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expiredloopydeals posted Dec 20, 2022 07:17 PM
expiredloopydeals posted Dec 20, 2022 07:17 PM

Apple Macbook Air Laptop (Late 2020 Model): M1 Chip, 13.3", 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM

+ Free Shipping

$1,199

$1,649

27% off
B&H Photo Video
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Update: This popular deal is still available.

B&H Photo Video has Apple Macbook Air M1 13.3" Laptop (Late 2020 Model, Various Colors) on sale for $1199. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member loopydealsfor finding this deal.

Available:
  • Gold (MGQP3LL/A) $1199
Specs:
  • Apple M1 Chip 8-Core CPU
  • 13.3" 2560 x 1600 Retina IPS Display
  • 1TB Solid State Drive SSD
  • 16GB Unified RAM
  • 8-Core GPU | 16-Core Neural Engine
  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.0
  • Backlit Magic Keyboard
  • Force Touch Trackpad | Touch ID Sensor
  • macOS
  • Ports:
    • 2x Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
  • About this product:
    • Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars based on over 525 customer reviews.
  • About this store:
    • B&H Photo Video's return policy details are here.
  • No longer available:

Original Post

Written by loopydeals
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Update: This popular deal is still available.

B&H Photo Video has Apple Macbook Air M1 13.3" Laptop (Late 2020 Model, Various Colors) on sale for $1199. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member loopydealsfor finding this deal.

Available:
  • Gold (MGQP3LL/A) $1199
Specs:
  • Apple M1 Chip 8-Core CPU
  • 13.3" 2560 x 1600 Retina IPS Display
  • 1TB Solid State Drive SSD
  • 16GB Unified RAM
  • 8-Core GPU | 16-Core Neural Engine
  • Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) + Bluetooth 5.0
  • Backlit Magic Keyboard
  • Force Touch Trackpad | Touch ID Sensor
  • macOS
  • Ports:
    • 2x Thunderbolt 3 / USB 4

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
  • About this product:
    • Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars based on over 525 customer reviews.
  • About this store:
    • B&H Photo Video's return policy details are here.
  • No longer available:

Original Post

Written by loopydeals

Community Voting

Deal Score
+93
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Top Comments

HappySink807
85 Posts
14 Reputation
Ladies and gents, this thread is about 16gb ram M1 mba. If 8gb M macbook satisfies your needs, good for you. You are more than welcome to feel strong about your opinion but that doesn't always mean it's true. I honestly don't even understand why ppl would come here and explain others how sufficient 8gb m1 macbook is. Ppl are here because this is a good deal. I don't think anyone would disagree that a 16gb ram macbook would go further than a 8gb macbook. This is not a cheap product and that's why we are all here. To buy good products at a good price that would hopefully last for a long time.
OMGItsJustin
107 Posts
57 Reputation
B&H is definitely legit have you not heard of it lol
gqukyo
282 Posts
30 Reputation
It does not matter, as efficient as the M chips are, that doesn't mean the apps you use are all optimized. If one app uses 4gb of ram then it uses 4gb of ram. And that's one app. Even if the apps uses only a few hundred, end of the day, 16gb allows more apps open and running simultaneously (especially background apps). I also speak from actual experience of owning a M1 Air 8GB. I figured 8gb should be fine on a Mac especially an M1 chip but nope. That thing got slow a lot and I'm not even a power user. Traded that in for the base model 14" pro with 16GB ram. Works so much better.

183 Comments

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Dec 21, 2022 01:01 PM
64 Posts
Joined Jan 2017
TravelHoundDec 21, 2022 01:01 PM
64 Posts
I'm very tempted, does anyone think we will see a better deal after Christmas?
i need a laptop, are there usually end of year sales on laptops to get uear end quotas met?
I wasnt even considering mac due to price.

