Technologies

Best MacBook Air M2 Deals: Up to $150 Off at B&H Photo

Score rare savings on Apple’s latest sleek and powerful MacBook Air.

The latest model in Apple’s sleek MacBook Air lineup is here, and we’ve named it the overall best laptop on the market right now for most people. Equipped with the new cutting-edge M2 processor, it’s lightweight and powerful, though not the most affordable model out there with a starting price of $1,199. But while deals on the latest Apple devices aren’t exactly common, there are a few discounts available that can knock as much as $150 off the starting price.

M2 MacBook Air on a table — Dan Ackerman/CNET

The M2 chip inside allows for a performance bump of up to 40% and battery life as long as 18 hours, according to Apple. It also has a slightly larger display than the previous-gen model, up to 13.6 inches from 13.3 inches.

All of those improvements do come at a cost, though, as the MacBook Air M2’s price starts at $100 more than its predecessor. For that reason, it’s well worth trying to score a MacBook Air M2 deal where possible. We’re keeping tabs on any and all M2 MacBook Air savings we see below.

Best MacBook Air M2 deals

B&H Photo

$150 off

B&H is offering the best discount out there on the MacBook Air M2 at the moment, and has knocked $150 off the midnight color variant, dropping the starting price down to $1,049. The retailer also offers a neat way to save on sales tax, too, with its own-brand B&H Payboo credit card that gives you the tax back as cash. On a purchase as large as a MacBook Air, that could be a decent chunk of change.

$1,049 at B&H

Amazon

Up to $80 off

Some configurations are currently sold out at Amazon, but if you’re looking for the space gray color variant, you can save $50 on the base 256GB model, or $80 on the 512GB model, dropping the prices down to $1,149 and $1,419.

$1,149 at Amazon

You’re receiving price alerts for MacBook Air M2 (Midnight, 256GB, 8-core)

Apple

$100 off for students

Apple is renowned for not offering direct discounts, but its education store offers a $100 cheaper price, plus discounted AppleCare coverage. If you’re not a student, you can still save by trading in your old MacBook (or any Apple device) for credit against your new one, or by using your Apple Card to spread the cost of your purchase while getting 3% cash back.

$1,099 at Apple

Best Buy

No discounts currently available

In the past, we’ve seen Best Buy offer as much as $200 off the MacBook Air M2, but there aren’t any discounts available at the moment. The retailer does have tons of different configurations in stock and has its own trade-in program, where you can save hundreds in exchange for your old laptop from Apple, Microsoft, HP and other brands.

$1,199 at Best Buy

You’re receiving price alerts for MacBook Air M2 (Midnight, 256GB, 8-core)

Adorama

No discounts currently available

Adorama has offered direct discounts on the new MacBook Air M2 in the past, but doesn’t have any currently available. However, the retailer does have its Adorama Rewards program, which is free to sign up for and allows you to earn points to redeem as credit against future purchases.

$1,199 at Adorama

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS

5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW

6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE

7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD

8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE

9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS

2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS

3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART

4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES

Technologies

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Technologies

New California Law Wants Companion Chatbots to Tell Kids to Take Breaks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new requirements on AI companions into law on Monday.

AI companion chatbots will have to remind users in California that they’re not human under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The law, SB 243, also requires companion chatbot companies to maintain protocols for identifying and addressing cases in which users express suicidal ideation or self-harm. For users under 18, chatbots will have to provide a notification at least every three hours that reminds users to take a break and that the bot is not human.

It’s one of several bills Newsom has signed in recent weeks dealing with social media, artificial intelligence and other consumer technology issues. Another bill signed Monday, AB 56, requires warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those required for tobacco products. Last week, Newsom signed measures requiring internet browsers to make it easy for people to tell websites they don’t want them to sell their data and banning loud advertisements on streaming platforms.

AI companion chatbots have drawn particular scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several companies in response to complaints by consumer groups and parents that the bots were harming children’s mental health. OpenAI introduced new parental controls and other guardrails in its popular ChatGPT platform after the company was sued by parents who allege ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide.

«We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,» Newsom said in a statement.

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One AI companion developer, Replika, told CNET that it already has protocols to detect self-harm as required by the new law, and that it is working with regulators and others to comply with requirements and protect consumers.

«As one of the pioneers in AI companionship, we recognize our profound responsibility to lead on safety,» Replika’s Minju Song said in an emailed statement. Song said Replika uses content-filtering systems, community guidelines and safety systems that refer users to crisis resources when needed.

A Character.ai spokesperson said the company «welcomes working with regulators and lawmakers as they develop regulations and legislation for this emerging space, and will comply with laws, including SB 243.» OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice called the bill a «meaningful move forward» for AI safety. «By setting clear guardrails, California is helping shape a more responsible approach to AI development and deployment across the country,» Radice said in an email.

One bill Newsom has yet to sign, AB 1064, would go further by prohibiting developers from making companion chatbots available to children unless the AI companion is «not foreseeably capable of» encouraging harmful activities or engaging in sexually explicit interactions, among other things.