Get All the Perks of iMacs and MacBooks Without the High Price Tag

Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels
Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels / Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels
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Whether you’re in the workforce or still in school, you’ve probably transitioned a lot of your daily tasks from an office or classroom to your home. At first, it was fun—snacks at any time, pajamas every day, and a sneaky Netflix session during your lunch break. By now, though, the novelty has probably worn off and you’re likely just focused on your less-than-ideal home setup. Luckily, you can improve it without dropping tons of cash by opting for a refurbished machine.

Refurbished computers and laptops are a great way to get an upgraded system at a fraction of the price. Some of them have even been modified to run faster and better than their original versions. Each comes with a letter grade that identifies the condition it's in, but even a C-rating only means a few exterior scuffs and scratches.

The iMac is one of the most popular desktop machines, and refurbished models are boasting a hearty 8GB of RAM that can make it easier to work on multiple tabs, elaborate spreadsheets, and the occasional (very frequent) multi-player game. Pick the model year and size of your choice and you could save up to 61 percent by opting for a refurbished iMac today:

- Apple iMac 27-inch Core i5 2012, 8 GB RAM 1TB HDD - Silver (Refurbished); $760 (61 percent off)
- Apple iMac 21.5-inch Core i5, 8GB RAM 1TB HDD - Silver (Refurbished); $680 (47 percent off)
- Apple iMac 27-inch Core i5 2013, 8GB RAM 1TB HDD - Silver (Refurbished); $874 (53 percent off)

The iMac is a great fit for a desktop, but you may not always want to be tethered to the table. After all, you’re working from home and you should have the freedom to migrate to your bed as you please. The Apple MacBook Air is the perfect machine for a mobile work station with 12 hours of battery life and Wi-Fi connectivity. That luxury comes at a hefty price at upwards of $1000, but you can get your hands on the same refurbished model for almost half the price with the 128GB Apple MacBook Air 13.3-inch Core i5 for just $590 (that's 40 percent off).

Refurbished models aren't stocked like the endless rows of products you see in retail stores, so you'll have to act fast to get all the perks for half the price tag.

Prices subject to change.

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