How to Decide Which MacBook is the Best MacBook for You

The MacBook lineup has simply expanded with model new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros in the stores. But there’s additionally the present MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, they usually all run on custom-made Apple Silicon chips, all with varied configurations out there whenever you purchase them direct from Apple. So which of those next-gen Apple laptops is the one for you?

The latest Pro laptops are, as anticipated, a considerable step up from the MacBook Air in energy and in worth (the Air can also be a yr older, in fact). What that you must determine is whether or not the additional funding is price it—and until you’re engaged on significantly demanding duties, it may not be. But remember that the MacBook Air is prone to get a refresh sooner or later in 2022.

Here are the variations between every MacBook you should buy proper now, and how one can decide which one is the perfect one for you.

MacBook Air (2020)

Launched in November 2020, the present MacBook Air is the primary of Apple’s MacBook lineup to come back with certainly one of Apple’s personal processors inside—on this case, the M1. The M1’s 8-core CPU is as much as 3.5x sooner than the earlier era MacBook Air operating on an Intel chip, in accordance with Apple. It’s joined by a 7-core or 8-core GPU on the identical M1 system-on-chip,relying on the configuration you go for, and a 16-core Neural Engine.

The Air is the slimmest, smallest MacBook Apple makes proper now, with a 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel show (227 pixels per inch) that provides a most brightness of 400 nits. The general dimensions are 11.97 inches x 8.36 inches x 0.63 inches, and the laptop computer weighs in at 2.8 kilos.

With that dimension, there’s solely room for one headphone jack and two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports—perhaps one motive why the MacBook Air might not be the MacBook for you. The laptop computer can help one exterior show (as much as a 6K decision and 60Hz refresh fee). On the audio aspect, you’ve acquired two stereo audio system right here with Dolby Atmos help.

Other specs to learn about are the help for Wi-Fi 6 and the 720p built-in webcam constructed into the bezels across the show. Apple claims you could stand up to 18 hours of battery life from the MacBook Air, so long as you’re not pushing it too laborious, and its prolonged battery life was confirmed by our overview. In phrases of colours, there’s the usual area grey and silver, but additionally a gold possibility that’s distinctive to the Air.

There are two beginning configurations to choose from: The least expensive $999 possibility has the M1 chip with the 7-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. You can go as much as 16GB of RAM (add $200), in addition to enhance the interior storage to 512GB (add $200), 1TB (add $400), or 2TB (add $800). The most costly configuration at this stage will set you again $1,999.

The different configuration begins at $1,249, which will get you the M1 chip with the 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of inner storage. If you need to enhance the specs, you may get 16GB of RAM for an additional $200, and select from a few storage upgrades: 1TB for an extra $200 and 2TB for an extra $600. Go for the 16GB and 2TB mixture and also you’re paying $2,049, the most costly MacBook Air possibility for the time being.

13-inch MacBook Pro (2020)

The 13-inch MacBook Pro was launched alongside the newest MacBook Air in November 2020, though it now feels somewhat underpowered subsequent to the next-gen 14-inch and 16-inch fashions. You get the top-end M1, with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, providing 2.8x the efficiency of the earlier era 13-inch MacBook Pro. It’s price noting that not like the MacBook Air, this laptop computer has energetic fan cooling, doubtlessly enabling larger efficiency.

As with the MacBook Air, this MacBook Pro sports activities a 13.3-inch display screen with a 2560 x 1600 pixel decision (227 pixels per inch). The most brightness will get a lift to 500 nits although, whereas the size are just like the Air general, simply with out the tapering: It measures 11.97 inches x 8.36 inches x 0.61 inches, and ideas the scales at 3.0 kilos.

The ports match the MacBook Air, with a headphone jack and two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, and once more one exterior show with as much as a 6K decision and 60Hz refresh fee might be powered. You get stereo audio system with Dolby Atmos help, and also you additionally get the notorious Touch Bar above the keyboard. This is prone to be the final ever MacBook to sport the Touch Bar, so should you love that characteristic, that is most likely the MacBook to purchase.

As with the MacBook Air, there’s Wi-Fi 6 and the 720p built-in webcam with no notch. Apple says that 20 hours of battery life between expenses is feasible with the 13-inch MacBook Pro, assuming you’re not going to be doing an excessive amount of with it apart from watching movies, so it’s one other spectacular performer within the battery division. As with all of the Pro fashions, you may decide from area grey and silver.

You get two selections whenever you configure a 13-inch MacBook Pro by means of the Apple web site: $1,299 for the mannequin with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of inner storage, and $1,499 for the mannequin with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of inner storage. Both fashions are in any other case the identical, and powered by the M1 chip with an 8-core GPU.

Click by means of on these configurations and you may up the RAM to 16GB for an extra $200. Fitting the laptop computer with 512GB (on the 256GB mannequin), 1TB, or 2TB of storage will value an additional $200, $400, or $800 respectively. Do the maths on all of that and the top-end configuration comes out at $2,299, irrespective of which possibility you picked to start with.

