Which MacBook should I buy? Here’s what you need to know
Which MacBook should I buy? Hither'southward what yous need to know
The question of which MacBook to purchase got a lot more interesting this past year, and for skillful reason. Apple tree's laptop business is on a hot streak, thanks in large role to the remarkable operation of its bespoke M1 chips, and the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are meliorate than they have been in years.
That'south good news for anyone who wants to buy a new MacBook, since you can be confident you're getting one of the best laptops on the market when you opt for an Apple tree machine with an M1 chip inside. Only the power and efficiency of Apple silicon has besides blurred the line betwixt the MacBook Air vs Pro, which can make it hard to know which model to buy.
To help you out, we've compiled this list (based on our easily-on testing) of the top MacBooks and their unique strengths and weaknesses. While every new MacBook offers a great screen, good speakers, and a comfortable keyboard to type on, there are some significant differences between the various models that yous should know virtually.
Whether y'all're shopping for yourself or someone yous honey, this article will aid equip yous with everything you need to know in lodge to find the best MacBook for your needs.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro specs
| MacBook Air | thirteen-inch MacBook Pro | fourteen-inch MacBook Pro | 16-inch MacBook Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting toll | $999 | $one,299 | $1,999 | $2499 |
| Screen | xiii.three inches (2560 10 1600) | 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) | fourteen.ii inches (3024 x 1964) min-LED | sixteen.2 inches (3456 x 2234) min-LED |
| Battery life | 14:41 of web browsing (M1, tested) | Upwards to 18 hours of video playback (M1, claimed) | 9:31 (Intel, tested) | 16:32 of web browsing (M1, tested) | Upwardly to twenty hours (Apple M1, claimed) | 10:21 (Intel, tested) | 17 hours of video playback (rated) | 21 hours video playback (rated) |
| Processor | Apple M1 (8-core) | Apple M1 (8-core) | Apple tree M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-cadre) | Apple M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-core) |
| Graphics | Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated eight-core GPU | Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated 8-core GPU | xvi-core or 32-core | 16-cadre or 32-cadre |
| Storage | 256GB to 2TB | 256GB to 2TB | 512GB to 8TB | 512GB to 8TB |
| Memory | 8GB, 16GB | 8GB, 16GB | 16GG, 32GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB |
| Ports | 2 Thunderbolt three/USB4 | 2 Thunderbolt 3/USB4 | 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe | three Thunderbolt iv/USB-C, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe |
| Security | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| Audio | Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support | Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support, 3-mic array | six-speaker assortment, Dolby Atmos support | half dozen-speaker array, Dolby Atmos back up |
| Webcam | 720p | 720p | 1080p | 1080p |
| Dimensions | 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches | 12 ten 8.4 x 0.half dozen inches | 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches | 14.01 10 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 2.8 pounds | 3.0 pounds | 3.v pounds | 4.7 to iv.8 pounds |
You should buy the MacBook Air with M1 if...
...you want the lightest, nearly portable MacBook yous tin buy. It'south also the cheapest option, with a starting price of $999.
Apple released the MacBook Air with M1 at the tail end of 2020, making it ane of the start MacBooks to send with Apple's countdown M1 chip. In the year since we've seen Apple iterate on the M1 and release new MacBooks with beefier chips, but that doesn't mean the 2020 M1 MacBook Air is outdated.
To the opposite, information technology remains one of the lightest and most performant ultraportables on the marketplace. The model we reviewed (upgraded to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, which would price virtually $1,599) turned in some remarkable results in our laboratory testing, performing at speeds that rival beefier and more than expensive Windows laptops. And with a tested bombardment life of nigh fifteen hours (14:41), the M1 MacBook Air is proven to last longer on a single charge than most laptops on the market.
Still, there are some weaknesses in the blueprint of the 2020 MacBook Air. The bezels around the display are a chip thick for our tastes, and the remarkably thin and low-cal chassis doesn't offer a lot of port options. You're limited to a headphone jack on the right side and 2 Thunderbolt iii/USB-C ports on the left side. At least one of those ports will be needed to to charge the laptop.
This is hardly an insurmountable problem — y'all tin can always invest in a good USB-C hub if you want to plug in more than stuff — but these days, a pair of USB-C ports and a headphone jack is the bare minimum a laptop tin offering and still be considered a useful productivity device.
In a better world, the Air would offering more than ports in a more than convenient configuration. Nosotros may get a glimpse of that globe in 2022, when Apple is expected to release a MacBook Air 2022 model with some upgrades inside and out. Still, the latest rumors nosotros've heard suggest such an Air won't be released until the latter half of 2022, so if y'all need a new Air now, you might non desire to wait and run into if a better version is waiting in the wings.
The 2020 MacBook Air is still an excellent laptop, and since it weighs less than 3 pounds this niggling speed machine remains real like shooting fish in a barrel to behave all day.
You should purchase the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 if...
...you want the smallest, lightest MacBook Pro you tin get, with the best bombardment life.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 was released in November of 2020 alongside the M1 MacBook Air, then it'due south more than a year quondam at this bespeak. Apple has since come out with two larger versions of the Pro with more powerful M1 chips, simply simply similar with the Air, that doesn't hateful there'south no merit in buying a new 2020 M1 MacBook Pro. This is still a remarkably powerful laptop; information technology tin can handle intensive tasks like video editing or game development nigh as well as its larger siblings, plus it's easier to carry and more battery-efficient.
In our MacBook Pro M1 review nosotros praised this laptop's compelling one-two punch of operation and power efficiency, equally it ran rings around older MacBook Pros powered by Intel chips. In our battery test, this MacBook Pro lasted an incredible 16 hours and 25 minutes on a single accuse, one of the highest results we've e'er seen from a laptop. The fact that the 13-inch Pro was able to reach that while even so delivering excellent performance makes it a great choice for anyone who'south looking for an Apple laptop that'due south beefier than the Air, yet yet light enough and long-lasting enough to carry all twenty-four hour period.
