Save $50: Starting March 6, paid My Best Buy members (Plus/Total) can save $50 when pre-ordering Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air through Best Buy (price starts at $1,049).
Quick links:
13 inch model
Apple MacBook Air (M3)
Starting at $1,049 at Best Buy
(Save $50 when purchasing a paid My Best Buy membership)
15 inch model
Apple MacBook Air (M3)
Starting at $1,249 at Best Buy
(Save $50 when purchasing a paid My Best Buy membership)
Apple quietly announced updates to its MacBook Air series in a low-key press release this week, bringing M3 chips and new features to its thin and light 13-inch and 15-inch laptops. While they won’t officially hit stores until Friday, March 8, you can pre-order them early through select retailers and maybe save a little money in the process.
As of this writing, paying members of Best Buy’s My Best Buy program (specifically the Plus and Total tiers) can get a $50 discount on the new M3 MacBook Air. This brings the starting price down to $1,049 for the 13-inch model and $1,249 for the base 15-inch model.
That’s not the biggest discount in the world, but it’s a rare opportunity to get a great deal on a new laptop before it officially goes on sale. This appears to be the first time Best Buy has run a promotion of this kind; it’s not offering any discounts for M2 Era pre-orders.
Apple launches new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air equipped with M3 chips
If you’re not already a My Best Buy member, you can sign up for the Plus membership for $49.99 per year to unlock this exclusive deal (among other benefits), plus free two-day shipping and an extended 60-day return period. Meanwhile, the Total plan costs $179.99/year and adds a free protection plan (including AppleCare+), 24/7 technical support, and 20% off any repairs you might need.
Mix and match offer
The new upgrades to the M3 MacBook Air are internal only, but they’re still worth noting. This new silicone chip is said to be 60% faster than the M1 MacBook Air launched in late 2020, and can perform AI tasks faster. They’ve also added support for WiFi 6E as well as two external monitors, with the caveat that the latter requires the lid to be closed. (If you only want to use your computer this way, consider the M2 Mac mini.) Otherwise, you get the same overall design, Liquid Retina display, RAM and storage configuration, and 18 hours of battery life as the M2 generation.
If you’re still not sure whether you should spend the money to upgrade, check out Mashable’s detailed comparison of the M3 and M2 MacBook Airs.
