Apple substantially increased prices on Macs and iPads on Thursday, but those hikes haven’t affected the Amazon Prime Day deals. So if you might buy a Mac anytime soon, you really need to consider shopping on Amazon now.
Wait and you could end up paying a lot more later.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
Apple price increases versus Amazon Prime Day
The AI boom is driving up memory prices, forcing all the computer makers to increase the cost of their products. Apple is no longer the exception, raising prices on a range of products starting Thursday.
Those price hikes affect the Apple Store, but not the deals offered by Amazon. It’s Prime Day, and the gargantuan online retailer has cut prices on a wide range of Apple products.
So far, Amazon hasn’t raised its Mac or iPad prices to match Apple’s hikes, so Prime Day deals now save shoppers even more money.
Save on MacBooks with Prime Day deals
Hands down the best 16-inch laptop you can buy right now, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip packs the world's fastest CPU cores, 24GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD. With three Thunderbolt 5 ports, you can connect multiple displays and high-bandwidth accessories with ease.
- Excellent performance
- Long-battery life
- Stunning display
- Bulky and heavy
- RAM and storage upgrades are expensive
Take the 16-inch M5 MacBook Pro with 24GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD as an example. Apple’s current price for this configuration is $2,999 — that’s $300 more than it was yesterday. But Amazon charges $2,549 for it. That’s $450 off the new price!
The M5 MacBook Air delivers Apple’s unrivaled performance in an ultra-thin design backed by all-day use. It's the best laptop for students, professionals, and anyone looking for a reliable everyday Mac.
- Slim and lightweight design
- Superb performance
- All-day battery life
- Storage and memory upgrade options are expensive.
The 13-inch MacBook Air with 16GB unified memory and 512GB storage now retails for $1,299, up $200 thanks to Thursday’s price hike. But a Prime Day deal drops the cost to $949. That’s 27% off Apple’s new price!
Save on iPad with Amazon Prime Day
Apple's entry-level tablet gets a solid upgrade, with a welcome boost to the base model's storage. It's a great option for watching videos, checking emails, surfing the web and more.
- A16 processor
- Ultra Wide 12MP front camera supports Center Stage
- Storage starts at 128GB
- Does not support Apple Intelligence.
The basic iPad used to be $350, but Apple just jumped it a whopping $100 to $449. But anyone looking for a deal simply needs to head to Amazon, where the tablet is $299. That’s 40% off Apple’s new cost!
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 26 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
