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expired Posted by Dr.W • Nov 17, 2023
expired Posted by Dr.W • Nov 17, 2023

Best Buy Plus/Total Members: MacBook Air: 15" Liquid Retina, M2, 16GB RAM, 512GB

+ Free Shipping

$1,399

$1,700

17% off
Best Buy
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Deal Details
Best Buy has for My Best Buy Plus or Total Members: Apple MacBook Air 15" Laptop (Midnight, Z18U2LL/A) on sale for $1399. Shipping is free.

Note: More info on Plus membership here and Total membership here. Price for non-Plus or Total Members is $1449; open-box options are available as well; click "Open-Box: from $xxxx" on product page to check prices/availability.

Thanks community member Dr.Wajahat for sharing this deal

Specs:
  • Apple M2 Chip w/ 8-Core CPU/10-Core GPU/16-Core Neural Engine
  • 15.3" Liquid Retina Display 2880x1864 w/ True Tone + 1080p FaceTime HD Camera
  • 16GB Unified Memory
  • 512GB Solid State Drive SSD
  • Backlit Magic Keyboard w/ Touch ID
  • MagSafe 3 Charging Port
  • 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter
  • Two Thunderbolt/USB 4 Port

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff

Original Post

Written by Dr.W
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Best Buy has for My Best Buy Plus or Total Members: Apple MacBook Air 15" Laptop (Midnight, Z18U2LL/A) on sale for $1399. Shipping is free.

Note: More info on Plus membership here and Total membership here. Price for non-Plus or Total Members is $1449; open-box options are available as well; click "Open-Box: from $xxxx" on product page to check prices/availability.

Thanks community member Dr.Wajahat for sharing this deal

Specs:
  • Apple M2 Chip w/ 8-Core CPU/10-Core GPU/16-Core Neural Engine
  • 15.3" Liquid Retina Display 2880x1864 w/ True Tone + 1080p FaceTime HD Camera
  • 16GB Unified Memory
  • 512GB Solid State Drive SSD
  • Backlit Magic Keyboard w/ Touch ID
  • MagSafe 3 Charging Port
  • 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter
  • Two Thunderbolt/USB 4 Port

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff

Original Post

Written by Dr.W

Community Voting

Deal Score
+30
Good Deal
Visit Best Buy

Price Intelligence

Model: Apple - MacBook Air 15" Laptop - M2 chip - 16GB Memory - 512GB SSD (Latest Model) - Midnight

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Top Comments

kouichi
983 Posts
105 Reputation
they want to get you subscribed to keep on charging you in case you forget to cancel. Big money in the subscription business because of this
vipul018
53 Posts
80 Reputation
So I need to spend $50 to save another $50? Why is everyone having a premium subscription fees nowadays!
BrightSquirrel7748
9 Posts
14 Reputation
100% disagree. Abelton requires 8GB minimum. Logic will be the same. If you have a lot of virtual instruments that will eat up ram as well. Plus, you'll likely not just be running music production software, but rather that + a few background apps. The performance boost you'll get from the CPU upgrade is much smaller than what you'll see from 16GB of ram. Realistically, an M1 Pro with 16 or 32gb of ram can be had for around the same price and would likely be your best bet for price to performance.

45 Comments

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Nov 17, 2023
53 Posts
Joined Sep 2017
Nov 17, 2023
popeye_the_sailor
Nov 17, 2023
53 Posts
So I need to spend $50 to save another $50? Why is everyone having a premium subscription fees nowadays!
Nov 17, 2023
983 Posts
Joined May 2004
Nov 17, 2023
kouichi
Nov 17, 2023
983 Posts
Quote from vipul018 :
So I need to spend $50 to save another $50? Why is everyone having a premium subscription fees nowadays!
they want to get you subscribed to keep on charging you in case you forget to cancel. Big money in the subscription business because of this
Nov 18, 2023
2,012 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
Nov 18, 2023
aboynamedjoshua
Nov 18, 2023
2,012 Posts
Quote from vipul018 :
So I need to spend $50 to save another $50? Why is everyone having a premium subscription fees nowadays!
Because they anticipate you forgetting to cancel and collecting an easy $50 again next year.
Nov 18, 2023
508 Posts
Joined May 2019
Nov 18, 2023
chynasfaultmerica1st
Nov 18, 2023
508 Posts
Is this good for music production? Or should I get the base M3 pro with 8gb ram
Nov 18, 2023
1,279 Posts
Joined Oct 2015

This comment has been rated as unhelpful by Slickdeals users.

