Prime Day: A guide to find the best deals on laptops for creative professionals and a new MacBook Air with the M2 processor and USB-C ports
Do you think you will have to pay a lot of money to get a great laptop? Not necessarily. There are plenty of good laptops on the market. While it can feel overwhelming to find the right one for your needs (some are better suited for, say, college students, whereas others are ideal for gamers), that’s why we’ve come up with this list of some of the best laptop deals available right now.
Also, one last thing: the second Amazon Prime Day of the year is approaching on October 11th and October 12th. We may see more great deals on laptops because of that, so you might want to wait to buy a new one. In the meantime, you can start preparing for Prime Day 2.0 with our guide to finding the best Prime Day deals.
The new MacBook Air is a super slim and light laptop with a 1080p webcam that’s actually usable and that handy magnetic charger that frees up one of its precious two USB-C ports. Its M2 processor didn’t kick-start a revolution like the M1 generation, but it’s a great performer for any user outside of more demanding creatives.
The base MacBook Air with the M1 chip has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The M1 Air sells for around 1,250 dollars, but that is as good as it gets, and it is still an excellent value almost 2 years after its release.
The laptop comes with other nice-to-have features such as a comfortable keyboard, an excellent trackpad and excellent performance. If a high-resolutionWebcam is important to you, you should buy one separately, because its 720p is not very good. Due to the limited capabilities of the M1 chip, you cannot use multiple displays at the same time and port selection is limited.
The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros were announced a year ago, they come with either the M1 pro or M1 max CPUs, which are likely the choice of demanding creative professionals.
Lenovo Yoga 9i Spectroscopy and Usb 3.1 Gen 1 Laptops: A Budget-friendly Laptop Compared to Acer Aspire 5
At the moment, Lenovo is taking hundreds of off various configurations of the Yoga 9i. It’s possible to purchase the Intel Core i5 processor equipped model for less than its retail price, which is $1,699.99 from Lenovo.
The good port selection and backlit keyboard of the Aspire 5 doesn’t come cheap, but it does come with bloatware and poor battery life.
The Acer Aspire 5 is another budget-friendly laptop to consider. The laptop has a wide port selection that includes one USB 3.1 type-C Gen 1, but it doesn’t support the new high-speed internet networking standard dubbed ‘Thunderbolt’. There are twousb 3.1 Gen 1 and oneusb 2.0 and oneHDMI and a power port The affordable laptop has a backlit keyboard that is pleasant to use and sound quality that punches above its weight class.
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Buying the Mac Mini: MacBooks, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air in the Era of Apple Computers for Creative Work
While the 10.9-inch display of the iPad Air is nearly the same size as the 11-inch iPad Pro, there are some things you’re giving up by not opting for the pricier Pro. The iPad Air uses TouchID via a side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into the power button, while the Pros get the convenience of FaceID. The iPad Air should look great if you do not need a lot of local storage on your device, and it starts with 64 gig of storage, compared to 128 gig for the Pro.
Here, we’ll run through the discounts that are currently available for the current MacBooks, as well as any deals to be had on the Mac Mini. Of course, you may still find older Intel-based configurations lying around, with some heavy closeout sales. Now that Apple has M1 and M2 chips in the MacBook Air and Pro lines, we strongly advise you to go with a newer model. There is really no downside to opting for Apple’s own silicon, save for Windows Boot Camp holdouts.
Buying a refurbished Apple computer is another way to save money. Apple provides a one-year warranty for all products and the store often offers discounts of 15 to 20 percent off new units. If you are looking to buy a new Macbook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac Mini, these deals are the best available.
It does have a few drawbacks, like slower storage in the base configuration and a notch cutout in the screen. But even so, there hasn’t been a more travel-friendly laptop offered by Apple since the days of the polarizing 12-inch MacBook, and this one’s good enough to be the No. 1 laptop we now recommend in our buying guide.
Right now, the only prevalent deal is a $100 discount on the who do intensive creative work may still be better served spending more on the more capable 14-inch MacBook Pro (see below).
The Mac Mini is an affordable desktop computer and can be used with macOS. It does not have a display, keyboard, or mouse but it is an excellent performer and you will need to give your own. It’s fast, efficient, and comes outfitted with Wi-Fi 6.
