The 13-inch M2 MacBook Air is a great back-to-school deal at just $699

It’s almost back to school season, and we’re starting to see some great laptop deals trickle in as a result. Walmart continues to sell the M1-powered MacBook Air for $599, but if you want more power and a sleeker design, the 13-inch M2-powered MacBook Air starts at just $699 ($100 off) from Best Buy. That’s its best price to date, and it’s available on the configuration that offers 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, double what’s in the base M1 model. 

The M2-powered MacBook Air remains an excellent jack-of-all-trades, with more than enough power for work, casual gaming, and even a bit of light video editing. It also brings a few welcome upgrades over the M1 model, including faster performance and a much better 1080p webcam that’s noticeably sharper. Design-wise, it’s thinner and lighter, with slimmer bezels and a brighter, slightly bigger display. It also includes an improved keyboard and a MagSafe port for charging, while retaining features like a long battery life that should last a full work day. 

That said, as an older laptop, you’ll miss out on newer features. Apple’s latest MacBook Air runs on a more powerful chip, for one thing, can connect to two external displays as opposed to just one, and offers an even more impressive 12-megapixel Center Stage webcam. But if all you care about is buying a fast, reliable laptop for everyday work and play, the M2-MacBook Air is a great investment to make at this price. 

Read our MacBook Air M2 review.

13-inch MacBook Air with M2 (2022)

The 2022 MacBook Air is a thin, lightweight device powered by Apple’s M2 chip. The M2 model touts an improved 1080p webcam and a better display than its predecessor, while retaining features like long battery life and MagSafe charging. Read our review.

Where to Buy:

• $799 $699 at Best Buy (256GB SSD, 16GB RAM)

Three more worthwhile deals

• Fujifilm’s simple Instax Mini 12 is the instant camera I’d recommend for most people, but the Instax Mini 99 is a good option if you crave more creative control you can buy for $169 ($30 off) at Amazon, which is one of its lower prices to date. The camera adds bells and whistles like a pair of shutter buttons, multiple color effects, adjustable brightness levels, and a tripod socket, providing more flexibility so it’s easier to capture the perfect shot. It’s not as kid-friendly since it takes a bit more time to get a hang of than the Instax Mini 12, but it was still easy enough for a beginner like me to enjoy. 
• You can buy the recently launched OnePlus 4 buds for $99.99 ($30 off) with code ONEPLUSBUDS4 directly from OnePlus, which is its first discount ever. We’ve yet to test the noise-canceling buds, but OnePlus says the buds do a better job of tuning out noise, while upgrades like dual drivers, spatial audio and support for Hi-Res should translate to more detailed sound. They also feature redesigned touch controls that could make the buds easier to control, while retaining an IP55 rating for sweat resistance and multipoint support.
• The Onn Google TV 4K Pro is on sale for $44.73 ($5 off) at Walmart, which is one of its best prices. In addition to functioning as a 4K streaming box with Dolby Atmos and Vision support, the Pro doubles as a Google Assistant smart speaker you can use to turn on lights and other smart home devices with just your voice. The set-top box also comes bundled with a remote, which includes a customizable button so you can quickly access apps and specific TV settings.