What to know before buying a MacBook Air in 2025

Apple brought the MacBook Air starting price back to the magic $999 number with the introduction of the M4 MacBook Air. In recent years, Apple relied on selling an older version of the MacBook Air to stay below the $1,000 price tag.

Having newer technology for a lower price is a double win for customers. It also means customers should seek even lower prices on previous generation MacBook Air models still being sold.

Considering an M2 or M3 MacBook Air purchase now that the M4 MacBook Air has arrived? Keep these things in mind before making a buying decision.

Note that the following guidance is for base model 13-inch MacBook Air models. Guidance for 15-inch MacBook Air models and configurations with upgraded storage is a story for another article.

Apple’s brand new MacBook Air is already cheaper

First, be aware of Apple’s M4 MacBook Air prices and potential discounts from other retailers.

The base model 13-inch M4 MacBook Air costs $999 for a 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB RAM, and 256GB solid state drive.

It won’t be long before retailers start listing the M4 MacBook Air for discounted prices!

Sales prices can be misleading

Second, keep in mind that a bigger discount on older hardware doesn’t always mean a better deal due to the new prices.

For example, you may find the M3 MacBook Air listed for $899 (regular $1099), but that $200 discount does not mean it’s a better value than an M4 MacBook Air discounted by $100.

Don’t pay more than these prices

Finally, be aware that there are a lot of new-in-the-box MacBook Air configurations still being sold. Fortunately, Apple’s new inventory is limited to M4 models, but that’s hardly the case in competing stores.

Other retailers will sell the M4 MacBook Air, M3 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM, M2 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM, M3 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM, and M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM — and those are just the base configurations. There’s even an M1 MacBook Air still floating around in the inventory.

Apple originally sold the M2 and M3 models with 8GB RAM. Last year, Apple doubled the RAM to 16GB for the base model M2 and M3 models without changing prices.

This was awesome for customers at the time, but it makes for an awfully confusing marketplace now.

16GB RAM

My advice for base model customers is only consider buying one of these three 13-inch MacBook Air models for no more than the prices suggested:

• $999 | M4 MacBook Air
• $899 | M3 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM
• $799 | M2 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM

That’s because of the mid-cycle RAM increase for M2 and M3 models. As soon as retailers start taking $100 off the price of the M4 MacBook Air, do the same for the M3 and M2 models before considering a purchase.

8GB RAM

My advice is avoid buying any M2 or M3 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM if you can help it. If you must, however, these are reasonable prices for 8GB RAM models still being sold:

• $799 | M3 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM
• $699 | M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM

You’re getting a fair deal if these prices are best for your budget, but I wouldn’t advise paying more than the prices suggested for the M3 and M2 configurations — especially if you can find a deal on a 16GB RAM model.

The only exception is the M1 MacBook Air that Walmart still sells. The current $629 sales price is OK if that’s already stretching your budget, but the regular $699 price is no longer compelling.

If your budget supports the $799 price and you’re torn between the M3 with 8GB RAM and the M2 with 16GB RAM, I advise going for the higher RAM. In my experience, the difference in everyday performance is more noticeable with double the RAM than one generation newer processor.

What about refurbished and used hardware?

Keep in mind that these price recommendations are all existing new-in-the-box inventory. Take off another 10% for refurbished inventory that includes the same warranty coverage.

If you’re buying used on eBay or Facebook Marketplace without a warranty, I recommend taking off 25% from the prices provided for new-in-the-box inventory. Something I find super common is that sellers tend to price their old hardware based on what they originally paid for it.

For example, people will actually try to sell a used M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM for the same price or more than a new-in-the-box M3 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM. Sellers don’t always know the market value for their old purchases, and buyers don’t always know to factor in details like processor generations and mid-cycle RAM increases.