Okay, Which MacBook Should I Buy?

Check out Apple’s website or go to the Apple Store and you’ll be inundated with MacBook options: MacBook Air and Pro in all shapes, sizes and features, all vying for your attention and a good chunk of your money. It’s not easy to figure out which one is right for you, especially when you consider the final price. So I’m going to make things a little easier for you: here’s a little about what each current Apple MacBook is and who it’s for, to help you decide which one to buy.

This breakdown is focused on MacBooks currently for sale on the Apple website. How to buy a refurbished MacBook should be a separate, equally important conversation, and in this article we offer some tips for buying refurbished laptops . Buying used is a great way to get a reliable MacBook at a very reasonable price.

(Note: When discussing pricing, I’m not considering Apple’s MSRP. Keep in mind that you can always take advantage of Apple’s education discount on any MacBook you buy, even if you’re not a student or student.)

Best all-around machine: M2 MacBook Air ($1,199)

Let’s start with Apple’s current golden goose: the MacBook Air M2 is what the company would like you to buy. It comes with the M2 chip, Apple’s next generation of silicon. Along with this comes a boost in CPU performance and a significant boost in GPU performance, marking a legitimate improvement over the already impressive M1.

In addition to the new chip, this MacBook Air features an updated design. Gone is the device’s signature wedge-shaped body, replaced with a look reminiscent of the ultra-thin MacBook Pro. Also striking: the new color “Midnight”; beautiful appearance for a laptop, but picks up fingerprints easily. You also get a fantastic, slightly larger 13.6-inch iPhone-like notched display for a 1080p camera. For some, the best “new” feature is the return of MagSafe for magnetic charging (thank god).

The MacBook Air M2 seems like a no-brainer until it’s time to set it up. The base model comes with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB hard drive. For basic use, especially when combined with the iCloud lifestyle, this might be fine, but it won’t necessarily protect the device from the future. If you ever feel like Chrome is starting to choke or your family photos are starting to approach 256GB, you may be running out of RAM or storage and there won’t be an update after the fact.

While 8GB of RAM is good for many purposes, I generally recommend 16GB to make sure the computer will perform well in the long run. If you upgrade the RAM to a solid 16GB and upgrade to a 512GB SSD (a popular configuration), the cost rises to $1,599. If you decide to upgrade your GPU from eight cores to 10, that’s another $100. Apple isn’t playing with prices here; even the MacBook Air is an expensive machine these days.

Another disadvantage of the Air is its fanless design. Some computers have fans that draw hot air away from internal components and keep things running smoothly. Apple decided to let the MacBook Air cool passively, which means the heat goes away on its own. This is not bad: for most workflows, passive cooling ensures normal operation. However, under intensive workloads, this cooling method shows its limits. After a long period of intensive work, the M2 starts to get very hot to the point that passive cooling can no longer cope. The only thing left for the computer to do is slow down the performance of the M2 so that it can stay within a safe temperature range.

Again, however, this is under long, intense workloads. M2 will work fine with smaller loads. And even if macOS slows down performance, it stops as soon as the chip cools down enough, allowing you to boost its peak power again.

However, let’s say you need to push the M2 and you’re worried that the lack of fans will prevent your machine from keeping up. Apple has a solution that no anonymous Internet commentator would recommend: the MacBook Pro M2.

Workhorse: M2 MacBook Pro ($1,299)

The MacBook Pro M2 is an interesting machine. Unlike the MacBook Air M2, the Pro looks exactly like its M1 sibling, which looks just like every MacBook Pro from 2016. From the outside, no one will be able to tell which version of the MacBook Pro you have and which is not. definitely to the detriment. However, you might find it distasteful to spend a significant amount of money on a laptop that looks just like most MacBook Pros from the past six years.

Oddly, the Pro is missing some features from the M2 Air: you have the standard 13.3-inch display you found on the M1 MacBook Pro, rather than the upgraded 13.6-inch display on the M2 (no notch, though). There’s also no MagSafe, which is confusing. Why Apple?

However, Apple decided to keep the controversial Touch Bar. I agree with that – my main laptop is still the original MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and not once in five years have I wanted physical function keys in its place – but not everyone thinks so. However, since the company is ditching the Touch Bar on nearly every second MacBook, I’m glad there will still be more users who can experience it.

As for the M2, it’s the same chip as in the MacBook Air, but you get a more powerful 10-core GPU by default compared to the base Air’s eight-core GPU. The big difference is that the Pro has fans. The two machines compete admirably in normal workloads, but when you start to push their limits during intense activities over a long period of time, such as high-resolution video editing, animation, and gaming, MacBook Pro fans support the M2 better.

