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Since Apple started the transition over to Apple Silicon in 2020, with the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, the company has put out some really impressive laptops. Gone are the days of “Macs are too expensive”. When you compare them to similarly specced Windows laptops, they are generally cheaper, or about the same price.
Apple has now redesigned its entire lineup of laptops, so there’s plenty of choices available. Whether you want a small 13-inch laptop, or a larger 16-inch laptop. Apple has something for everyone. So in this article, we are going to round up the very best MacBook that you can buy today.
Best Apple MacBooks
These are the latest MacBooks from Apple. Only those on this list are still sold by Apple. Now you can of course get an older model and save some cash, but those will not be on this list. The thinking here is giving you the best of the best, and as many updates as possible.
There are different variants of these laptops, and they can be upgraded through Apple’s website. But for most people, the entry model will be perfectly fine, and Amazon does typically sell these for less than Apple does.
Apple MacBook Air 13″ with M2
– Price: $1,099
– Where to buy: Amazon
The MacBook Air has been Apple’s best-selling laptop since Steve Jobs pulled it out of that envelope all those years ago. And now we have an M2-powered MacBook Air, which is going to be great for everyone. From college students, to full-time employees and everyone in between. What makes the Air so great is the weight. It comes in at just 2.7lbs. One of the lightest laptops on the market.
With that weight, you might be thinking that battery life is going to suffer. But nope. It still is rated at 18 hours of battery life. I can personally attest to that, as I do use one everyday. It does last a solid 18 hours, if not longer.
This particular model is powered by the 8-core CPU and 10-Core GPU with a 16-core Neural Engine. Now the M2 does use 10-cores, but this one has been binned down to 8-core to hit a lower price point. It’s still plenty powerful, and you likely won’t notice the difference of the two extra cores.
Apple MacBook Air 13 with M2 - Amazon
Apple MacBook 15″ with M2
– Price: $1,299
– Where to buy: Amazon
The 15-inch MacBook Air is exactly the same as the 13-inch model, but with a larger screen and a couple more speakers. This is likely going to be Apple’s most popular MacBook Air, because people want that larger screen. It does weigh a bit more, about 3.5lbs. But for a 15-inch laptop, that’s still quite good. This does have a larger battery, but it’s still rated at 18 hours of usage.
Inside, it does still run on the M2 chipset, but it doesn’t have the binned down processor. So the entry-level model does have a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. So technically, it does have a bit more performance than the 13-inch model.
Apple MacBook 15 with M2 - Amazon
Apple MacBook Air with M1
– Price: $799
– Where to buy: Amazon
Apple does still technically sell this laptop, but probably not for much longer. It’s the original Apple Silicon laptop with the M1 chipset, which is a really powerful chipset. The difference between M1 and M2 is negligible. So if you don’t really care for the new redesign, then this is a good buy.
With the M1 chipset inside, you’re also getting a 8-core CPU, and 10-Core GPU with a 16-core Neural Engine included. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of Storage. Remember that none of this is upgradeable after you purchase it. As it is all embedded into the chip.
Apple MacBook Air with M1 - Amazon
Apple MacBook Pro 14″ with M2 Pro
– Price: $1,999
– Where to buy: Amazon
The MacBook Pro is probably overkill for a lot of people, and the MacBook Air would be better, and a lot cheaper. This model starts at $1,999, and comes with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU. There’s also the same 16-core Neural Engine included as is the case with the other MacBooks. That’s a big jump in cores on the GPU side, but all of these cores are more powerful than the regular M2.
Much like the Air, the Pro does also tout 18 hours of battery life. Though this one is quite a bit heavier, at about 3.7lbs. It does also have upgraded speakers and microphones. There’s studio microphones included, so you don’t need a separate mic to do voiceovers.
Finally, the display. It’s a microLED display, which Apple brands as a Liquid Retina XDR display. It’s a really incredible looking display and plays really nicely with HDR content.
Apple MacBook 14 with M2 Pro - Amazon
Apple MacBook Pro 16″ with M2 Max
– Price: $3,499
– Where to buy: Amazon
The MacBook Pro 16″ is basically the same as the 14″, both are available with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. We’ve configured this one with the M2 Max chip, which does jump to a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU. Of course, the same 16-core Neural Engine is included too. That’s a lot of horsepower in a laptop. It also has 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage inside.
Thanks to the larger size, this laptop has the best battery life in the lineup, quoted at 22 hours. It does have that same MicroLED display as the 14-inch, which can get up to 1,000 nits of brightness. And it also has the same studio mics and impressive speakers. Which are even more impressive on the 16-inch, due to the larger size for better speakers.