Be aware, however, that the 2020 M1 MacBook Pro suffers from the same paucity of ports which plagues the M1 Air. You get just two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right, which is the blank minimum almost people will need to make adequate use of the laptop. This weakness is even more galling on the M1 MacBook Pro, since it'due south marketed as a laptop for professionals yet lacks ports that many creative professionals would appreciate, like a microSD menu reader for pulling footage off memory cards.
You should likewise know that this MacBook Pro notwithstanding sports the Touch Bar, a controversial blueprint feature found on older MacBook Pros but removed from the 2021 versions. So if you like the Impact Bar (a touch-sensitive strip of screen in a higher place the keyboard which can dynamically brandish different controls depending on what app you're using), this is the best MacBook you lot tin can buy that however has one. If you don't similar the Touch Bar merely desire a new MacBook Pro, proficient news: Apple released a pair this twelvemonth that should make you very happy.
Y'all should buy the xiv-inch MacBook Pro if...
...you want the virtually powerful laptop Apple sells in its lightest, nearly portable form.
In 2021, Apple released new xiv-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros that offer a slew of improvements over earlier iterations. Both models are configurable with the same components, a rare indulgence on Apple's part that lets you pack all the power on offer in the 16-inch Pro into its smaller sibling — if you're willing to pay the price.
And what power y'all have on tap in these machines, which can be configured with multiple models of Apple tree'southward new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Both blew away the competition in our lab testing, consistently delivering impressive performance, lightning-quick file transfer speeds, and remarkably fast video transcoding. There are some impressive upgrade options on the Pro too, as y'all tin can configure it with upwards to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage.
Plus, the battery life is still great: the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 with an M1 Pro scrap lasted just over 14 hours (14:09) in our battery test. While that does get in the least long-lived MacBook on this list, 14 hours nonetheless beats the vast majority of laptops on the marketplace.
As nice as the guts of the new MacBook Pros are, the outside has also gotten a welcome revamp. The 14-inch MacBook Pro offers the same port array every bit its bigger sibling, and what a useful one it is: 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, an HDMI out, an SD carte reader, a headphone jack and a dedicated MagSafe 3 charging port. The return of MagSafe charging is a welcome i, though you can as well charge these Pros via the USB-C ports if you lot want.
And the screen! The fourteen-inch Macbook Pro sports a 14.2-inch (3,024 x i,964 pixels) mini-LED brandish that makes everything you do on it look skillful, from watching movies to editing photos. Plus, Apple tree trimmed back the bezels around the screen, making information technology easier to focus on whatever yous're watching.
The only catch is that the design leaves a little blackness plastic notch hanging down from the top bezel to firm the webcam. It'south pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to ignore, and it contains a great 1080p FaceTime HD camera, making these 2021 Pros the first MacBooks to transport with 1080p webcams.
Equally you can probably tell, there'southward a lot to similar about the 2021 MacBook Pros. The 14-inch model is a slap-up buy right now because it's cheaper than the larger model ($ane,999 to get-go, compared to $2,499) yet offers most the aforementioned ability and features. This model is also more than a pound lighter than its larger sibling, too, which could make a big difference if you lot're planning to comport your MacBook around all twenty-four hours.
You should purchase the 16-inch MacBook Pro if...
...y'all admittedly, positively must have the biggest, beefiest MacBook Apple tree makes.
We've long been fans of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, largely because for a long time it'southward been the most powerful and all-time-sounding MacBook on the market, with a half dozen-speaker setup contributing to that latter claim. But with the 2021 revamp, Apple fabricated our favorite Pro even better.
In our xvi-inch MacBook Pro 2021 review, nosotros said this model established the new loftier-h2o marker for MacBook functioning, and with good reason: the 16-inch Pro is both remarkably powerful and power-efficient, with a gorgeous 16.2-inch (3,456 10 2,244 pixels) mini-LED display and a killer speaker array.
The 16-inch model sports the aforementioned revamped design as its smaller sibling, downward to the expanded port options, wonderfully sparse bezels and hanging photographic camera notch. Plus, its larger size gives it room for a larger battery, 1 that helped the 16-inch Pro terminal an astounding xv hours and 31 minutes on a unmarried charge in our bombardment test. That'south plenty to behave all 24-hour interval without worrying about finding a charger, and it makes the 16-inch Pro the second longest-lived MacBook on this list, 2nd only to the incredible 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 (16:25).
Of course, the downsides are that the sixteen-inch Pro has a college cost of entry for any MacBook. Information technology's also the heaviest laptop on this list by far, weighing in at nigh 5 pounds. But with all that ability attached to such a large, beautiful screen, the 16-inch Pro is well-equipped to serve equally a beefy portable workstation, and information technology's i of the best laptops for video editing you can buy.
Which MacBook is correct for you?
It should exist pretty clear that now's a bully time to buy a new MacBook. Apple's laptop business has gone from forcefulness to strength since the debut of the M1 fleck in late 2020, and the Apple silicon train shows no signs of slowing down for the foreseeable hereafter.
Even the cheapest M1-equipped MacBook is more than performant and power-efficient than most similarly-priced laptops, and if you can afford to splurge the new MacBook Pros are the most powerful MacBooks nosotros've ever seen.
The things to remember nearly before you buy are: how big of a screen practice I want, and what kinds of ports do I need? How oftentimes do I plan on carrying this thing around? And nigh importantly, what can I afford?
Now is a good time to buy, because you're pretty much guaranteed to get a great machine no matter how much you spend on a new MacBook.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/which-macbook-should-i-buy-heres-what-you-need-to-know
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