Cyber Monday MacBook deals 2023: Including savings on the latest M3 MacBook Pros and M2 Airs
An Apple MacBook Pro or Air is an ideal music production computer. For Cyber Monday we're hunting down all the best deals, including money off M3 models
Apple computers have long been the musician's choice thanks to their sleek designs and powerful processors. Music production requires speed and a great workflow, and all of Apple's machines deliver these in spades. MacBook Pro and Air laptops are among the company's most desirable machines and this is the best time of year to score a hearty discount - with that, our experts have scoped out all of this year's best Cyber Monday MacBook deals and shared their favourites below.
The new M3 processors have just been released by Apple, but there are already some amazing discounts up for grabs on a rage of models, alongside more established M1 and M2 machines.
Apple has spec'd these MacBooks to the max, making these in many ways the ultimate laptops for music production, especially if producing music on the move is top of your list of requirements. Both the MacBook Air and Pro are sleek, light and, in the latter case, just about as powerful as you can wish for, featuring (up to) Apple's latest M3 Max processors.
As you might expect though, the top of the range MacBooks cost a lot. Indeed, if you were to spec up a MacBook Pro to the max right now, you could be looking at a $7,199/£7,299 price tag!
However, we don't want you to pay this kind of cash. Instead, we've created this page featuring everything you need to know about Apple laptops so you can match a machine to your music production requirements. As always, Cyber Monday promises to be a time to buy exactly that machine for less. We've gathered some great deals together that could shave hundreds off the asking price of a MacBook. Want to find out which machines we love? Find out in our guide to the best Macs for music production?
Cyber Monday MacBook deals: Quick links
There are the best places to find great MacBook deals right now:
- Amazon: Lowest price MacBooks
- Best Buy: Extra Air/Pro savings
- B&H Photo: Bag an older model
- Walmart: Cheap refurbished models
- Amazon: Up to £200 off
- Argos: Same-day delivery/in-store pickup
- Currys: Cheapest Air prices
- John Lewis: Two-year guarantee
- Laptops Direct: Over £100 off an Air
- Very: Up to £100 off select MacBooks
US Editor's picks
MacBook Pro M3 14": $1,599 now $1,449
Apple's new MacBook Pro M3 features an 8-core processor, 10-core GPU, and supports up to 24GB of unified memory. It's got a tasty $150 discount over at Best Buy, and you can get an extra $50 off with a membership. Up to 35 percent faster than the first-generation M1 chip, this is a powerhouse production tool for those who need to run loads of VSTs and plugins without any dropouts or latency.
MacBook Pro M3 Pro 14": $1,999 now $1,849
A MacBook Pro M3 deal that goes the extra mile by including the M3 Pro processor (that's a lot of pros). This means you get a 11-core processor, 14-core GPU, 18GB RAM and a 512SSD. It's certainly not cheap, but a $150 discount at Best Buy (plus an additional $50 off for members) might be tempting enough to make you hit the buy button, and we're pretty sure you won't regret it.
MacBook Pro M3 Max 14": $3,199 now $2,999
For the ultimate in 14-inch MacBook Pro indulgence, you want an M3 Max model, and here's one with a $200 saving at Best Buy (plus another $50 off for members). Just look at the specs - 14-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 36GB RAM, 1TB SSD - and tell us that you don't want one.
MacBook Pro M3 Pro 16": $2,499 now $2,299
Looking for a little extra screen real estate? The 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro could be the answer, particularly now it's had a $200 price cut at Best Buy (plus another $50 for members). That gets you plenty of computing candy: 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB RAM and 512G RAM. We like the sound of that.
MacBook Pro M3 Max 16": $2,499 now $2,299
Looking for a little extra screen real estate? The 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro could be the answer, particularly now it's had a $200 price cut at Best Buy (plus another $50 for members). That gets you plenty of computing candy: 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB RAM and 512G RAM. We like the sound of that.
MacBook Air M1 13": Was $999.99 now $749.99
The 2020 Apple MacBook Air with an M1 chip may seem like old news now but it's still one of the best music production laptops ever made. Best Buy now has it for a record-low price thanks to a huge $250 discount. Our MacBook Air M1 review awarded the device 4.5 stars out of five, and we love it for its rapid performance, affordability, and it's portability.