The newer Mac studio is nice, but it costs a lot more than other machines. The little Mac Mini is still capable of being a useful desktop for everyday users who want to work on creative things, even if deals on it have recently gotten quiet.
Apple’s most affordable Mac desktop computer is powered by the custom M1 chip. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in its base model but can be configured with up to 16GB RAM and 2TB of storage.
Discounted Apple Devices and Travel Deals for Dec. 2022: The Case of the MacBook, MacBook, Mac, and Other Models
Apple devices are expensive, and they don’t go on sale at the Apple store. Third-party sellers like Best Buy and Amazon do offer discounts from time to time, including right now. We found discounted Apple devices, including iPad, MacBooks, Apple Watches, and other accessories. Many of these deals are better than what we saw on Cyber Monday, but many of them will end on Thursday.
A one-year subscription to WIRED is for $5, and there is a $25 off offer for gear readers. This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Apple has just updated its basic iPad with features such as a chip and port, and a slim design. The touch ID sensor is found on the top edge of the slate, like it was on the iPad Air. The rear camera has a higher resolution. The 12-MP camera on the iPad is now in the center, so you will no longer have to stare at the side during video calls. The bad news is Apple jacked the price up $120 over previous models. This deal is better than what we saw on Cyber Monday and makes the slate more approachable.
The iPad Mini makes a great travel companion. It’s small enough to slip into my tote or backpack, and the 8.3-inch display is great for reading ebooks or watching movies. Equipped with an A15 Bionic processor (the same one powering last year’s iPhone 13), it’s fast enough to handle both taxing apps and games. With second-generation Apple Pencil support, you can also use it as a notebook or sketchpad. It is still a solid deal even though it dropped to this price for Cyber Monday.
The iPad Pro model in question has the M1 processor. The new iPad Pro is just an update, and you can save some cash by grabbing this version.
The Apple stylus was on sale for less than $90 during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is the best discount we have seen as small as it is. It works with every iPad in Apple’s current lineup except the 9th-gen iPad.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/apple-deals-december-2022/
Easing through the woods with Apple’s latest high-end smartwatch (8/10, WIRED Recommends)
The 16-inch MacBook Pro is similar to the 14-inch model, but with a bigger screen. The extra screen room for apps that have a lot going on is a nice idea for video editors, even though it’s not very difficult to travel with. If you missed the $100 discount on this model, it’s still a good deal.
We saw this price dip $10 lower during Cyber Monday, but this is still a nice deal for Apple’s newest high-end smartwatch (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It has the best battery life you’ll find on an Apple Watch, mostly because it’s much bigger than the standard Series 8. There is a spare action button that can be used to make specific actions in case you are lost in the woods.
The Apple Watch (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is our favorite Apple Watch in the lineup. It offers a blood oxygen level sensor, ECG reader, and heart rate monitor. Apple also introduced a wrist-based temperature-sensing feature that tracks your skin temperature. This is a great tool for tracking period and fertility. This deal was $30 better during Cyber Monday, but if you missed that, you can still save a few bucks.
This deal was $29 cheaper during Cyber Monday. The second-gen AirPods Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends) come with upgrades like improved noise canceling and better battery life—you’ll get six hours with the buds and 24 hours in the case, which will certainly get you through a full workday. The charging case also comes with new features too, like the ability to sync it with Apple’s Find My app (which will emit a beeping sound to help you locate them), and the option to charge it on an Apple Watch puck. You can read the Best Wireless Earbuds guide.
We haven’t seen the price go up yet, but we know this is a small discount compared to the official Apple wireless charging point. The spot allows for the best power transfer, so it charges fast when it is there. But with an annoyingly short 3-foot cable, it’s tough to use your phone while it’s charging unless you’re right next to where it’s plugged in.
The MagSafe Duo is a great choice if you have both an iPhone and an Apple Watch, with respective spots for both. It folds in half too, which makes it really easy to travel with. It’s just far too expensive for what it does, but this deal makes it a bit easier on the wallet.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/apple-deals-december-2022/
An 11-inch Silent Keyboard Compatible with iPads 3rd Generation, Air 4th, and 4th Generations – A Case Case Study
This keyboard will fit the 11-inch iPad Pro (first, second, third, and fourth generation) and iPad Air (fourth and fifth generation). The keyboard is silent and many people love it because it does not offer any feedback on the keys.