14-inch MacBook Pro (2021)

The model new MacBook Pros complicate your resolution a bit. These are severe laptops with severe worth tags hooked up. Apart from the scale, these two laptops are literally very related when it comes to their specs. The smaller 14-inch MacBook Pro might be had with both the M1 Pro chip (as much as 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine) or the M1 Max chip (10-core CPU, as much as 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine).

Apple says CPU efficiency is round 3.7x sooner than the equal 13-inch Intel-based model that got here earlier than: Check out a stack of benchmarking stats here. The 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964 display screen runs at 254 pixels per inch and is able to as much as 1,600 nits peak brightness. When it involves dimensions, the 14-inch mannequin measures 12.31 inches x 8.71 inches x 0.61 inches and weighs 3.5 kilos.

The additional ports are a very good motive to choose the 14-inch over the 13-inch Pro. Besides the headphone jack you get an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, a MagSafe port for charging and three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports. The M1 Pro can energy two exterior shows (as much as 6K/60Hz) whereas the M1 Max can run three exterior shows (as much as 6K/60Hz) plus one other 4K/60Hz display screen too. There are six audio system with Dolby Atmos help this time round.

Space grey and silver are once more the colour choices, and there’s help for the newest Wi-Fi 6. What’s extra, the Touch Bar has been ditched, and the webcam—sitting inside the brand new notch—will get upgraded to 1080p. According to Apple, you may get 17 hours of battery life from the 14-inch MacBook Pro, so long as you’re simply watching video, although in our testing of a 14-inch Pro with M1 Max chip, the battery life was nearer to 9 hours.

The varied configurations can get somewhat complicated, however there are two beginning choices. The first offers you the 8-core CPU and 14-core GPU model of the M1 Pro, plus 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1,999. Dig into the system builder, and you’ve got 4 different M1 Pro/M1 Max configurations to select from, including as a lot as $700. You can even go as much as 32GB of RAM (add $400) and decide from 1TB (add $200), 2TB (add $600), 4TB (add $1,200), or 8TB (add $2,400) of storage.

The different beginning possibility is for a extra highly effective M1 Pro chip with a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU, along with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of inner storage—that’s yours for $2,499. There are fewer improve choices right here, however they high out at a 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU M1 Max (add $400), 64GB of RAM (add $800), and 8TB of storage (add $2,200). The finest 14-inch MacBook Pro will set you again a tidy $5,899.

16-inch MacBook Pro (2021)

And so to the largest and hottest MacBook Pro on the planet for the time being. As with the 14-inch mannequin, you may get the 16-inch model with varied M1 Pro chip configurations, topping out at a 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine variant. You can even go for the M1 Max chip as a substitute, which fits as much as a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine when it comes to specs.

Apple’s stats present the 16-inch MacBook Pro providing 2.1x higher CPU efficiency over its Intel predecessor, however that’s only one quantity out of many that’s listed. When it involves the show we’re taking a look at a 16.2-inch, 3456 x 2234 pixel decision panel (254 pixels per inch) and 1,600 nits of peak brightness (plus, in fact, that notch). That larger display screen means dimensions of 14.01 inches x 9.77 inches x 0.66 inches and a weight of as much as 4.8 kilos.

The ports are precisely the identical because the 14-inch mannequin: a headphone jack, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, a MagSafe port for charging the laptop computer, and three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports. The 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro inside can energy two exterior shows (as much as 6K/60Hz); with the M1 Max it will possibly stretch to a few exterior shows (as much as 6K/60Hz) plus one other 4K/60Hz display screen too. There are six audio system with Dolby Atmos help, and the colour choices are silver and area grey.

Like the 14-inch model, the show’s notch has a 1080p webcam inside it (a welcome improve from 720p). The help for Wi-Fi 6 is identical, too. Apple guarantees as much as 21 hours of battery life between expenses out of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which implies it leads the sector in that specific metric.

Configuring a 16-inch MacBook Pro has three potential beginning factors. The first two are very related: a10-core CPU, 16-core GPU M1 Pro system with 16GB of RAM and both 512GB ($2,499) or 1TB ($2,699) of storage. Click by means of to the configuration choices and you may improve the CPU (as much as the perfect M1 Max for an additional $400), the reminiscence (as much as 64GB for an additional $800), and the storage (as much as 8TB for a considerable $2,400).

For these with the deepest pockets, you can begin off with a top-end 10-core CPU, 32-core CPU M1 Max mannequin, with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, for $3,499. You get an analogous set of improve choices: 64GB of RAM is one other $400, whereas you may also get 2TB ($400 extra), 4TB ($1,000 extra) or 8TB ($2,200 extra) of storage. The strongest, most costly 16-inch MacBook Pro will set you again $6,099.

Check out our evaluations of the MacBook Air, 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro, and 14-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro to get a greater concept of which laptop computer most accurately fits your wants. The names are the largest giveaways, in fact: The MacBook Air is probably the most light-weight, each when it comes to dimension and efficiency, and the M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro is for many who want a lot out of their machines.