The latest MacBook Air is one of the best laptops you can buy right now, as long as you don't mind using macOS over Windows or Linux. Apple updated it last year with its new ARM-based M1 chip, giving it impressive battery life and performance, all in the same thin-and-light package as older models. The entry-level M1 model has been $900 for a while now, but it just dropped to its lowest price yet — $849.99, a savings of $150 from the original price.

The cheapest MacBook Air has Apple's M1 chipset, with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 8GB RAM all on the same chipset. You also get 256GB of SSD storage, a backlit keyboard, a FaceTime HD webcam, and a 13-inch Retina Display. Not a bad package at all for $850, especially compared to sub-$1000 Windows laptops.

The 2020 MacBook Air with the Apple M1 chipset is available refurbished from Amazon, allowing you to save some money on this great laptop. It's got a sleek design, powerful performance, and plenty of storage.
Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

The latest MacBook Pro is down to $850, the lowest price yet. You can also get the 512GB model for $1,100, $149 off MSRP.

Most mainstream macOS software already supports the M1 chip natively, but x86 applications can run in the Rosetta compatibility layer (with the exception of VMs and some other software). Macs with M1 chips also can't boot into Windows, like x86 Mac computers can, but you can still run Windows for ARM in a virtual machine with Parallels.