Windows laptops have witnessed an exceptional year thus far. Not only did the launch of Snapdragon X chips occur as part of the Copilot+ PC line, competing against the MacBook Air, but the recent AMD Ryzen 300 AI chips have also been remarkable. Powerful laptops like the Zenbook S 16 are even taking on the MacBook Pro.

More and more, Windows laptops are not merely presenting themselves as adequate substitutes for MacBooks; they possess significant staying power and are among the finest laptops available for purchase.

But there exists one MacBook that still escapes the reach of this new breed of Windows laptops. It’s not something novel; it’s the M2 MacBook Air.

This two-year-old laptop, which Apple continues to sell, remains an exceptionally charming little device. The 13-inch model officially commences at a price of $999. Considering it only comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, that might not seem overly impressive. In fact, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition starts at $999 but offers twice the memory.

But here’s the catch – you can currently acquire that identical configuration of the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air for as low as $799. For instance, Best Buy currently sells it at this price, and so does Amazon. That $200 reduction is substantial, and it’s actually equivalent to what Apple charges to double your RAM. However, all laptops in the Copilot+ PC line mandate 16GB of RAM, meaning there’s nothing below $999 to choose from.

That $200 disparity might not sound like a colossal deal, but margins are extremely narrow at this price point.

Of course, you’re obtaining an older laptop with the M2 MacBook Air, but it’s identical in terms of the chassis and features to the M3 model that was released earlier this year. You obtain better GPU performance with the M3, but as long as you’re not aiming to play games, you likely won’t notice the difference overly much.

You can take matters even further if you desire and opt for the M1 MacBook Air, which now sells for $649. If you’re in the market for a MacBook, I’d recommend the M2 model though, as you acquire a superior display, webcam, speakers, and port selection. It’s well worth an additional $150.

The affordability of the M2 MacBook Air even makes Chromebooks more difficult to recommend nowadays.

I’d be delighted to witness Copilot+ PCs decrease in price over time, and Qualcomm has hinted at cheaper Snapdragon X PCs arriving next year. But for now, Apple holds a small portion of the laptop market that Windows laptops struggle to keep up with, even if they’ve made considerable progress when you look above $1,000.

But for now, you won’t discover a superior laptop for under $1,000 than the M2 MacBook Air.