X
Tech
Why you can trust ZDNET : ZDNET's expert staff finds the best discounts and price drops from reputable sellers on a regular basis. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Our process

'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.

Close

Apple M2 MacBook Air is on sale for $799 at Best Buy - the lowest price we've seen

With features similar to the newer M3 model, now is the time to spring for Apple's ultraportable laptop, especially at this unbeatable sale price.
Written by Kyle Kucharski, Editor
Apple MacBook Air M2
Apple

We're fully into summer, and in the tech world, that means new product launches, announcements on the horizon, and best of all, deals. Case in point: right now, the M2 Apple MacBook Air is on sale for a heavily-reduced price of $799 at Best Buy, perhaps the lowest price we've ever seen for this laptop. 

Also: Amazon Prime Day 2024 is back July 16-17: Everything to know, plus early deals

With competing sales from all the big retailers right now and new Apple products looming on the horizon, it's no surprise we're seeing such competitive sales, but this one deserves particular mention. 

2022's version of the lightweight powerhouse is still a solid machine two years later, with competitive specs that go up against much newer laptops on the market right now. In fact, this laptop was ZDNET's product of the year when it was released in 2022, punching well above its weight in terms of performance and quickly becoming a favorite for professionals looking for power and portability.

The 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air has an 8- and 10-core GPU and an impressive 18 hours of battery life. The 8GB or 16GB of RAM can also be paired with up to 1TB of storage, to future-proof the machine. 

Apple's MacBook Air series are also perhaps one of the most popular ultraportable laptop families among consumers (and our pick for best overall ultraportable), having set an entirely new bar for performance with the introduction of Apple's Silicon chips in 2020, and only improving since then. If you're looking for a secondary laptop you can take with you for travel or on the go, it doesn't get much lighter than the M2 MacBook Air.

Also: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review: Sleeker, faster - and more expensive

Apple released its M3 MacBook Air lineup only nine months after the 15-inch M2 version was first announced in June 2023, marking what is likely to be a rapid succession of upgrades in the industry as a whole within the next few years.

This makes now a great time to spring for a new MacBook Air. Thinner yet with a larger screen than previous versions, the 2022 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air also comes with a vibrant screen with up to 500-nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate, a 1080p FaceTime webcam, two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, and the coveted 3.5mm headphone jack. It also comes in four iconic color tones: Midnight, Silver, Space Gray, and Starlight.

Also: The best early Amazon Prime Day Apple deals

AI-powered laptops are the future, and right now, manufacturers are putting their attention into developing cutting-edge tech that harnesses these capabilities into new machines.

Many folks don't need top-of-the-line AI integration just yet. The reality is that day-to-day workflows for most people are still reliant on powerful, reliable laptops that can tackle whatever you throw at it, and the M2 MacBook Air is a machine that fulfills exactly that need, while being light as air. 

When will this deal expire?

Deals are subject to sell-out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We're sorry if you've missed out on this deal, but don't fret -- we're constantly finding new chances to score savings and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com

Editorial standards