MacBook Air M2 13": Was $1,099 now $949
The MacBook Air M2 is one of our most recommended laptops for music thanks to its lightweight design, incredible display, and speedy processing speeds. It's not got a tasty $150 reduction at Best Buy at the moment, bringing the price down below the $1,000 mark. In our MacBook Air M2 review, we were delighted with how quietly it operated and its portability makes it perfect for the musician making music on the go.
MacBook Pro M2 13": Was $1,299 now $1,099
This 13-inch MacBook Pro has the powerful M2 chip for close to its lowest price ever at Best Buy. It's a tough sell at full price as it's not a revolutionary upgrade over the previous model, but with this discount, you'll be raving over it just like we were in our MacBook Pro M2 review. It delivered exceptional performance when running over 50 instances of synth VSTs concurrently and hundreds of reverb plugins simultaneously.
UK Editor's picks
MacBook Pro M3 Pro 14": Was £2,099 now £1,950
A MacBook Pro M3 deal that goes the extra mile by including the M3 Pro processor (that's a lot of pros). This means you get a 11-core processor, 14-core GPU, 18GB RAM and a 512SSD. We didn't expect this one to drop under the £2,000 ceiling this Cyber weekend, but a juicy £150 discount at Amazon UK means that it's done precisely that. If you want to spec up to a 1TB SSD you can save almost £200, as the price is down from $2,499 to $2,300.
MacBook Pro M3 Pro 16": £2,599 now £2,449
Looking for a little extra screen real estate? The 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro could be the answer, particularly now it's had a £150 price cut at Amazon UK. That gets you plenty of computing candy: 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB RAM and 512G RAM. We like the sound of that.
MacBook Air M1 13": Was £999, now £799
Not all of us have thousands of pounds to drop on a new laptop but for our money, MacBook Air M1 is still one of the best music production laptops out there at the moment. It's already exceptional value for money and with a hefty £200 discount at Amazon, top of our list for the best deals out there this Cyber Monday.
MacBook Pro M3 14": Was £2,099 now £1,949.97
The latest model of Apple's MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro has £149.03 off at Amazon right now despite only being released a few weeks ago. Undoubtedly one of the best laptops for music production you can buy at the moment, this is an ultra-powerful, premium music-making machine that excels at multitasking. We love the new stealthy Space Black colour scheme too.
MacBook Air M2 13": Was £1,149 now £1,029
The MacBook Air M2 is one of our favourite laptops for music production largely due to its lightweight and thin casing which makes it ultra-portable. Despite its lightweight physical properties, it's still capable of hanging with the heavyweights when it comes to performance thanks to a rapid M2 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It's got a cheeky $120 discount over at Amazon at the moment and in our MacBook Air M2 review we lauded it for its beautiful screen and quiet, yet powerful performance.
MacBook Pro M2 13": Was £1,549 now £1,249
This 2022 MacBook Pro packs a powerful CPU that's more than capable of running even the most dense project files. It's got a massive £300 reduction over at Argos at the moment, giving you incredible performance for less. In our MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 review, we praised it for its lightning-fast performance and excellent connectivity.
MacBook Pro M1 13": Was £1,298, now £899.97
The MacBook Pro M1 has absolutely plummeted in price ahead of Cyber Monday, most likely due to the announcement of the new M3 chipset. With a huge price cut of £399 at Laptops Direct, it's similar in cost to the MacBook Air M1 but with a bit more performance under the hood.
Which MacBook should I buy on Cyber Monday?
We discuss the specs - the memory, connections, hard drive and screen size - you need for music production below. Once you have decided on these, it's a straight slug out between the cost and power of a Pro or the portability and more reasonable price of an Air. Here then, we have three top choices to cover those options.
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Best for power / connections
From: $1,299/£1,349 | Screen size: 13, 14 or 16-inch | CPU: Apple M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max | Connector: 3 x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, (2 x 13"), an HDMI output and SDXC card slot, 3.5mm headphone out
The clue is in the name! The latest MacBook Pros deliver everything a musician could ever ask for. They have a choice of the fastest processors, but unless you are running multiple projects simultaneously, even the entry-level M2 will cover your needs. Spec these up to the max and they can empty any bank account, though, so read our advice above for what you really need in a MacBook for music.
