Walmart has the best price (by far) on this early 2020 MacBook Air

SAVE $299.01: The gold MacBook Air (early 2020) with a 1.1GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of storage is on sale at Walmart for just $799.99 as of Aug. 19 — that’s 27% off its $1,099 MSRP.

The best place to buy Apple gear this fall continues to be *checks notes* not the Apple Store.

As of Aug. 19, you could snag an early 2020 MacBook Air with 256GB of storage, a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, and a gold finish on sale at Walmart for just $799.99, or 27% off its $1,099 MSRP. That’s a whole $100 cheaper than the latest MacBook Air’s base model, even when you factor in Apple’s special Education Pricing.

For comparison’s sake, this exact configuration has been priced at $899.99 on Amazon since late July, per data on the price-tracking site camelcamelcamel — and even before then, it’s only gotten as low as $893.92. Meanwhile, Best Buy‘s inventory of the silver version has completely sold out at full price. (Amateur hour!)

You’re probably wondering: What am I missing out on by opting for this MacBook Air instead of the slightly newer one with Apple’s M1 silicon? The answer is a resounding “not much,” aside from a fanless design and a slightly longer battery life: There’s a Touch ID button, a bright 13.3-inch Retina display with True Tone for natural-looking onscreen hues, and a whisper-quiet Magic Keyboard — no terrible butterfly switches to see here, thank thee lord.

The specific variant that’s on sale at Walmart comes with 8GB of RAM a 1.1GHz quad-core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz, which is plenty of power for apps and multitasking, says Mashable tech reporter Brenda Stolyar. (You can read her full review of the machine here, if you feel so inclined.) In short, it’ll make a stellar study buddy for the upcoming school year or a worthy upgrade from any previous MacBook Air models.