My daughter needed a laptop for school — this last-minute Prime Day deal helped me nab a MacBook Air on the cheap

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An older MacBook Air at the right price

MacBook Air M2 with Prime Day logo
(Image credit: Future)

My daughter is moving up a grade in the fall, and her new school doesn't supply her with a laptop to take home like the old place did. So with Amazon Prime Day winding down, the time seemed right to look for last-minute Prime Day laptop deals to see if I could hunt down what her studies require.

Turns out my search was successful — though I wound up looking beyond Amazon to another retailer offering reasonable prices on laptops.

That would be Best Buy, which is running a sale of its own to coincide with Prime Day. And that's how I was able to save $100 on a 13-inch MacBook Air M2 that will let my daughter take her classwork with her without putting a hit on my wallet.

Apple 13-inch MacBook Air M2
Apple 13-inch MacBook Air M2: was $799 now $699 at Best Buy

It's not the latest and greatest MacBook Air, but if you're looking for a lower-cost option, this 2022 model still delivers. The M2 chip powering the laptop supports Apple Intelligence features, and this MacBook Air turned in impressive results in our battery test. There's even a 1080p camera to keep you looking sharp for any video meetings. Best Buy is taking $100 off the $799 MacBook Air, but you'll need to act quickly.

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No, that's not the most recent MacBook Air, though you can pick up a MacBook Air M4 at a $150 discount from Amazon if you want something from the current vintage. The way I see it, though, this is a teenager's first laptop, so an older model will suit her just fine.

Then again, "good enough" is not really an apt description for the MacBook Air M2. It may not have the latest hardware inside, but it's still a pretty impressive machine despite its age.

That M2 chip powering the MacBook Air delivers strong performance, even if you'll get more oomph from the M4 model. And because this is one of Apple's M Series chips, the MacBook Air will be able to support Apple Intelligence features that could come in handy for a student.

More importantly, the MacBook Air M2 lasted for more than 14 hours on our battery test, a very impressive lifespan. That should keep my daughter connected no matter where she ends up working on assignments.

Throw in a compact design — this version of the MacBook Air was 20% smaller than its predecessor — and a colorful 13.6-inch display, and even this older machine won't feel like much of a hand-me-down.

I could have saved even more by turning to a Chromebook — my colleague Darragh Murphy spotted a really good deal on a Lenovo Chromebook Duet that's still available in the waning moments of Prime Day — but my daughter already has an iPhone. So it made sense for us to stick in the Apple ecosystem for her laptop as well.

The lesson here? Prime Day may be about to come to an end, but there are still opportunities to find just what you're looking for at an even better price than usual.

Shop all last-minute Prime Day deals

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Philip Michaels
Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.

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