What type of macbook is best

There are eccentricities and problems with Apple's laptops you should know about before you buy. Bland Touch Bar: When Apple debuted the Touch Bar in late , it touted the thin touchscreen strip above the keyboard as the next generation of user input. This shift didn't pan out. There was little interest from third-party software designers in doing anything innovative with the tiny display.

Apple's newest MacBooks do not have the Touch Bar anymore, a clear indicator that Apple is moving away from it. It only sells one MacBook with it now. Palmy trackpad: Apple's trackpads are among the best in the computer business, but with the newest MacBooks these input devices have been blown up to unbelievable proportions and crammed up against the bottom edge of the keyboard, right where you rest your palms while typing.

Although there's supposed to be intelligent palm rejection software at work, the trackpads are susceptible to accidental input. Parched for ports: Then there's the port situation. It might not work with some of the devices you own. You'll want to invest in a few adapters like this Hyper adapter if you plan on hooking your computer up to a projector, or want to use things like USB drives or SD cards.

Older MacBooks with butterfly keyboards — : Apple's now-notorious first- to third-generation "butterfly switch" keyboards are gone from the entire new MacBook lineup. And good riddance. If you're buying an older model MacBook, Apple does replace the keyboards for free and did add extra dust guards to the late and early models.

Apple has detailed instructions on how to clean the old keyboard if yours gets flaky, which is a decent first line of defense against busted keys. Apple also extended its keyboard repair program to cover repairs on all Macs that have been purchased within the past four years, regardless of warranty status. Still, unless you're getting it really cheap, we suggest sticking with the newer models that feature the much-better Magic Keyboard—and the newer, more advanced processor.

The old MacBook Air models with a silver bezel : Apple's slim laptop was groundbreaking when it debuted in Unfortunately, the MacBook Air didn't undergo many changes until These older Airs rock a dowdy-looking, non-Retina screen and weak Intel chips that are years old.

The old laptops might not require the dongles that a newer MacBook might, but the newer laptops will undoubtedly feel faster for longer.

Don't let their lower price tag tempt you—there are way better laptops you can nab for that kind of cash. How to spot it: The older Air has a thick silver border bezel around its screen, instead of the black glass of the new models. The old inch MacBook Pro: This is a fine laptop that's not too old , but its price makes no sense when compared to the new inch MacBook Pro. You're much better off sticking with the M1 Pro or M1 Max-powered 16 incher.

It really is superior. Regardless of whether you're a casual MacBook user or a professional content creator, the MacBook lineup now covers all the bases. Meanwhile, those who need more power for the most demanding tasks should opt for the souped-up MacBook Pro inch or inch with the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip.

None of Apple's MacBooks are cheap, and replacement parts are nightmarishly expensive. Since the entire computer is fully integrated into Apple's tightly designed aluminum chassis, you're one coffee spill away from a shockingly large repair bill. Apple always offers small discounts on hardware for students and teachers. All you need to do is purchase something through Apple's Education Store , choose the product you want you should see the discounted pricing , and go through the motions to place the order like normal.

You don't need to show any proof that you're a student at the time of purchase, but you should be honest, as Apple can email you at a later date and ask for verification. Apple MacBook Pro inch and Inch, Check out Apple's Education Store. Previously he was the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, steering coverage and reviews of smartphones and smartwatches, and an intern at TechCrunch. Performance is excellent and is very similar between the models which have GB and GB of storage, respectively.

The FaceTime HD webcam sticks with p resolution, which isn't as good as the latest MacBook Pro devices, but this is a relatively minor point for most, we suspect. The Air is a little more flexible than the old models when it comes to ports, too, in that it offers an extra USB-C port for a total of two. Again, it's not quite as port-rich as the new Pro options, but it'll likely be enough for most users. In short, this laptop is a doozy - and the right pick for those who want a great MacBook experience, don't require the extra grunt power of Pro models and don't want to face their asking price.

That means students, teachers and professionals who don't have task-heavy apps and platforms to work on will be very well catered for. Like its inch sibling, this is a MacBook Pro for heavy professional users.

