I'm finally upgrading my Mac — this MacBook Air M4 Prime Day deal for $200 off convinced me

MacBook Air M4 on table with Tom's Guide Prime Day badge

(Image credit: Future / Tom's Guide)

It's a testament to the quality of Apple's products that they last so long — maybe too long in my case. I last bought a MacBook Pro in 2012, and although it's slowed down a little, it's still going strong, more than a decade later.

But, it's been a few years since it was last supported by Apple — I haven't been able to upgrade the operating system past Catalina — so it's overdue for an upgrade. And I think I found just the ticket in this Prime Day deal for the 15-inch MacBook Air M4, which is currently $200 off at Best Buy.

I was debating whether or not I should go for the 15-inch Air, which is on sale for $1,199 or the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which is also on sale for $1,399. (Both models are configured with a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM). If you want to save even more money, the 15-inch MacBook Air M4 with a 256GB SSD is just $999.

The Pro model has a smaller, but better display and longer battery life than the Air, as well as an extra Thunderbolt port, HDMI, and an SDXC card slot. The Air just has two Thunderbolt ports. But, the two models I'm looking at have the same M4 chip, so performance should be roughly the same.

In looking back over the past 10 years I've been using my MacBook Pro, I've rarely done much in the way of video editing, so I wouldn't need the extra power of an M4 Pro chip.

And, while the M4 Pro has a longer battery life than the Air, my current laptop rarely leaves my house, so I'll sacrifice the endurance for a larger screen, which my eyes will definitely appreciate.

In our Macbook Air M4 review, my colleague Tony Polanco called it "boringly brilliant," and gave it 4.5 stars (out of 5).

I was tempted to wait until Black Friday to make this buy, but seeing as Apple is most likely delaying its M5 MacBooks until the spring, I figured now was the time to act. Hopefully, this one will also last me for the next ten years.

For more great discounts, be sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day deals live blog right now.

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Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.

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