Best Apple Laptop Computer To Buy

The best MacBook for each person will differ, but there's a great option for virtually anyone in Apple's laptop lineup in 2023. Apple's ARM-based M1 chip kicked off a new era for MacBooks in 2020 and it hasn't taken its foot off the accelerator. Apple's in-house SoC brought massive performance and battery life improvements to the entire MacBook range.

best apple laptop computer to buy

Now joined by the M1 Pro, M1 Max, M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max, Apple has you covered regardless of your needs. The M2 MacBook Air and Pro are among the best laptops available today and the latest 16-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pro models are once again setting a high bar for creator laptops early in 2023.

The MacBook Air M1 remains the best MacBook for most people. What about the MacBook Air M2? It's a fantastic laptop that we'll cover next on this list, but the reality is that for the majority of users the upgrades aren't necessary and Apple is keeping it around in order to maintain that sub-$1,000 starting price. Best of all you can often find it for $899 or less.

As long as you don't mind the older design, the MacBook Air M1 remains one of the best laptop deals even when it's not discounted and should draw strong consideration from anyone considering a new MacBook.

And despite cramming so much power into such a slim and sleek chassis, the Pro lasted for an almost unbelievable 18 hours and 20 minutes on our battery test, which simulates real-world testing. That was enough to land it atop our list of laptops with the best battery life.

While I still would recommend a gaming laptop with a discrete GPU for those that want the best overall gaming experience, but 16-inch MacBook Pro is finally at least competing in this realm enough that casual gamers will be happy.

Dave Gershgorn has reviewed and covered technology since 2015 at publications such as Popular Science, Quartz, Medium, and now Wirecutter. He has also built, repaired, and largely avoided frying his own computers since 2006. At Wirecutter, he tests laptops, monitors, and tablets.

Andrew Cunningham is a former senior staff writer on Wirecutter's tech team. He has been writing about laptops, phones, routers, and other tech since 2011. Before that he spent five years in IT fixing computers and helping people buy the best tech for their needs. He also co-hosts the book podcast Overdue and the TV podcast Appointment Television.

By comparing these two practically identical models we can demonstrate the differences between the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. That should give you a good indication of which kind of Mac laptop is best for you.

Apple is still offering education deals on MacBooks: Normally, the Apple Store is (ironically) not the best place to buy an Apple laptop (really, almost any Apple product) because sales are all but nonexistent. The big exception to the rule is Apple's education sales, which usually include MacBook deals. If you're a student or teacher, that can mean $100 off a MacBook Air and a free pair of AirPods, plus a 20% discount on the AppleCare Plus extended warranty (which I have mixed feelings about). On the other hand, we've also found Apple laptop deals through Best Buy's Student Deals page.

The MacBook Air M2 is simply the best laptop for the money based on our testing. You get stellar performance, a vibrant display and superb battery life all wrapped up in a design that is delightfully portable. Yes, $1,119 is a steep price, but we would easily recommend this system over the $999 MacBook Air M1 staying in the lineup because of its better performance and display, along with sharper webcam and MagSafe charging.

The MacBook Air was always the best MacBook for most people, but now it's better for even more people than ever before. Apple's decision to replace its Intel processors with its own Apple Silicon, starting with the M1 chip in the MacBook Air, is reaping serious rewards. This laptop's 14 hours and 41 minutes of battery life n the Tom's Guide battery test is the best for a MacBook Air ever. Plus, the M1 delivers crazy-fast performance, so much so that it can run serious games smoothly.

The MacBook Air's webcam has also been upgraded, as the M1 chip provides signal processing tricks to improve clarity and color accuracy. And, of course, the Magic Keyboard is still here, which provides a comfy typing experience. Dolby Atmos audio support means that some movies and TV shows will sound even better than before. The MacBook Air is now not just the best MacBook for your average Apple user, but it's closer to the title of the king of the laptops than it's been in years.

To find the best MacBook, we run each through our gauntlet of benchmarks and real-world tests, and then use them as our main computer for as well. Only then are we comfortable recommending them (or not) for your purchase.

