The best Apple MacBook for every type of user in 2024

If you’re a fan of all things Apple and a Laptop in addition to your equipment, you should choose a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. These range in price from $999 for an entry-level MacBook Air, to $7,199 for a MacBook Pro configured with every available upgrade.

Keep in mind that all current MacBook laptops run the same version of the MacOS Sonoma operating system and come with the same collection of 30+ pre-installed apps. These apps are designed to perform the most common computing tasks right out of the box. All MacBook laptops also work seamlessly with Apple iCloud and all other Apple services.

For most students or average computer users, a MacBook Air is a more affordable option that will easily meet your needs.

If you’re a graphic designer, content creator, programmer, photo editor, video editor, musician, producer, or serious gamer, a MacBook Pro is definitely the better choice. If you need help understanding the differences between a MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, check out our Is the 2024 MacBook Air worth it? and Is the MacBook Pro 2023 worth it? Article.

Which MacBook is the best?

This 2024 MacBook Buyer’s Guide, compiled by our in-house team at technical expertshelps you figure out which MacBook model and hardware configuration best suits your needs without breaking your budget.

Best MacBook for everyday use: 2023 14″ MacBook Pro (M3 Pro processor)

Many computer users can easily get away with a 2023 13″ MacBook Air. But anyone who wants a little more processing power and a better display should really consider the mid-priced 2023 Apple MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro processor.

The laptop’s 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display is absolutely beautiful. This means that when you stream video, game, edit video or work with photos, what you see will be extremely detailed – with plenty of contrast and vibrancy. The display offers a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits.

We’re big fans of this laptop’s battery life of up to 18 hours. You also get plenty of connectivity options and ports, plus faster processing power than what a MacBook Air can do. Choose between 512 GB or 1 TB of internal storage and a space gray or silver casing.

While all MacBook Pro laptops are more powerful than all MacBook Air models, this particular 14-inch MacBook Pro falls in the middle when it comes to hardware configuration and cost. It can handle almost any task with ease and can potentially replace your desktop computer as well.

Best budget MacBook: 2024 13″ MacBook Air (M3 processor)

This 13-inch MacBook Air is an entry-level MacBook model with its M3 processor. It has a starting price of $999 and is configured with 8 GB of unified memory and a 256 GB SSD for storage. You can choose from four housing colors.

We like this MacBook because it gives you all the core benefits of a Mac, bundled into a laptop that’s light, portable, and relatively affordable. The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display can display more than a billion colors, while the integrated speaker system supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos sound.

Battery life is up to 18 hours. This MacBook Air meets all your daily computing needs with ease; pre-installed apps can perform common tasks such as web browsing, email, contacts, scheduling, photo editing and more. Additionally, you can use the free Apple iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) for word processing, spreadsheets, and slide presentations.

Versatile, customizable, the MacBook Air is the perfect entry-level MacBook for someone switching from a Windows laptop or for anyone who needs a reliable computer on the go.

Best MacBook for Students: 2024 15″ MacBook Air (M3 processor)

One of the core needs of every high school student is multitasking: surfing the web and doing word processing at the same time; taking an online class while managing a spreadsheet; or researching a project while on a video call.

The 15-inch MacBook Air gives students some extra screen space, ideal for multitasking. For a student we recommend one of the MacBook Pro laptops, but for younger students the MacBook Air is a more affordable option that can easily fit in a backpack and last throughout the school day and evening homework. .

The MacBook Air is also a fantastic entertainment and communication tool, whether the user is streaming music or video, gaming, reading an e-book or participating in a group chat with family or friends. This is a laptop that adapts to a student’s needs and provides an intuitive and reliable experience.

Best MacBook for creatives: 2023 16″ MacBook Pro (M3 Max processor)

If you’re a programmer, graphic artist, musician/music producer, video editor, content creator, or anyone else who regularly works with huge files and needs the most powerful and fastest processing power Apple has to offer, this is the MacBook you’re looking for. waste.

The battery life is up to 22 hours. The maximum brightness of the Liquid Retina XDR display is 1,000 nits and the computer comes with the widest selection of ports a MacBook can offer. This gives users the ability to add multiple monitors, along with an external keyboard and mouse, allowing the computer to be used as a primary desktop, providing all the power of an advanced workstation or production studio.

This MacBook Pro features a six-speaker sound system, an advanced microphone array, a 1080p (full HD) resolution webcam, a backlit keyboard, and a TouchID sensor used to unlock the computer and authenticate online purchases. approve. It is the most powerful laptop Apple currently has to offer.

Best MacBook for Families: 2023 14″ MacBook Pro (M3 processor)

This computer is fast, powerful, versatile, customizable and portable. Choose between a space gray or silver housing color.

One of the biggest reasons for a family to choose this MacBook Pro: it has longer battery life (up to 22 hours) and a more advanced Liquid Retina XDR display. This allows it to display sharper and more vivid graphics. You also get more built-in ports.

And when you’re streaming music or a movie without using wireless headphones or earbuds, you’ll appreciate the six-speaker sound system that offers spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support.

Whether a parent is working from home, a student is doing homework, or a child is playing online games, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 processor delivers the computing power needed to perform a wide range of tasks. This computer can also multitask with ease. It includes a wide range of security, privacy and parental control tools.

Who Should Buy a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro Laptop?

If you’re already an Apple fan, the answer is obvious. But there are other important reasons to make an Apple laptop your next computer, such as battery life, security, and more.

All MacBook laptops integrate seamlessly with Apple iCloud, as do other Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and iMac desktop computers. As a result, your data, documents, files, photos and content can be set to automatically back up to the cloud and sync with your other Apple equipment. So if you take a photo with your iPhone in seconds, it can be accessed from your MacBook laptop as long as both are connected to the internet. The entire Apple ecosystem – including hardware and software (apps) works extremely well together.

All MacBook models are also highly portable, versatile and have long battery life (compared to most Windows laptops or Chromebooks). Each app comes pre-installed with more than 30 apps, so you can perform contact management, scheduling, email, web browsing, photo editing, video calling, and other popular tasks as soon as you take the laptop out of the box and set it up for the first time .

We also love that MacBooks are much less susceptible to viruses and malware than Windows laptops. And we’re big fans of the design of both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops. They are thin, light and have beautiful displays. Furthermore, the MacOS operating system is very intuitive, making these laptops easy to operate. You also get a wide range of privacy and security tools integrated into the hardware and the MacOS operating system.

If you experience a problem with your MacBook laptop, AppleCare is available directly by phone, or you can visit an Apple Store for personalized support. To take full advantage of the support Apple offers, we highly recommend purchasing Apple Care+ for your MacBook at the time of purchase. This is sold as annual coverage that automatically renews each year until canceled (the option we recommend), or you can purchase a three-year coverage plan in advance that is non-renewable.

For more help choosing a laptop, check out our coverage of the five best laptops for 2024the best laptops for high school students in 2024the six best gaming laptops for 2024the five best laptops for college in 2024the six best laptops under $500and the five best budget laptops for 2024. Whether you want to learn more about the very best laptop computers or other types of technology, we are constantly expanding and updating our coverage to provide the most informative, current and accurate information.