And, naturally, this is the choice for those who prefer a bigger laptop; one with a relatively ample port array, line-leading battery life and enough processing power to blow the competition out the proverbial water. Really, you're getting pretty much an identical package to the inch model here, except for that improved battery life and the screen. Your needs will largely dictate whether you go for the 'standard' chip or require the top-spec M1 Max model, but, if you do begin maxing it out, you can receive up to a core CPU and core GPU.

You'll also get the price tag to match. Is the jump worth it? Not for most people - and, if we're honest, not even for most professional users - but it is for the ultimate power user for whom money is no object. The MacBook Pro launched alongside the latest Air model, detailed below, and now represents the cheapest option for those interested in an Apple laptop with a little more oomph. It's also now quite a drop-off from its siblings. The newer MacBook Pro models have a better display, the omission of the Touch Bar and tons more ports, to name just a few upgrades.

If that stuff doesn't really concern you, the MacBook Pro is still a great machine - particularly, we'd say, for those who want a laptop for mixed professional use and occasional personal use. For those work calls, there's also the p webcam built into the bezel, which is the same as the Air and a step down from the other Pro models in the lineup.

Learn more Home Laptops Laptop buyer's guides Apple laptop buyer's guides. This will mostly be worked out over the next year or so as developers update their apps, but it can be annoying or inconvenient in the short term.

We talk more about the benefits and caveats of the M1 chip later in this guide. Otherwise, the Pro has most of the same, well, pros and cons as the Air, including its good keyboard and trackpad, great screen, limited port selection, and mediocre webcam. But the Pro has a fan inside to help it dissipate heat, which means the M1 processor can run at its peak speed pretty much indefinitely, where the Air eventually has to slow down to prevent overheating.

The Pro we recommend comes with 16 GB of memory and GB of storage—the extra memory will help if you open dozens of browser tabs at once, or edit large high-resolution images and videos. The large multi-touch trackpad is identical. The Pro uses the same disappointing p webcam as the Air. And while the 3-pound Pro is a little heavier than the 2.

That extra capacity let the Pro run our battery test for four more hours, for a total of You could go multiple days without needing to plug in the Pro. Apple calls this translation software Rosetta, like the stone. Most apps, especially straightforward productivity apps like Microsoft Office, work great with Rosetta. I noticed this to varying degrees when using the Microsoft Edge browser, the Steam game client, an older unoptimized version of Adobe Photoshop, and the Audacity audio editor.

These small slowdowns can be annoying, but they never actually kept me from getting work done in any of these apps—on that front, Rosetta is successful. These developers are working to make their software run on Apple silicon Macs, and Microsoft could release a version of Windows that runs on Apple silicon.

Once all of this transitional dust settles, M1 Macs are going to be significantly faster across the board compared with the Intel Macs that preceded them. We previously advised readers who were considering replacing their MacBook Pros to hold out, if they could, for the new models without Intel processors to arrive in The former can support 16 or 32 GB of memory, while the latter can support up to 64 GB.

Apple claims the new chips can handle multiple displays at once with ease. Apple claims the inch Pro has a hour battery life during continuous video play while the inch gets 17 hours.

Even the speakers and microphone have been improved. We will be doing a deep dive test of the new MacBook Pros soon.

Avoid the and versions of the MacBook Air, inch MacBook Pros made between and , and any inch MacBook Pro the inch replaced the inch model in late Although they have the improved keyboard, you should also avoid the Intel versions of the MacBook Air and Pro unless you need them for a specific reason, like running Windows apps in virtualization software or via Boot Camp.

These laptops still run fine though you should avoid the Core i3 version of the MacBook Air because of its performance; get the Core i5 or Core i7 version instead.

And the inch Pro still has a pretty high price tag, uses the inferior butterfly-switch keyboard instead of the new scissor-switch version, and offers slower graphics processors and worse battery life than the inch version.

Neither of these instruction sets are exclusive to Intel or Apple; AMD chips use the x86 instruction set, for example, while phone and tablet processors from Qualcomm, Samsung, Nvidia, MediaTek, and others all use the ARM instruction set.

Use external monitors with your Mac , Apple Support, November 17,