Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Buying direct from Apple:

1. You can custom order the laptop with the memory, hard drive specs you want.
2. You can use the Apple Card and get 0% financing for 12 months.
3. You can get it today at an Apple Store.
4. You can get the education discount of about 10%.
And you can get trade-in credit applied immediately to Apple Card no-interest payments, if you have something to trade-in.
 
Edit: Scrolling down the page on the higher options shows the change from 8-Core GPU to 10-core on anything above 256GB SSD models.

Still ~$55 cheaper for me to get US education store prices for the 512/16
Apple EDU: $1,175.93
vs
Amazon: $1,229.43
 
Last edited:
I ordered a MacBook Pro on February 4 that never shipped. I canceled the order last week. I suspect Apple was cranking out MacBook Air laptops for the launch and now has too many based on preorders so this may explain the discount.

Another reason to not order from Apple is that Apple ships laptops in a single cardboard box. Apple doesn’t use shrink wrap anymore so the product box can get dirty and damaged, which may hurt the resale value a few years down the road if you sell it on eBay. And of course the shipping box gets very dirty. I can only speak for B&H but they ship iPads and MacBooks in an outer box so you get a clean Apple shipping box and the product box is also more likely to remain clean and undamaged.

Two M4 MacBook Air videos yesterday remarked on damage to the product box, including MKBHD who suspected blood on the product box. This absence of shrink wrap on such expensive products is crazy.
 
Even better deals from Micro Center. Get a price match from Best Buy?


Apple MacBook Air 13" MW123LL/A (Early 2025) 13.6" Laptop Computer - Midnight
$849.99 (beats Amazon's price by $99.01 and Apple's Edu price by $49.01)

13.png





Apple MacBook Air 15" MC7A4LL/A (Early 2025) 15.3" Laptop Computer - Sky Blue
$1,019.99 (beats Apple's Edu price by $79.01)

15.png
 
Last edited:
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: adamw and brgjoe
That’s great. I am waiting for a discount on the iPhone 16e. Let’s go Amazon! You can go 50 Euros lower, maybe even 80? 😊
 
Good to see discounts this early on. Planning to get one in a few months time. But not sure whether discounts will be available outside US.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mganu
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.