Thanks
Dec 21, 2022 01:37 PM
1,508 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
AmusedPlastic6071Dec 21, 2022 01:37 PM
1,508 Posts
Can my kid play Roblox on this?
1
Dec 21, 2022 02:23 PM
295 Posts
Joined Oct 2019
FaithfulTank4187Dec 21, 2022 02:23 PM
295 Posts
I have the 8/256 Base model that I got used like new from FB marketplace for $650. I mostly do education work and have around 80GB left on the SSD. I've noticed that sometimes Microsoft Office Apps (word and powerpoint) misbehave as well as Adobe Acrobat. I have also noticed that sometimes after getting the laptop out of sleep, the display is veeery laggy. Would it be worth getting this for $1200+tax and selling my current base model?
Dec 21, 2022 02:38 PM
23 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
slickweiliDec 21, 2022 02:38 PM
23 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank slickweili

Quote from HappySink807 :
Ladies and gents, this thread is about 16gb ram M1 mba. If 8gb M macbook satisfies your needs, good for you. You are more than welcome to feel strong about your opinion but that doesn't always mean it's true. I honestly don't even understand why ppl would come here and explain others how sufficient 8gb m1 macbook is. Ppl are here because this is a good deal. I don't think anyone would disagree that a 16gb ram macbook would go further than a 8gb macbook. This is not a cheap product and that's why we are all here. To buy good products at a good price that would hopefully last for a long time.
Not disagreeing with your statement but to expand a bit...assessing what makes a good deal on a personal level also involves understanding the product. I learn a lot from people's back and forth and that adds a layer of decision making. Especially important on this site as a lot of decisions are made just because of a lower price point, ie deal
1
Dec 21, 2022 02:59 PM
189 Posts
Joined May 2007
ky4hDec 21, 2022 02:59 PM
189 Posts
I have the 8GB M1 MBA and love it for regular tasks (and if you don't have too many apps / browser tabs running at the same time), but once I started going some development work on it, its performance falls off the cliff with constant throttles and freezes - so definitely get the 16GB version if you're going to be using it for development work.
1
Dec 21, 2022 03:02 PM
133 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
rufworkDec 21, 2022 03:02 PM
133 Posts
Quote from Scoreracing :
I've heard many times in these threads that the argument you put forth is just not true on the M architecture. It is true if you're talking about Intel chips. But the M architecture blows Intel away that 8GB is really like 16GB on Intel. It's that much better and 16GB on an M chip is really for like a fraction of people that edit videos, high end photos, etc. So anything else it's a waste of $.
Good grief. Not true. I have an 8gig M1 Air. If you have more than a couple apps open at once, it hits Molasses State pretty quickly.

The right answer is always "depends on what you want to do", but if you're doing any sort of work (Slack, email, Word, a couple of browsers open with 30 tabs a piece) you will not regret more RAM.

You can't upgrade RAM or SSD on these things. M1 or 2 will feel like demons coming from non-Apple silicon Macs.
Dec 21, 2022 03:18 PM
3,909 Posts
Joined Sep 2019
LavenderPickle7682Dec 21, 2022 03:18 PM
3,909 Posts
Quote from Scoreracing :
I've heard many times in these threads that the argument you put forth is just not true on the M architecture. It is true if you're talking about Intel chips. But the M architecture blows Intel away that 8GB is really like 16GB on Intel. It's that much better and 16GB on an M chip is really for like a fraction of people that edit videos, high end photos, etc. So anything else it's a waste of $.
Wrong.

8gb is still 8gb. Just because it's Apple doesn't mean it's blessed with unicorn dust of magic performance.

What makes 8gb so nice and viable is the relationship with the super-fast SSD -- they make -extensive- use of the swap disk. So it FEELS like 8gb is 16gb, but what you're only doing is wearing out your SSD, putting it in an early grave.

But hey, do what works for you. If you think you're special and the rules of the universe don't apply to you, keep dancing in your Disney movie bub.
3