Read our full MacBook Pro M2 review
Best for portability
Starting price: $1,099/£1,149 | Screen size: 13 or 15-inch | CPU: Apple M2 | Connector: 2 x Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 3.5mm headphone out
The sleek MacBook Air M2 is a silent but powerful laptop. It will run pretty much everything you throw at it, although we do recommend spec'ing it up to 16GB RAM. The Air doesn't give you all the Pro's bells and whistles but is a great mid-priced (for an Apple anyway) MacBook music option.
Read our full MacBook Air M2 here
Best budget MacBook
Starting price: $999/£999 | Screen size: 13-inch | CPU: Apple M1 | Connector: Thunderbolt 3, USB 3, USB 4, 3.5mm headphone out
The cheapest and lightest Air is still the perfect entry point into MacBook music production. While we'd still recommend upgrading to a 16GB machine over the standard 8GB, the M1 processor is more than adequate, being between just 8-13% less powerful than the latest M2 in our tests.
Read our full Apple MacBook Air M1 review
FAQ
What do I need to know about the latest Apple MacBooks?
There are two main MacBook types: the Air and Pro. The main differences are that the Air machines are lighter, cheaper and smaller, while the Pros add more connections, and can include more powerful processors.
All MacBooks have at least two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports which are great for adding keyboards and audio interfaces for external speakers. While the speakers on MacBooks are good, we would recommend external speakers or studio monitors for proper music mixing.
Each model in the MacBook Air and Pro ranges can have different screen sizes, memory or hard drive upgrades. The bigger you go on all these, the more the cost ramps up, so what specs do you need for music production?
For memory, the 8GB that comes with the basic MacBook Air will suffice for many producers, especially with Apple's latest Silicon M-Range chips installed. However, we always like to recommend future-proofing yourself, and adding memory is the easiest way to buy yourself extra power. Also, it's not possible to upgrade the memory on the latest MacBooks after you initially purchase them, so if you can afford the 16GB upgrade now then we'd recommend going for it. (Many MacBook Pros come with 16GB as standard so you don't need to upgrade this.)
In terms of hard drive space, we'd recommend going for a 512GB option. There are options to go beyond this on many MacBooks, but do keep in mind that external third party storage devices can be cheaper and provide all the transfer speed you need for music production.
What makes MacBooks great for musicians?
Apple's MacBooks can easily be the centre of a pro music studio. As we have seen they have the power you need - easily matching most desktop machines - but also the portability which means you can make music anywhere and any time.
In terms of the laptop size, you can go truly portable with an amazingly sleek 13-inch Air, or go for the top-end Pro and get a more usable 16-inch screen. The bigger the machine, the less portable, obviously, but we have found that using our 13-inch Air M2 has been a little restrictive on occasion, particularly with VST instruments where you can't adjust the size.
Otherwise, every MacBook will deliver a fantastic music production experience. You can opt for Logic as your main Digital Audio Workstation, a Mac only DAW which gives more bang for buck than any other music application out there. Or you can use pretty much every other DAW or software instrument - most music applications are Mac compatible and run very smoothly on MacBooks.
Is Cyber Monday a good time to buy a MacBook?
Apple discounts are notoriously rare but Cyber Monday should see some great deals on MacBooks. In the past we have seen Black Friday discounts on both new and refurbished MacBooks that should help you start your music making journey for less.
We’ve rounded up all the best MacBook bargains here, from stores like Walmart, Amazon and Best Buy in the US, and Currys, Very, Amazon and Argos in the UK.
Are there any models or specs that I should avoid?
All Apple's MacBooks are great buys for music production, but as we have seen, you need to weigh up the specs of each.
There is an argument that you should go for the latest M2 (or M3 if you can find a good deal) chips when buying a MacBook, because when it comes to music-making, the more power you have, the better. But that would exclude the M1 Air, which we still believe to be a great option. And as we say in our tests, you don't get a massive uplift between the M1 and M2 processors for many music tasks.
In terms of other specs, do consider that you are paying a lot extra for the larger 16-inch MacBook Pro and you will lose some portability with this option. Extra memory and hard drive costs across all MacBooks can soon mount up too, so do follow our advice above on these upgrades - 16GB of RAM and a 512GB hard drive (with cheap external options) should be adequate for most music production tasks.
Andy has been writing about music production and technology for 30 years having started out on Music Technology magazine back in 1992. He has edited the magazines Future Music, Keyboard Review, MusicTech and Computer Music, which he helped launch back in 1998. He owns way too many synthesizers.
- Matt McCrackenJunior Deals Writer
- Ben RogersonDeputy Editor
- Chris Barnes