Here’s the kicker: The M2 Pro is $100 more expensive than the Air. This puts you in one of two camps. Either you’re attracted to all the “novelties” of the MacBook Air and can rest easy and spend $100 less than a MacBook Pro, or you know that performance is all you need for your workflow and spend the extra $100. to invest in a cooling system to keep the M2 running at its peak performance, even at the cost of some fun new features.

If you’re having trouble deciding between the M2 Air and Pro in particular, don’t look to online forums for help. The Mac “experts” on the internet have unanimously concluded that the M2 MacBook Pro is a terrible machine due to its dated design and price. In fact, they just get angry when people don’t listen to their advice. Always buy the car that best suits your needs and ignore the haters.

“Budget” option: M1 MacBook Air ($999)

If you’ve skimmed through the paragraphs about productivity and heavy workloads because you’re looking for a laptop for email, Google Docs, and Netflix, you’ve found your new computer baby.

Even though Apple dropped the M1 MacBook Pro from its current lineup, it still sells the M1 MacBook Air , cementing that machine’s place as the company’s entry-level laptop of choice. But this machine seems a far cry from the baseline – the M1 chip is still quite powerful in 2022 and will be so for some time to come. You’ll miss out on CPU and GPU performance over the M2, especially with the base M1 Air’s seven-core GPU, but the M1’s chip will be more than enough to handle most of the tasks you throw at it, including video editing, even with the base M1’s weaker graphics.

Because it’s a MacBook Air, it doesn’t have fans, so the principle is the same as before: if you press too hard on the M1 for too long, it will eventually heat up and start to slow down in performance. However, the M1 is slightly more energy efficient than the M2, meaning you won’t reach those heat levels as quickly.

The M1 Air starts at $999, which gives you the same 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage found on base M2 laptops. The best part is that you can upgrade the laptop without feeling like such a punch in the gut: going up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage will set you back $1,399, $200 less than the same configuration on the M2 Air, and on $300 less than the same configuration. on M2 Pro.

Big Boys: M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro ($1999)

Historically, I’ve advised most people to stay away from 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros – not because they’re bad machines, but because they’re too good. With some of Apple’s highest performing silicon chips in laptops; large mini LED displays; charger MagSafe; SD card slot; and an HDMI port, these devices are a dream come true. They also start at $1,999 ($2,499 for a 16-inch), making them very expensive laptops for most buyers.

Even though the M2 chips are newer than the M1 Pro and M1 Max , the latter still outperform the SoC. In short, these chips have either an octa-core or 10-core CPU with 14 to 32 core GPUs, among other market differences. The M2, on the other hand, has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU: The processing power is comparable, but graphically, the M1 Pro and M1 Max still outperform the M2 at every level. If you’re not someone who needs to take advantage of this performance, or have the money to spare, it’s usually not worth the price jump, even if these MacBooks are amazing.

However, Apple’s current prices for the M2 devices complicate things a bit. If you’re eyeing the MacBook Air M2 and planning on having up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, that will set you back $1,599. If you want a 10-core GPU, or the same configuration in the M2 MacBook Pro, that’ll be $1,699. Apple is currently selling the 14-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro in its refurbished store for $1,799, just $100 more. That $100 gives you all the extras I mentioned above, a surprisingly good price for one Benjamin.

Of course, if your budget is $1,699, it doesn’t matter if the 14-inch MacBook Pro is close in price: you can’t go wrong with the M2 Air or Pro. But if you ‘re on a budget and looking at those specific configurations, take a look at the M1 Pro MacBook Pro offerings. You can find a better laptop than you ever thought without breaking your budget.

So which MacBook should you buy?

If you’re somehow unsure after reading these comparisons, here’s my cheat sheet for determining who each laptop model is for:

• For most people, the best value in a new Mac is the M1 MacBook Air. It’s the cheapest option, giving you the ability to upgrade specs and providing enough power to get most people through most tasks. This is the winner.
• If you need more power but are on a budget, the MacBook Air M2 or MacBook Pro M2 is the way to go. If you want reliable performance for long, intensive tasks, spend an extra $100 on MacBook Pro fans. If not, you will be happy with Air.
• If you need more RAM and storage , and if your budget allows, check out the certified refurbished 14-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro. The extra $100 will give you a significant upgrade over the Apple M2 offerings. If no such deal exists, or if you’re already at the top of your budget, any of the M2 MacBooks will do.