We’re fully into summer, and in the tech world, that means new product launches, announcements on the horizon, and best of all, deals. Case in point: right now, the M2 Apple MacBook Air is still on sale for $944 ahead of Amazon Prime Day. 

Also: Amazon Prime Day 2024 is back July 16-17: Everything to know, plus early deals

2022’s version of the lightweight powerhouse is still a solid machine two years later, with competitive specs that go up against much newer laptops on the market right now. In fact, this laptop was ZDNET’s product of the year when it was released in 2022, punching well above its weight in terms of performance and quickly becoming a favorite for professionals looking for power and portability.

The 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air has an 8-core, 10-core GPU and an impressive 18 hours of battery life. The 24GB of unified memory can also be paired with up to 2TB of storage, future-proofing a machine that will last for years down the road. 

Apple’s MacBook Air series are also perhaps one of the most popular ultraportable laptop families among consumers (and our pick for best overall ultraportable), having set an entirely new bar for performance with the introduction of the M chips in 2020, and only improving since then. If you’re looking for a secondary laptop you can take with you for travel or on the go, it doesn’t get much lighter than the M2 MacBook Air.

Also: Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022) review: Sleeker, faster – and more expensive

Apple released its M3 MacBook Air lineup only nine months after the 15-inch M2 version was first announced in June of 2023, marking what is likely to be a rapid succession of upgrades in the industry as a whole within the next few years.

This makes now a great time to spring for a new MacBook Air. Thinner yet with a larger screen than previous versions, the 2022 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air also comes with a vibrant screen with up to 500-nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate, a 1080p FaceTime webcam, two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, and the coveted 3.5mm headphone jack. It also comes in four iconic color tones: Midnight, Silver, Space Gray, and Starlight.

Also: The best early Amazon Prime Day Apple deals

AI-powered laptops are the future, and right now, manufacturers are putting their attention into developing cutting-edge tech that harnesses these capabilities into new machines.

But many folks don’t need top-of-the-line AI integration just yet. The reality is that day-to-day workflows for most people are still reliant on powerful, reliable laptops that can tackle whatever you throw at it, and the M2 MacBook Air is a machine that fulfills exactly that need, while being light as air.