Do you need to buy the MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

Apple offers more choices than ever before in its line of laptops, with a fairly large overlap between models, especially priced at $ 1,200. AppleInsider has them all and offers models that suit you.

With so much in common between these MacBooks, it's a tough decision for most. Let's divide them into really important categories, starting with portability.

Portability

The 12-inch MacBook is by far the thinnest and lightest of all. It weighs only 2 pounds versus 2.75 pounds for the Air, 3 pounds for the 13-inch MacBook Pro and 4 pounds for the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

As for the MacBook Air, it is basically as big as the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Portability must therefore be essentially the same, apart from being lighter than a quarter of a pound.

From a geometry point of view, the MacBook Pro and MacBook are flat. The MacBook Air, which retains a thinner corner design towards the front, but thicker than the MacBook Pro and the MacBook at its thickest point.

Display

All Apple notebooks have a high quality Retina resolution screen, but there are some differences that you should know about.

Even though the new 2018 MacBook Air is the newest, it actually displays the worst screen of the trio of models. It has the least color possible and is the darkest display – but remains better than the inexpensive alternatives of Windows. The 12-inch MacBook display is brighter and supports a wider range of colors.

Now, if you really care about the display, the MacBook Pro offers 500 nits brightness and support for the P3 wide color gamut. This is a big problem if you use your laptop on the outside or if you want to minimize glare on the screen.

In addition to this, the MacBook Pro Touch Bar also features True Tone, a feature that adjusts the color balance of the screen to suit your environment. The usefulness of this aspect is a matter of opinion and deserves to be verified by yourself.

l & # 39; Audio

The 12-inch MacBook offers the quietest speakers with the least bass you can imagine, given the limited internal volume of the device. Volume and bass increase slightly on the 13-inch MacBook Air.

Regarding the 13-inch MacBook Pro, everything is better. The volume increases significantly, the bass is deeper and more powerful and the treble becomes very clear and clear. The 15-inch MacBook Pro has even more powerful speakers with more bass and a well-balanced sound.

Touch and touch bar

Now on the keyboards, they contain all the keys of the Apple butterfly, but the new MacBook Air 13-inch and the MacBook Pro Touch Bar 2018 are equipped with third-generation mechanisms, which include a silicon barrier under the keyboard that, according to Apple, is intended for this is a quieter typing experience. The effect of the membrane on reliability remains to be determined.

Although keyboard failures have been quite loud, the actual failure rate is rather low and even lower on the 2017 MacBook Pro than on the 2016 MacBook Pro. It's nice to have the peace of mind that the membrane can generate, which makes the keyboard quieter, as promised by Apple.

Aside from that, the MacBook Air that features a wedge-shaped design is a little more comfortable to type on because the keyboard is tilted down toward the front edge. But, it's an incredibly personal thing, and it's worth spending a little time on all the keyboards to have fun on your own.

If you like big trackpads, the 15-inch Pro has the biggest and the 12-inch MacBook obviously has the smallest. The 13-inch MacBook Air has a considerably smaller trackpad than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is interesting because the machines themselves are basically the same size.

The 2018 MacBook Pro also comes with the touch bar, which offers you interactive and customizable buttons, as well as a Touch ID sensor for logging in and using Apple Pay. The new MacBook Air is also equipped with Touch ID sensor, even if it is missing the touch bar. This is a nice plus for this model, which is the cheapest.

Models with Touch ID also come with Apple's T2 security chip. We have discussed at length what T2 does for you and some restrictions that it may apply in the interest of safety.

Ports and connectivity

The 12-inch MacBook only gets a single USB 3.1 type-C port. If you want to charge and transfer data simultaneously, you have to buy a hub. Given the nature of the USB only port, you are limited to a transfer speed of 5 gigabits per second instead of 40 on the rest of Apple's portable line, which has all USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports .

The MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys have two Thunderbolt 3 ports. There are four sizes for the 2018 MacBook Pro Touch Bar. These are the best options if you have many devices.

Battery life

For battery life, the new MacBook Air is rated at 12 hours, compared with 10 hours on the rest of the MacBook. Therefore, if the life of the battery is optimal, Air is the best option.

And if you like to use FaceTime, they are all equipped with HD webcams, with the exception of the MacBook 12 ", which only receives a 480P FaceTime camera.

Performance

Finally, let's talk about performance, starting with the processors.

With the exception of the Touch Bar, the MacBook Pro has dual-core processors. The 13-inch MacBook Pro Touch Bar features a quad-core processor and the 15-inch model of a six-core processor.

If you consider the raw processing power of the four-core and six-core MacBook Pro with Geekbench 4 compared to the dual-core models, there is no doubt that they are significantly faster than the dual-core models thanks to the cores additional. The performance of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys differs slightly from that of the MacBook and MacBook Air.

We also looked at performance per dollar using the total retail price of each MacBook. The 13-inch MacBook Pro 2018 quad-core comes first, followed closely by the 15-inch model. As expected, the 12-inch MacBook gives you extremely low performance per dollar, unsurprisingly, as the model prioritizes portability over all other factors.

It should be noted that the 12-inch MacBook is the only notebook in this category that does not have a fan. Performance may suffer more if it starts to heat – but it varies a lot in workload.

Now, looking at raw graphics performance with Geekbench 4, MacBook Pro have a huge advantage here. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is the undisputed leader in performance because it's the only model with a dedicated graphics chip.

When it comes to graphics performance per dollar, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys wins here thanks to its low price and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is just behind.

So what model?

So, if you still do not know which MacBook you should buy, I'll tell you about it.

If you want the thinnest MacBook and the lightest possible, without worrying about performance, ports, quality of the webcam or the best speakers, buy the MacBook 12 inches.

If you want the best battery life, Touch ID, and third-generation keyboard experience, without really worrying about performance, screen brightness, smaller touchpad, or more. 39 Slower power adapter, opt for the new 13-inch MacBook Air.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys offers extra performance, better speakers and a very bright display and accurate color accuracy, assuming you do not care much about Touch ID and you do not have the money to spend. the MacBook Pro 2018 Touch Bar.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and quad-core processor delivers the best processor performance at a reasonable price. You'll have four Thunderbolt 3 ports, the Touch ID touch bar, the T2 security chip, and the third-generation keyboard.

If you want the best, with the biggest trackpad, the best speakers, the biggest screen and the highest performance you can get with a powerful six-core processor and a chip Dedicated graphics for intense rendering tasks, then, definitely opt for the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Or buy

The holidays are fast approaching and you are probably trying to find out which Macbook to buy, whether for yourself or as a gift.

All that Apple sells is for sale at historically low prices and often with an exclusive coupon code. For the lowest prices on Apple's 12-inch MacBook Air 13-inch or 2018 2018, check out our price guides by clicking below. Updated throughout the day, the price guides display the best deals from several Apple Authorized Resellers up to Black Friday and throughout the holiday season – with discounts up to $ 30. at $ 1,200.

Apple Price Guides