A scan of 109 dated U.S. price observations (before tax) across retailers, deal publications, price trackers and refurb marketplaces, through September 1, 2026. The benchmark configuration is the exact 13-inch M5 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage; refurbished older models are tracked separately.
13″ M1 (2020) with 16GB RAM / 256GB — eBay refurb sale, reported Aug 28, 2026. Oldest Apple-silicon generation; budget winner if condition is acceptable. realhacker.news
13″ M5 with 16GB / 512GB at B&H, reported Aug 26, 2026 — $100 (7.7%) under the $1,299 list, but $300 (33%) above the $899 all-time low. macprices.net
Verdict: wait unless you need it now. $1,199 is fair against late-summer 2026 pricing — Apple raised list to $1,299 and stock tightened — but weak against full history. Hold for a return toward $1,000 or below; the $443 refurbished M1 is the play only if a six-year-old refurbished chip is acceptable.
| Model | Price | Seller | Condition | Reported | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacBook Air M1 13″ with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage | $443 | eBay | Refurbished | 2026-08-28 | realhacker.news |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air 512GB | $1,099 | Apple | New / unstated | 2026-08-28 | zeerawireless.com |
| MacBook Air M3 13-inch, 16GB memory, 256GB storage | $630 | Best Buy | Refurbished | 2026-08-26 | dealnews.com |
| 13″ M5 16GB/512GB | $1,199 | B&H | New / unstated | 2026-08-26 | macprices.net |
| MacBook Air 13-inch M1 8-core and 8-core GPU 16GB RAM 256GB | $674 | Back Market | Refurbished | 2026-08-25 | techradar.com |
| 13-inch MacBook Air M4 | $870 | BackMarket | Refurbished | 2026-08-24 | tomsguide.com |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air with 16GB of memory and 512GB of stor | $1,099 | Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store | Refurbished | 2026-08-22 | undercodenews.com |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air 16GB/512GB | $1,099 | Apple Certified Refurbished Store | Refurbished | 2026-08-19 | 9to5mac.com |
| MacBook Air M2 | $726 | Back Market | Refurbished | 2026-08-17 | techradar.com |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air 16GB/512GB | $1,099 | Official Apple Refurb Store | Refurbished | 2026-08-15 | 9to5toys.com |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air 16GB/512GB | $1,099 | official Apple refurb store | Refurbished | 2026-08-14 | 9to5mac.com |
| 13-inch M5 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage | $1,099 | Apple Refurbished Store | Refurbished | 2026-08-11 | 9to5toys.com |
Merged scan of retailer pages, deal publications, price trackers and refurb marketplaces through 2026-09-01: 55 offer rows, 50 list-price observations, 4 price-history evidence rows. Prices are U.S., before tax, labelled by report date; condition is inferred only where the source wording says refurbished. Duplicate syndicated listings and non-matching variants (15-inch, 24/32GB, 1TB) were cut for space. Prices and stock change quickly — verify at checkout.