Today’s best deals: Apple MacBook Air, Ring Fit Adventure, and more

It’s Wednesday, so time for another Dealmaster. Our latest roundup of the web’s best tech deals includes a solid price point for Apple’s M1-based MacBook Air, the entry-level version of which is currently down to $850 on Amazon. A notification should appear on Amazon’s listing page for an additional $100 discount, with the full discount being applied in your cart.

Aside from a few brief dips to $800 last year, this is the lowest price we’ve found for this notebook version — which includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage — from a major retailer. The deal is $149 below Apple’s MSRP and about $90 below the average street price we’ve seen online in recent months.

Note that this deal is for the MacBook Air, which launched in 2020 and runs on Apple’s M1 chip, not the model that launched earlier this year with a refreshed design and a faster M2 SoC came. We generally recommend the latter for most people in the market today for a new MacBook, as it offers a modest performance boost (mainly on the graphics side), a brighter screen with a bit more real estate (albeit with a “notched” design), a MagSafe Connection and a much nicer camera and audio system for video calls. The entry-level version of the The notebook is also available today for $1,099, which is $100 less than Apple’s MSRP.

That’s still a fair bit above the M1 MacBook Air’s current asking price, however, and the older model remains a good buy for those who need a competent Mac laptop for as little as possible. Despite being a few years old, the M1 chip is still more than capable of handling web surfing, word processing, and other everyday tasks with ease. And while the thicker bezels and only two USB-C ports aren’t ideal, the notebook itself remains sturdy and light, with an excellent keyboard and trackpad, a still-strong display, and a fantastic battery life of more than 14 hours per charge in our tests.

Aside from the mediocre port selection, the main drawbacks of the M1 Air are its inability to connect to multiple external displays at the same time and, more importantly, its 720p webcam is absolutely lousy. But if you want a Mac for the bare essentials on a (relative) budget, this is a good value.

If you don’t need a new laptop, our round-up also includes an almost low value of the popular training game Ringfit adventure for the Nintendo Switch, a joint-low on the excellent action-RPG Horizon forbidden west for the PS4 and PS5, and a deal that will bring digital copies of Ars’ favorite sci-fi novel Project Hail Mary up to $3. We also have lower than usual prices for Google Nest Hub Smart Displays, LG OLED TVs, well-rated SSDs, Anker chargers, and more. You can check out our full curated list of deals below.

Ars Technica may earn compensation through affiliate programs for sales made from links in this post.

Selected offers of the day

• Apple MacBook Air (2020) 13.3″ Laptop (Apple M1, 2560×1600, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $850 ($940) at Amazon (discount in the shopping cart)
• Anker PowerLine III (6ft) USB-C to USB-C 2.0 Cable for $8 ($18) at Amazon (use code: AKKABEL53)
• Horizon forbidden west (PS4) for $40 ($55) at Target, Best Buy, PSN (free PS5 upgrade, PS5 for $50)
• Ringfit adventure (Switch for $55 ($70) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy (discount in cart)
• Project Hail Mary e-book for $3 ($15) at Amazon, Apple, Google, Kobo
• Google Nest Hub 7 inch smart display for $55 ($85) at Target, Best Buy, Walmart
• LG C2 (2022) 48-inch 4K OLED TV + $100 gift card for $1,197 ($1,420) at Newegg (GC expires after 6 months)
• SK Hynix Gold P31 (1TB) PCIe 3.0 SSD for $86 ($106) at Amazon (2TB for $159)
• HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset for $50 ($70) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Betrayal at the House on the Hill: Third Edition board game for $31 ($50) on Amazon ($4.20 clip coupon)
• WD My Passport (1TB) portable SSD for $110 ($128) at Amazon, B&H, Newegg