Nov 18, 2023
9 Posts
Joined Oct 2021
Nov 18, 2023
BrightSquirrel7748
Nov 18, 2023
9 Posts
Quote from plus1zero :
Go with the m3. Newer, more features and 8GB ram is fine for music production
100% disagree. Abelton requires 8GB minimum. Logic will be the same. If you have a lot of virtual instruments that will eat up ram as well. Plus, you'll likely not just be running music production software, but rather that + a few background apps. The performance boost you'll get from the CPU upgrade is much smaller than what you'll see from 16GB of ram. Realistically, an M1 Pro with 16 or 32gb of ram can be had for around the same price and would likely be your best bet for price to performance.
1
Nov 18, 2023
1,279 Posts
Joined Oct 2015

This comment has been rated as unhelpful by Slickdeals users.

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Nov 18, 2023
1,038 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
Nov 18, 2023
TurboMann
Nov 18, 2023
1,038 Posts
Quote from trumpinjailhahahaha :
Is this good for music production? Or should I get the base M3 pro with 8gb ram
Would definitely choose the MacBook Air over the M3 pro.
Nov 18, 2023
71 Posts
Joined Jan 2007
Nov 18, 2023
illegalgardener
Nov 18, 2023
71 Posts
Quote from trumpinjailhahahaha :
Is this good for music production? Or should I get the base M3 pro with 8gb ram
In the same boat and think I'm going to go with this air mostly because of the larger screen and ram, but i just like the form factor of the air so much better and have little use for most of the pro's additional / better features. I already have a bb membership and something to trade in too so this deal makes sense for me.

Search on reddit for better info on your specific use case to see whether a pro model might be better for you. In mine, the smaller screen size of the 14" pro is a huge downgrade because my primary usage is logic sessions and won't be using an external monitor. Depending on things like how complex the projects you work on are, and the plugin libraries you're working with, i think you are going to find yourself needing to freeze tracks a lot sooner on a base mbp m3 than this machine because of the 8gb. However for the same money or less you can get an apple certified upgraded refurb m1 mbp 14" at microcenter and get better performance at certain things so that may be something to consider if you'll be doing those things with it.
Nov 18, 2023
993 Posts
Joined Sep 2008
Nov 18, 2023
JV13
Nov 18, 2023
993 Posts
Just bought one. Thanks
Nov 18, 2023
18 Posts
Joined Oct 2020
Nov 18, 2023
ZeroDivided
Nov 18, 2023
18 Posts
I'm a professional producer. You need 16GB for production. Also, if you use Ableton Live, it doesn't use Efficiency Cores at all basically. An 8 core M3 only gives you 4 Efficiency cores. You're better of getting a refurb M1 or M2 on sale
Nov 18, 2023
119 Posts
Joined Oct 2015
Nov 18, 2023
ErronB
Nov 18, 2023
119 Posts
Quote from trumpinjailhahahaha :
Is this good for music production? Or should I get the base M3 pro with 8gb ram
Pro music producer here...

If you're doing more CPU intensive stuff all the time like mixing a ton of audio tracks then the Pro would be better.. but this Air is no slouch, I use it myself. This 16/512 was the perfect balance for me to do stuff away from the desktop.

When it comes to ram, it depends how you work. If you use mostly small groups of audio samples then 8gb would be okay, but when you start using VST plugin synths and the likes, the ram starts taking a heavy hit. I use a lot of Kontakt libraries and 16gb is the bare minimum I can use. When I do bigger orchestral arrangements then I sometimes have to go to my Mac Studio with 32gb of ram.

Like I mentioned above, I use this model myself and I've had no problems. I tried the base model with 8gb ram and it was a disaster. The extra ram gives you a lot more headroom.

Edit to add: Since the 14" MBP M2 is on sale for $1600 right now that would be a better choice for many, but for me the screen was not quite big enough for my liking. I would have liked the 16" but it is a big beast to carry around and a lot more expensive. Just depends on your preference.
Last edited by ErronB November 18, 2023 at 07:51 AM.
Nov 18, 2023
297 Posts
Joined Nov 2021
Nov 18, 2023
argo436
Nov 18, 2023
297 Posts
Quote from plus1zero :
Go with the m3. Newer, more features and 8GB ram is fine for music production
"8 gB oF rAm oN A MaC iS PrObAbLy AnAlogOus tO 16 Gb Of RaM oN a WiNdOwS PC"

I bet this guy believes that BS
4
Nov 18, 2023
411 Posts
Joined Apr 2013
Nov 18, 2023
SiegfriedC
Nov 18, 2023
411 Posts
get the m2 pro they are selling for 1599, way better deal than this pos

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Nov 18, 2023
53 Posts
Joined Sep 2017
Nov 18, 2023
popeye_the_sailor
Nov 18, 2023
53 Posts
I ordered the M1 Pro with 32GB RAM from Adorama because I like the form factor of the Air. I want a thin laptop that I can slide with my other workhorse if I need to do some heavy stuff.
I am a CS professional and need this machine for quick access and programming/XCode development.
This machine should be able to handle all my needs (including code/application dev with regular day work)

PS: I already have a refurbished trash can Mac with Xeon Processor and loads of RAM for $500 off eBay that I will be using for heavy load.
1

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