Best Deals on Apple MacBooks, iPads, and More
You don't have to pay full price to get your hands on Apple products
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Whether you’re shopping for yourself or starting your back-to-school shopping early, there are some great prices on Apple products right now. We’re seeing solid offers on Airpods, iPads, Apple Watches and more great products from Apple.
But a deal is more than the discounted price. You want to make sure you’re getting a quality item for your money, no matter how much you spend. So Consumer Reports looks at the test scores for each product to determine whether it’s worth bringing home at any price, let alone when it’s on sale. Apple devices tend to perform well in our tests, so we’re confident in these deals and will be keeping track of all the Apple products CR has tested in our labs to bring you the best and newest offers. For even more discounts, check out our Deals hub.
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• Headphones
• Laptops
• Smartwatches
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Headphones
If you’re an iPhone fan, you might consider the latest AirPods Pro, noise-canceling earbuds that offer both solid performance and impressive convenience. Pairing the Pros with an iPhone or a MacBook is dead simple, so you can switch from listening on your phone to listening on your laptop without much effort. They’re also built for effortless compatibility with Siri. And the latest Pros sound as good as they look. Our testers report that the sound quality now provides more detail, more bass, and a welcome sense of openness. The Pros deliver improved noise cancellation that’s super-silent, and they have a case that’s new and better: It’s water-resistant and has the same Find Me feature as the earbuds themselves.
Why it’s a good deal: This is the best discount we’ve seen for these earbuds this year.
Though the second-generation AirPods don’t get high marks for sound in Consumer Reports’ testing, there’s no denying the appeal of these true wireless earphones for many Apple fans—especially at such a big discount.
Why it’s a good deal: This is a small discount. These earbuds have been selling for $99 for a while, so we recommend waiting to see if the price dips down again before buying.
The Apple Powerbeat Pros are the first Powerbeats earphones to ditch the cable connecting the two earpieces for a true wireless design. The audio quality is just so-so: According to our testers, the bass is unnaturally loud, distorting the true sound of music. Still, Beats are popular, and these earphones could make a great gift. They usually sell for $250.
Why it’s a good deal: The current discount is great. They were recently $10 less, but we don’t know if or when they’ll be back at that price.
Laptops
Thin, light, and powerful, the 2020 MacBook Air is a great machine, even though there’s a newer MacBook Air for shoppers to consider. The older model provides a compelling combination of performance and battery life. Instead of using an Intel chip, as all Apple computers had done since 2006, it’s powered by Apple’s own M1 processor. In our tests, the laptop performs with admirable speed, similar to devices powered by Intel Core i7 processors. The 2020 MacBook Air racks up an impressive 10.75 hours of web browsing per charge in CR’s testing, too.
Why it’s a good deal: This laptop typically goes on sale for around $900, making this discount very impressive.
Smartwatches
This latest Apple Watch Series 8 isn’t much different from the previous Series 7 version. The Series 8 features new body temperature sensors for retrospective estimates of ovulation and a high-speed G-force sensor for car crash detection. It also has an ECG function designed to detect unusual heart rhythms. There’s no change in battery size, though the latest version of the Watch operating system adds a new function that can double the life per charge, Apple says, albeit at the expense of some functionality. In our ratings, the Series 8 falls just a bit short of the Ultra, performing less well in the scratch test. However, the Series 8 still ranks toward the top of our smartwatch ratings.
Why it’s a good deal: This is a hefty discount, especially for a current-generation Apple device.
Apple Watch SE (40mm) GPS
Apple introduced an updated version of its high-value SE watch in September, which has led to a series of solid deals on the first-generation Watch SE. The earlier version uses a less powerful processor than the new model, but it performs most of the functions that make the SE one of our highest-rated smartwatches. The major difference between the prior-generation SE and the Apple Watch Series 8 is that the SE lacks a blood oxygen sensor, which helps boost sleep-tracking accuracy, as well as a temperature sensor that can provide retroactive estimates of ovulation. The SE also lacks the high-speed G-force sensor that can sense when you’ve been in a car crash, a feature found on the latest SE, which starts at $249. But on your wrist, the earlier SE is almost identical to the new SE or even the Series 8.
Why it’s a good deal: This watch has dropped back down to the low price we’ve only seen during Black Friday and Prime Day, so act now if you’ve ever thought about buying one for yourself or a loved one.
