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Labor Day sales are rolling in, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before they’re over. You can also subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.
It’s Labor Day weekend, and tech sales are going strong, with deals on TVs, iPads, tablets, and headphones. If you’re looking for a deal on a new MacBook, this is your best chance so far this year: Apple’s powerful M4 MacBook Air already dropped to $799, its lowest price ever, and now, the base 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro is following suit: It’s down to $1299 on Amazon, a $300 discount from the usual $1599. It’s the cheapest price yet for this model MacBook Pro. (The pricier M4 Pro model with the M4 Pro chip and 25GB RAM has already received a $300 cut, from $1999 to $1699.)
The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro is a step above the M4 MacBook Air. They share the same chip, but the MacBook Pro gets a 10-core GPU instead of an eight-core. You also get 16GB Unified Memory, and 512GB Storage as standard (instead of 256GB for the Air).
The MacBook Pro body and design are also completely different. Unlike the Air, the Pro’s body is fan-cooled, so it can sustain processor intensive workloads for video editing and coding for much longer. The Pro also offers a much better screen, with a 3024×1964 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch, 16,00 nits HDR brightness, up to 1,000 nits of regular outdoor brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The M4 MacBook Pro’s battery backup is also substantial, with up to 24 hours of video streaming and 16 hours of wireless web browsing.
What do you think so far?
As a Pro model, it comes with three Thunderbolt USB-C ports, an HDMI cable, and a SD card slot. All this tech does make the Pro heavier: It’s 1.55 kg, or 3.4 pounds, versus the Air’s 1.24 kg, or 2.7 pounds. But if you’re the kind of person that wants a really fast MacBook with 120Hz display, long battery, great build, and don’t mind the weight, the M4 MacBook Pro can be a great choice.
If you just want a thin and light laptop for work and school, you can’t go wrong with the M4 MacBook Air, which, again, is discounted to $799 for Labor Day. If you’re looking for a budget option, the still reliable M1 MacBook Ai can be yours for $599.
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