The first fork in the road you’ll come to when shopping for a MacBook is whether you should go the Air route or go the Pro route. For most people looking for a home or business laptop to run basic office applications, a MacBook Air will suffice. Un Air is also the best choice for students on tight budgets. For creative types who need the extra processing and graphics power of Apple’s new M3 Pro and Max chips, a MacBook Pro is worth the extra cost. To help you find the right MacBook for your needs and budget, here are the key considerations to keep in mind.
Price
The price of entry for a MacBook is $999. This gives you the MacBook Air M1 released in 2020. Apple still sells it alongside the new MacBook Air M2 models. Upgrading to a MacBook Pro model with an M2 Pro chip will cost you $1,999 or more, but you can get a less powerful 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro for $1,599. Here are the starting prices for Apple’s current MacBook lineup:
- MacBook Air M1 13-inch: $999
- MacBook Air M2 13-inch: $1,099
- 15-inch MacBook Air M2: $1,299
- 14-inch MacBook Pro M3: $1,599
- MacBook Pro M3 Pro 14-inch: $1,999
- 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro: $2,499
Size and display
If you take your MacBook with you to class, work, or just your local coffee shop most of the time, an Air is the better choice. The 13-inch MacBook Air models weigh less than 3 pounds, and the more spacious 15-inch Air weighs just 3.3 pounds, which is lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
The other side of the portability coin is screen size. The 16-inch MacBook Pro gives you plenty of space to work and multitask, while the 14-inch MacBook Pro tries to strike the balance between a spacious screen and ease of movement. Unless you need Pro-level performance, we think the 15-inch Air does a better job of achieving that goal.
- MacBook Air M1 13.3-inch: 13.3-inch screen (2560 x 1600 pixels), 2.8 pounds
- MacBook Air M2 13.6-inch: 13.6-inch screen (2560 x 1664 pixels), 2.7 pounds
- MacBook Air M2 15.3-inch: 15.3-inch screen (2880 x 1864 pixels), 3.3 pounds
- 14.2-inch MacBook Pro M3: 14.2-inch screen (3024 x 1964 pixels), 3.4 pounds
- 14.2-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro: 14.2-inch screen (3024 x 1964 pixels), 3.5 pounds
- 16.2-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro: 16.2-inch screen (3456 x 2234 pixels), 4.7 pounds
Processor
The processor, or CPU, is the brain of a laptop. MacBooks have used Apple’s own processors since the introduction of the M1 processor in 2020. M1-based MacBooks were marked improvements over Apple’s previous Intel machines in terms of overall performance, efficiency, and battery life. battery life. The M1 MacBooks were more powerful with longer runtimes while running cooler and quieter.
The latest MacBook Air models feature the M2 processor, and the MacBook Pro models have just been updated with the new M3 chip. The M2 MacBook Air models offer slightly better performance than the M1-based versions, but not to the point of switching from Intel processors to the M1. We haven’t yet tested the recently released MacBook Pros based on Apple’s new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, but we expect to see similar gains from M2 to M3 as we’ve seen past from M1 to M2.
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The graphics processor, or GPU, handles all the work of driving the screen and generating what is displayed, as well as accelerating many graphics-related (and increasingly, AI-related) operations. . The Apple M1 and M2 processors integrate the GPU. The more processing cores the GPU has, the better the graphics performance. Here is the breakdown:
- M1: 7 or 8 core GPU
- M2: 8 or 10 core GPU
- M3: 10-core GPU
- M3 Pro: 14 or 18 core GPU
- Maximum M3: 30 or 40 core GPU
Memory
Memory, or RAM, is where the operating system stores all data from running applications, and it can fill up quickly. After that, it starts switching between RAM and SSD, which is slower. MacBook Air models start with 8GB of RAM with the 14-inch MacBook Pro M3. The minimum on M3 Pro or M3 Max MacBook Pros is 18GB. If you buy from Apple, you can configure the laptop with more memory – up to 16GB or 24GB on MacBook Airs and up to 128 GB on MacBook Pro M3 Pro and Max.
You can’t upgrade memory on newer MacBooks after purchase, so you’ll need to get the RAM you need from the start. MacBooks are capable of running macOS and preinstalled apps smoothly with the minimum RAM offered, but doubling the RAM will make your MacBook faster and likely result in a longer useful product life.
Storage
MacBooks are equipped with solid state drives or solid state drives. MacBook Air models start with a 256GB SSD, and MacBook Pros offer a minimum of 512GB SSD. If you use cloud storage for your files, music collection, and photo library, you may be able to get away with a 256GB SSD without filling it up for too long. We were happy to see the 13-inch MacBook Pro with its paltry 256 GB SSD disappear; Business users need at least 512 GB.
