Apple MacBook cut by £240 ahead of GCSE results day

Millions of students are about to receive their hard-earned results. This week, GCSE results come out, on Thursday, August 21, which could outline the future pathway for thousands of 14 to 16-year-olds.

In the run-up to the day, Debenhams has reduced the price of a 2025 edition of Apple's MacBook Air from £1,099 to £859. A discount which could come in handy for those who need a device for an apprenticeship, college or any further education choice.

It is limited number in stock, so it is advised to snap up one sooner rather than later. For comparison, Apple's website is selling the same laptop for £999. The laptop's specs include a 13.6-inch screen, an M3 chip, 16 GB unified memory, and a 256 GB SSD. It is available in space grey.

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It also has a personal assistant in the form of Apple Intelligence, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, support for up to two external displays, and a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. Alternative laptop choices are available at much cheaper price points to suit different budgets.

For instance, Lenovo is a well-respected laptop brand that has a selection of devices for less than £500. This IdeaPad Slim 3 14 is £400, and the display is Low Blue Light Certified, so eyes won’t get fatigued easily when using it for long periods of time.

Over at Currys, shoppers can save a significant amount of money on Samsung's Galaxy Book4, now priced at £649 down from £1,199 - an impressive £550 off. Its 360° rotating hinge means it can be used as a laptop or tablet. It also comes with a S-Pen stylus.

Shoppers can find reviews and ratings on Apple's MacBook Air 13.6-inch laptop at EE, where it's on sale for £899. One user said: "Lovely laptop, ideal for my daughter's later school years and college.

"We purchased an earlier version for our eldest for the end of school, and now moving into university. It’s still going strong and used every day with no issues since we bought it."

Another shopper said they liked the device but suggested opting for a larger memory. As they highlighted: "Unless you have a really heavy workload, this laptop is more than suitable.

"The basic spec is far more than you will ever need. The only suggestion is probably to go for the 512GB memory, which is more future-proof."

Another user said: "It's a great machine, but of course, there is no touch screen. This MacBook is lightweight physically, but it packs a powerful punch in computing terms.

"Its 256 GB SSD is more than big enough if you have access to a local NAS or Cloud storage. The @ symbol and double quote mark are not in the same position as on a PC or Chromebook, and cutting and pasting are slightly different, too.

"Once you get used to Mac ways, though, it's all great." A fourth shopper shared: "Just what I needed and was very simple to transfer my contents and data from my old MacBook."

An additional person concludes: "Needed a laptop for home and work purposes. This fits the bill exactly."