Attendees take pictures of a display of newly redesigned MacBook Air (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty … [+]
Following the release of the first M3-powered MacBook Air laptops in March, Apple is ready to offer the laptop in the refurbished section of the Apple Store, and that means a significant discount is on offer.
Apple is offering $170 off the retail price of the entry-level $1,099 13-inch MacBook Air—which ships with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The base 15-inch MacBook Air sees a larger cut, down $200 from $1,299. Other memory and storage configurations are available with a broadly similar discount of 15 to 20 percent.
As these are refurbished hardware, stock levels can vary, so if you are looking for a particular option, you may need to check back frequently and be ready to buy as soon as possible.
Some may balk at the idea of refurbished hardware, but this is far from an unusual state of affairs for Apple. Refurbished units go through the exact same tests and checks before going on sale as retail units do, with any components switched out as required. The hardware has a 14-day return period that matches new devices, comes with a full one-year warranty, and is eligible for the extended warranty of Apple Care+.
The M3 MacBook Air is broadly similar in design to the M2 Air, albeit with twenty percent more performance thanks to the uprated Apple Silicon chipset. Every Apple Silicon Mac, including the M3 Air, will support Apple’s new artificial intelligence suite of tools.
Other retailers will offer discounts on brand-new MacBook Air models that are slightly cheaper than even the refurbished units here. Yet, many are more comfortable buying directly from Apple for the initial sale and ongoing support.
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