Skip The MacBook Pro Black Friday Offers And Wait For Apple’s MacBook Air

It’s the holiday weekend and we are nestled between the retail delights of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For many it feels the last chance to look for a bargain on hardware that would normally be just out of reach, such as Apple’s MacBook laptops.

Apple’s Reluctant MacBook Offers

Apple’s hardware has always been highly priced and prized. Deals on MacBook are always popular with consumers, and the new M4 MacBook Pro laptops released at the end of October have created a sense of urgency to find a holiday deal. Amazon has been offering discounts of up to $300 depending on the specs of the MacBook Pro you choose.

Apple has followed its own traditions and offered sales vouchers for use in the App Store and Apple Stores to allow for ‘free’ software and accessories whilst the price of the MacBook Pro remains steady.

Yet, consumers should be wary that these deals will still be more expensive than the next generation of M4 MacBook Air. Except, Apple won’t be launching that model until March 2025.

The Power Of The MacBook Air

The critical acclaim of the new M4-equipped MacBook Pro laptops has highlighted the leap forward that the chipset has achieved. Compared to the M3 model, the M4 MacBook Pro benchmarks are higher than the M3 on the order of 20 percent for the CPU and 25 percent of the GPU. This M4 chipset will be at the heart of the MacBook Air, so the same leap up will be available in the consumer-focused laptop.

In previous years, the core difference between the Air and the Pro has been the addition of active cooling on the MacBook Pro. This offers a slight jump in performance, but those who need all-out performance for their MacBooks aren’t looking for a ten- to twelve-percent jump, but the more significant jumps offered by the M4 Pro and M4 Max chipsets.

Those who need the power will have skipped over the m4 MacBook Pro to look further up the portfolio.

The Different MacBook Pricing Options

This raises the price difference between the M4 MacBook Pro and the M4 MacBook Air. While the M4 Air has not yet been released, the previous price difference between the M3 Air and M3 Pro was on the order of $500 for between the two entry-level models and $300 for MacBooks with similar levels of RAM and storage when purchasing directly from Apple.

There is one caveat. Apple added several new hardware features M4 MacBook Pro, including a new nano-texture on the display, a brighter display, a third Thunderbolt port and the addition of Space Black as a color option. There’s no indication of Apple will bring these to an M4 MacBook Air, but in previous years the vanilla Mxx Air and Pro laptops offered the same design and hardware additions.

Nevertheless, the M4 MacBook Air should offer a similar level of ports, similar hardware design, and the new M4 chipset that will provide more power and performance than any other consumer-focused Apple laptop currently on the market. If you have to buy a new MacBook in the holiday sales, be aware that Apple has plans for a cheaper and faster MacBook Air shortly.

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