electronics offers

• Apple iPad Pro (128GB) 12.9 inch tablet for $900 ($1,000) at Amazon (discount in the shopping cart)
• Apple Watch SE (44mm, 2nd generation) Smartwatch for $270 ($279) at Amazon
• Google Nest Hub 7 inch smart display for $55 ($85) at Target, Best Buy, Walmart
• Google Nest Hub Max 10 inch smart display for $175 ($210) at Target, Best Buy
• Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24 (2-pack) 2K indoor security camera $61 ($73) at Amazon
• WD My Passport (1TB) portable SSD for $110 ($128) at Amazon, B&H, Newegg
• SanDisk Extreme V2 (2TB) Portable SSD for $200 ($230) at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart (1 TB for $110)
• Apple AirPods Max wireless ANC headphones for $429 ($470) at Amazon
• Sony MDR-7506 wired headphones for $79 ($89) at Amazon, B&H
• Apple iPad (64GB) 10.2 inch tablet for $280 ($305) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Garmin Lily (34mm, Tan) Smartwatch for $150 ($190) at Amazon
• Hisense U6H (2022) 55 inch 4K LED TV for $400 ($430) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Hisense U6G (2021) 65 inch 4K LED TV for $440 ($540) at BestBuy
• LG C2 (2022) 48-inch 4K OLED TV + $100 gift card for $1,197 ($1,420) at Newegg (GC expires after 6 months)

Enlarge / Google’s second generation Nest Hub.

Corey Gaskin

Offers for laptops and desktop PCs

• Apple MacBook Air (2020) 13.3″ Laptop (Apple M1, 2560×1600, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $850 ($940) at Amazon (discount in the shopping cart)
• Apple MacBook Air (2022) 13.6″ Laptop (Apple M2, 2560×1664, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,099 ($1,199) at Amazon, B&H
• Apple MacBook Pro (2021) 14.2″ Laptop (Apple M1 Pro, 3024×1964, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $1,599 ($1,840) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Apple MacBook Pro (2021) 16.2″ Laptop (Apple M1 Pro, 3456×2234, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $2,099 ($2,230) at Amazon, Best Buy
• SK Hynix Gold P31 (1TB) PCIe 3.0 SSD for $86 ($106) at Amazon (2TB for $159)
• PowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12GB GDDR6) GPU for $369 ($430) at Amazon
• WD Black SN850 (1TB) PCIe 4.0 SSD with Heatsink for $110 ($140) at B&H
• Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB (2×16GB) 5600MHz RAM for $155 ($200) at Newegg (use code: UPGBW2Z232, $160 at Amazon)
• ViewSonic Elite XG270Q 27-inch Gaming Monitor (2560×1440, IPS, 165 Hz, G-Sync) for $260 ($375) at B&H, Amazon
• Gigabyte M28U 28-inch gaming monitor (3840×2160, IPS, 144 Hz, VRR) for $480 ($540) at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H
• Gigabyte M32UC 32-inch gaming monitor (3840×2160, VA, 160 Hz, VRR) for $530 ($600) at Amazon, B&H
• Gigabyte M32QC 32-inch gaming monitor (2560×1440, VA, 165 Hz, VRR) for $230 ($300) at Amazon, Newegg

Video Game Deals

Enlarge / Ringfit adventure is a practice game attached to RPG mechanics that are deeper than usual, at least compared to other titles of this type.

Nintendo

Enlarge / A port of the classic FPS Goldeye 007 will be added to Microsoft Rare repeat Anthology in the near future, although unlike the upcoming re-release of the game on the Nintendo Switch, it won’t feature online play.

Danjaq/MGM

Gaming Offers

Accessories and other offers

• Project Hail Mary e-book for $3 ($15) at Amazon, Apple, Google, Kobo
• Anker PowerLine III (6ft) USB-C to USB-C 2.0 Cable for $8 ($18) at Amazon (use code: AKKABEL53)
• Anker PowerPort III Nano 20W USB-C Wall Charger for $11 ($17) at Amazon
• Anker 621 Magnetic Battery MagSafe wireless battery pack (5,000 mAh, 7.5 W) for $40 ($50) at Amazon, Anchor (Clip $10 Coupon)
• Apple Pencil (1st generation) stylus for $70 ($95) at Amazon, Target, Best Buy
• Apple Magic Keyboard wireless keyboard for $80 ($97) at Amazon, Best Buy
• Apple MagSafe Duo 15W dual wireless charger for $97 ($120) at Verizon
• New users only: Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership for 4 months $5 ($30) at Amazon
• The Batman (4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital) for $15 ($24) at Amazon, Target
• New users only: Peacock Premium 12-month subscription for $20 ($50) in peacock
• For new and returning users only: HBO Max (ad-free) 12-month membership for $105 ($150) at HBO Max (12-month membership with promotion for $70)