At its third virtual event in as many months, Apple officially announced the brand new M1 chip on 10 November 2020. The very first Apple laptop processor to be designed in-house, it claims to offer class-leading performance and big battery life improvements to the MacBook range.
The M1 MacBook Pro launched alongside it, and has already had its fair share of discounts. We’re expecting plenty more discounts throughout 2021 – here’s everything you need to know.
How much does the M1 MacBook Pro usually cost?
Despite moving to the M1 chip, pricing for the new MacBook Air remains the same as the older Intel version. There are two configurations on offer, with the following RRPs at launch:
- MacBook Pro M1 (8‑Core CPU, 8‑Core GPU, 256GB SSD) – £1299/$1299/AUD$1999
- MacBook Pro M1 (8‑Core CPU, 8‑Core GPU, 512GB SSD) – £1499/$1499/AUD$2299
Best MacBook Pro M1 UK deals
The obvious place to buy the M1 MacBook Pro is directly from Apple itself. However, going direct means you’ll almost always pay the full asking price. If you’re on the hunt for a discount, the following retailers are your best bet:
- Amazon – from £1,149, up to £169.01 off 512GB model
- Box – from £1,173, up to £141 off 512GB model (shown as £137 off)
- Currys PC World – from £1,149, up to £141 off 512GB model
- KRCS – from £1,234.05, £74.95 off 512GB model
- John Lewis – from £1,149, up to £141 off 512GB model
- Very – from £1,199, £150 off 512GB model
- Scan – £1,299 (256GB), £1,499 (512GB) – no discounts
Should I buy refurbished?
While M1 MacBook Pro prices set to remain at or near full price for the foreseeable future, the only place you’ll see bigger discounts is on refurbished models. Some might see this as another word for ‘second hand’, but in reality many of these devices have barely been used at all.
Remember, if a product has been used for demonstration purposes or returned as an unwanted gift, retailers must classify them as ‘refurbished’ despite looking and performing just like new. It’s true that there are situations where a fault has been fixed, so it’s worth checking the description for any device you’re considering buying.
There are two key places to go if you’re looking for a refurbished M1 MacBook Pro. The first is the Apple Refurbished Store, with devices refurbished to an excellent standard. MusicMagpie is a great alternative though, and typically offers a greater range to choose from.
See more in our guide to refurbished tech.
What is the Apple M1 chip?
The M1 chip is Apple’s first ARM-based processor from its new Silicon range. It’s the first to be built in-house, which marks a historic departure from the company’s use of Intel processors.
The M1 packs an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU on a single system on a chip (SoC). This translates to a massive improvement in speed, graphics, and machine learning performance, as well as improvements in power efficiency.
Apple promises up to 2.8 times faster CPU performance and up to 5 times faster GPU performance in the new MacBook Pro, along with 11 times faster machine learning performance.
In practice, this means fast and effortless high-resolution video and photo editing, gaming, and software development, with up to 20-hour battery life.
Here’s everything you need to know about the M1 chip.
See more great MacBook Pro deals over at our sister site Macworld UK. You may also be interested in the equivalent article for the MacBook Air with M1.
