Things are heating up with MacBooks this Black Friday – obviously not the laptops themselves. Everyone knows they run cool and quite. What's hot are all the chunky price reductions on all the new models, plus even more impressive savings on last year's models. We've reviewed all of them, having spent hours upon hours using each MacBook for a variety of creative tasks, from photo editing to 3D modelling.
As of right now, the best MacBook for the majority of digital creatives would be the MacBook M3, and that's going for £1,099 £949 at Amazon in the UK. It's also going for $1,099 $844 at Amazon in the US. I absolutely loved this beautifully-designed laptop when I used it.
Save $400: If you don't need that amount of power, Amazon also has a close to record-low price on the entry-level M3-chipped configuration of the latest 14-inch laptop ($100 more expensive than previous low). It hasn't got enough power for very resource hungry tasks but it's good enough for many creatives.
Save $165: This is thelowest price yet for Apple's latest 13-inch MacBook Air, released earlier this year. And this is the 16GB configuration, not the discontinued 8GB version! It's hard to imagine this getting much cheaper this year.
Save $255: We gave this MacBook Air (M3, 2024) 4.5 starswhen we reviewed it welcoming the slim, light design for a 15in laptop and solid performance and battery life. This is a 16GB configuration, making it cut for handling many creative programs This is a sweet discount.
Save $250: This 13.6-inch model has just dropped back to its lowest price ever. It's been superseded by this year's model above, but it's still zippy enough for everyday tasks, plus light creative work. This is as cheap as any MacBook tends to get.
Save 9%: I've not seen any deals on the base version of the new MacBook Pro in the UK, but Amazon does have a decent discount on more powerful M4 Pro and M4 Max configurations. This is obviously the lowest price this has been on sale for as it's such a new model. It's a great discount for such a new laptop. If you're a creative pro with a heavier workload, this one is for you.
Save £299: If you want a whopping 1TB SSD and the power of the M4 Max chip then you'll be pleased to see that Amazon is already offering discounts on its newest MacBook Pro.
Save £200: If you don't mind buying last year's model, then we think the M3 MacBook still offers more power than most need. It's at least £200 off at Very and Amazon at the moment.
Save £360: This MacBook Air is a decent size at 15 inches and comes with 16GB memory and 512SSD. There are also discounts on other iterations and we don't imagine these getting much cheaper.
Save £150: This MacBook Air is one of the best bargains we've seen yet this Black Friday. It's fairly low spec with just 8GB RAM but would be ideal for light creative work.
Save 32%: The newest and most powerful AirPods Pro were $10 lower a few days ago BUT this is still an excellent deal - and the second lowest price ever recorded. If you work in video or audio, or just enjoy listening while you create on your MacBook then you can't do much better than this if you're plugged into the Apple ecosystem.
Save 38%: Our favourite dock for MacBook Pro currently has a massive 48% off. If you want to connect a keyboard or mouse, or just open up more port possibilities (including 2x HDMI) then this is a must. This is a massive $60 cheaper than the previous low price.
Refresh
Nintendo Switch OLED price change
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Unfortunately one of the best deals we saw before Black Friday is now not quite as good. The Nintendo Switch OLED model console is now £232. It was £228. But we still think this is a good deal.
Some retailers are offering trade-in deals when you exchange an old computer. Very, for example, will give you up to £850 when you trade-in an eligible device. It's worth checking before you buy if you have an old computer lying around that you no longer need.
Hello this is Rosie Hilder taking over this blog from Beren. I've been covering Black Friday since 2018 so am well-versed in what makes a good deal and what doesn't. Stay tuned for my favourite offers.
Rosie Hilder
Rosie has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018 and has been covering sales events since then. She was with the team when we first launched live blogs in 2021, and at one point was working on six at once (not recommended).
Right! Back to the now, and the current best deal you can get on a 15-inch MacBook...
That would be the most recent MacBook Air (15-inch, M3), which is currently down from $1,299 to a slightly more reasonable $1,044 over at Amazon. This is slightly bigger than my top pick for most creatives, but with its M3 chip and gorgeous display, it's certainly worth it.
Talking of classic MacBooks that were ace, that I wouldn't necessarily say you should buy, as they've been surpassed (and in this case, you can't!)... can anyone remember the 2015 MacBook? That's right – not an Air, and not a Pro. Just a MacBook.
It was discontinued in 2018, so you can't get it today, but it's a team favourite – design editor Dan John fondly recalls all the serious literary writings he wrote on it.
It had 16GB RAM, a 15-inch Retina display, and did the job! ... aah, those were the days!
(Image credit: Future)
I've got a soft spot for the MacBook Air M1. And even though I can't wholeheartedly recommend a four-year old laptop to you (especially when the MacBook Air M2 and M3 are going for the $800 range), I think there's something special about its wedge design, and that big leap in performance that the M1 took from the Intel days.
It's the laptop I'm currently writing this on, and I love it. So, if you're in a retro mood, and you only have a budget of $500, it may be worth checking it out (as a secondary laptop, perhaps).
The race is on to find the best Black Friday MacBook deals – and we think we've got a pretty good head start! Above, you'll find all the best deals we can find on both the Pro and Air MacBooks, in both the US and the UK.
I've been covering Black Friday for five years now, and 2024's Black Friday for the whole of November, so I've got a good idea of what makes a good deal, what's masquerading as one, and what to avoid completely.
And right now, I think the best MacBook deal for the majority of users is on the MacBook Air M3...