Founded in 1976, Apple is one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, with instantly recognizable products like the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and MacBook. Apple has a small laptop lineup compared to other brands like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and ASUS, as they only make premium productivity-focused laptops. However, MacBooks are consistently among the most well-built and premium laptops you can find. Since Apple started making laptops with their in-house SoC, the M1, MacBooks are among the best for performance and battery life.

The best Apple laptop we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021), the smaller of the two 'Pro' laptops with Apple's new design, Mini-LED display, and in-house SoC. The display produces deep blacks, gets incredibly bright, and covers the entire DCI P3 color space, making it suitable for viewing and producing HDR content. Its factory calibration is superb, so you likely won't need to calibrate before doing color work. It's also a ProMotion display, meaning it can dynamically adjust the refresh rate up to 120Hz to make motion smoother or lower it to extend battery life.

If you're a little put off by the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022)'s price, there's good news: you can still buy the older Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020). It's one of the best MacBook Airs Apple has produced and the first to have an Apple-made chip inside. Although this is our budget pick, it's only considered 'budget' in Apple's laptop lineup because it's the most affordable. There's nothing 'budget' about this laptop. It feels as premium as the picks above, so you're still getting an exceptionally well-built device that provides a great user experience. Compared to the newer M2 MacBook Air, most of the tradeoffs are pretty minor, like the design, webcam, and SoC, so unless there's a feature you want on the newer model, this is a great alternative that'll save you a good chunk of cash.

Microsoft and Apple are very similar in some ways but also very different. Both companies only make productivity laptops and are in control of the hardware and software, as they also created the operating system. However, Microsoft tends to have more budget models and experiments with other form factors like 2-in-1 tablets, while Apple only makes clamshell laptops with no touch input. Both companies are among the best when it comes to build quality.

Apple is one of the best laptop makers in the world. MacBooks usually feel premium and exceptionally well-built, and they have among the best performance and battery life. As Apple also makes the operating system, MacBooks also have a level of integration with other Apple products that's hard to find on devices from other manufacturers. However, MacBooks are generally expensive and aren't as ideal for gaming.

If you're looking for a productivity laptop, Apple MacBooks are among the best available options, whether you're already in the Apple ecosystem or not. They feel incredibly well-built, have long battery life, and provide a premium user experience. However, if you want more versatility, like a 2-in-1 convertible or a laptop with wider game compatibility, you're better off with a Chromebook or a Windows device.

To choose between the best Apple MacBook laptops, we started with extensive personal experience: All the computers here have been road-tested and reviewed in some way. Then, we added in-depth research by cross-referencing third-party reviews with specs sheets, first-party benchmarks and user experiences. Rest assured, we know the ins and outs of all these machines, so you can choose the perfect one for you.

The best MacBook and Macs deliver a smoother, more streamlined, and more stable experience than what Windows laptops can offer. Now powered by Apple's own SoCs (system on chip) - with the exception of the current Mac Pro that's still powered by Intel, these new Macs are brilliant performers that will see you through your creative workloads.

These Apple devices are among the best PCs and laptops on the market. In fact, despite their best efforts, the best Windows laptops simply can't live up to the experience you get when you're photo or video editing on a Mac or a MacBook. If you're in a creative-driven industry, investing in one will change your workflow for the better.

If you've having trouble choosing between laptop deals and tablet deals for your next mobile device purchase, why not get the best of both worlds by going for the Microsoft Surface Pro 9? It's an even more attractive option because of Best Buy's $100 discount that makes it more affordable at $900 from $1,000, and every purchase comes with a free Surface Pro Signature keyboard that enables the transformation from tablet to laptop. The offer won't last forever, so take advantage of it as soon as you can.

Why you should buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming laptopThe AMD versus Intel rivalry has escalated over recent years, and if you want a gaming laptop that will showcase AMD's advancements, you can't go wrong with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It's got what it takes to run the best PC games at their highest settings with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6700S graphics card, in addition to 16GB of RAM that's considered by our guide on how much RAM do you need as enough for most gamers. The gaming laptop's 14-inch display with WQXGA resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate gives justice to all that processing power, so you'll be able to even better appreciate the graphics of modern video games. 041b061a72