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Dec 21, 2022 03:23 PM
1,508 Posts
Joined Sep 2018
AmusedPlastic6071Dec 21, 2022 03:23 PM
1,508 Posts
Didn't Intel try something like this with their "optane" memory? Used for fast read/write cache.
Dec 21, 2022 03:25 PM
205 Posts
Joined May 2010
azentropyDec 21, 2022 03:25 PM
205 Posts
Tempted as well. I have a base M1 Air as my secondary system that really the only issue I have with it is the lack of RAM with some tasks. Wish they had Silver though as I'm Space Grayed out and never cared for the Gold.
Dec 21, 2022 03:44 PM
833 Posts
Joined Apr 2014
insaneXprovalDec 21, 2022 03:44 PM
833 Posts
Quote from HappySink807 :
This. Yes, M1 is efficient but ram is just ram. if you open up many tabs on chrome, run visual studio, and other necessary background apps, 8gb is really tight. it doens't matter if it's m1 or not. 16gb ram should be the minimum especially if you plan to own this machine for longer than 2-3+ yrs. And at this price, why would anyone pick 8gb over 16gb?
The trick to the M1 8/256 Air feeling fast with a lot of apps running is the fast SSD for when RAM runs out and it has to swap. SSD is still not as fast as RAM but it masks the performance dip when you use up all the memory. That's how they were able to sell 4GB RAM Intel Airs for so long. I agree the 16GB future-proofs the laptop, but my old 8GB M1 Air never felt slow to me. I did end up upgrading to the M1 Pro 14" 16/512 but that was for other reasons too like larger screen, more ports, ProMotion, etc.
Dec 21, 2022 03:45 PM
85 Posts
Joined May 2022
HappySink807Dec 21, 2022 03:45 PM
85 Posts
Quote from slickweili :
Not disagreeing with your statement but to expand a bit...assessing what makes a good deal on a personal level also involves understanding the product. I learn a lot from people's back and forth and that adds a layer of decision making. Especially important on this site as a lot of decisions are made just because of a lower price point, ie deal
I agree and thank you!
Dec 21, 2022 03:52 PM
378 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
pPjkmFsYUqtDec 21, 2022 03:52 PM
378 Posts
Wish they had it in Silver
Dec 21, 2022 04:04 PM
215 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
pixelvizDec 21, 2022 04:04 PM
215 Posts
Quote from SidKneeK :
What is going on? All these Mac deals in the last couple of months. With supply shortages, I would think these prices would be remain on the high side. Or is this a result of producing using their own chips? Is Apple really putting an effort to be competitive?
Laptop sales in general are much lower than manufacturers predicted. Also with Apple they get a lot of revenue from services provided after selling a laptop, so the initial purchase price can be lower.

Source: Me. I just read the news a lot. I don't have any insider knowledge though.
Dec 21, 2022 04:16 PM
589 Posts
Joined Mar 2010
bhansonDec 21, 2022 04:16 PM
589 Posts
The fact that there is a debate 8 GB vs 16 GB proves that 8 is not "enough for 99% of people." If it was, then there would be near consensus that 8 is enough.

I personally own the M1 8/256 model and it's super fast until you open too much stuff and then it becomes *really* slow. Unfortunately 8 GB is not very much so "too much stuff" can be done with ONLY browser tabs. Open few YouTube videos to watch later, leave them in the background and you hit the ceiling real quick.

I'm basically always getting memory pressure with a very casual workload of 95% web browsing. The CPU is insanely efficient and is more than fast enough. 256 GB is plenty for me personally since everything is in the cloud. The 8 GB feels like having a sports car that you can only drive in the right lane.

Honestly, I feel like I could have more tabs open on my Intel 8 GB MacBook Pro, although everything else was worse.

I have an M1 Pro with more ram that I use for work and it suffers none of the problems I have with the 8 GB model. It's definitely the RAM that limits the usefulness in my case.

Unless you know for sure that you only keep a few browser tabs open, or you're okay with limiting that, then the 16 GB is a much safer buy. If you stay within the limits of how much stuff you can have open then the 8 GB model is a fantastic machine that is blazing fast, completely silent, and barely sips power.

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Dec 21, 2022 04:28 PM
534 Posts
Joined Dec 2007
thebriezeDec 21, 2022 04:28 PM
534 Posts
Quote from bikerbandito :
I just bought the 16" M1 Pro for video editing and some After Effects (rotoscoping,l and integration with Blender). I got it on a Slickdeal but it was still 700 more than this. Do you think I can do video editing and some vfx on this MBA and be okay?
I would stick with the Pro series. Much better, screen, webcam, speakers, thermal throttling, and GPU (fits your need).
If you care about mobility, you could consider the 14" Pro at 1599, and add an iPad, or external monitor for extra screen real estate.

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