually retails for $1,199, but it's marked down to just $949, or $250 off. That's its lowest price on record; Amazon last offered the same deal in December, according to the price-tracking site camelcamelcamel.

Note that Amazon's $949 pricing only applies to the sky blue color (the others are sold out there), but Best Buy was price-matching it in silver at the time of writing. If you really want the midnight one, B&H Photo has it listed for $1,049 (or $150 off). You can also grab the version with 256GB of storage for $899 at Amazon, though that's not a record price.

So, what are you missing out on by choosing an M4 MacBook Air instead of the M5 version? Not much: In our testing, the newer model's chip was only seven percent faster than its predecessor in both single-and multi-core scenarios, a difference you won't notice IRL. (Single-core workloads involve basic tasks like web browsing, while multi-core workloads are heavier lifts like video editing.) The M5 MacBook Air also supports newer WiFi and Bluetooth standards, so it's a tad more future-proof.

But processor and wireless connectivity aside, the M4 MacBook Air is the same laptop for less money. Here's a quick rundown of its components:

• 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2,560 x 1,664-pixel resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and a 60Hz refresh rate

• Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

• 12MP Center Stage webcam with Desk View support

• Four-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support

• Three-mic array

• Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports plus a headphone jack

• Up to 18 hours of video playback per charge

Want a bigger screen or more RAM and storage? Check out my full list of the best MacBook deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale to see some other options.