The greatest MacBook for each person may vary, but Apple’s laptop portfolio in 2022 has a terrific option for almost everyone. In 2020, Apple launched their ARM-based M1 processor, ushering in a new age for Apple computers. Apple’s in-house SoC has improved performance and battery life across the board in the MacBook lineup.
The high-end MacBook Pros got the same treatment in 2021, with M1 Pro and M1 Max processor choices on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.
Read: Apple, iPhones, pictures and kid safety: What’s happening and should you be concerned?
If you’re on the fence about buying an Apple laptop, our macOS Monterey preview will provide you some insight into the operating system that comes with any of these fantastic machines.
Which MacBook is the best?
The MacBook Air with M1 transforms from underpowered to one of the quickest ultrathin notebooks on the market, making it the ideal Mac for most users. It ups the ante with record-breaking performance and all-day battery life in a familiar design. The M1 processor enhances performance and durability while also bringing iOS and iPadOS apps to Mac for the first time. There’s no reason to look beyond the MacBook Air with M1.
If you want consistent high performance, the MacBook Pro M1 13-inch with two Thunderbolt 3 ports is a good choice. The MacBook Pro, unlike the MacBook Air, features a conventional cooling mechanism that allows it to run demanding apps for hours without overheating. The Air will enough for most individuals, but power users might consider upgrading to the Pro. The MacBook Pro, like the MacBook Air, features a fast SSD and runs on Apple’s Big Sur OS, or macOS Monterey if you want to sample the most recent version.
The M1 Pro or M1 Max CPU powers the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. For most people, either choice is excessive, although they both offer some intriguing enhancements. With the reinstatement of an SD card slot, HDMI, MagSafe charging, and three Thunderbolt 4 connections, these laptops reverse some of Apple’s contentious decisions made with the MacBook Pro in 2016. Apple’s stunning 120Hz panels are the finest it’s ever provided in a laptop. Starting at $1,999, Apple’s top-tier laptops are a significant investment, but if you require all of this capability or dislike some of the hardware modifications, they are well worth it.
What is our recommendation?
Stick with the M1 Air if you conduct basic productivity work with a scattering of more taxing apps and utilize the savings to increase your storage or RAM. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are overkill for most individuals unless they need the extra screen real estate or routinely use demanding applications for video production, 3D modeling, animation, or engineering activities.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU: M1
GPU: M1 (integrated)
RAM: 8GB/16GB
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
Display: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels
Size: 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
Weight: 2.8 pounds
REASONS TO BUY
+ Breathtaking performance
+ Outstanding battery life
+ Slim unibody aluminum chassis
+ Great speakers and Magic keyboard
REASONS TO AVOID
- Few ports
For the most part, the MacBook Air is the best MacBook. This current edition highlights the potential of Apple’s M1 CPU, which turns the Air from a low-powered entry-level laptop to one of the quickest laptops available, period. It’s a huge improvement for a laptop that was just scraping through each year.
Best of all, the MacBook Air is still under $999, and you get unequaled performance as well as a battery life of 14 hours and 41 minutes. Only the greatest Windows 10 laptops have this combo, and even they can’t compete in a head-to-head comparison.
So, why should you buy a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook Pro? While the MacBook Pro offers superior sustained performance, the MacBook Air is less expensive and is completely quiet due to its lack of a fan. In fact, Apple’s cheapest 13.3-inch model is also the most portable, measuring only 0.6 inches thick and weighing 2.8 pounds.
The MacBook Air, on the other hand, is now closer to parity with the MacBook Pro than it has ever been. It offers the same performance and battery life as the MacBook Air, as well as the same 720p webcam, a comfortable Magic keyboard, and two USB-C connections. In addition, the M1 model’s 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel Retina display was enhanced with P3 color coverage, making it more bright than the previous screen.
This is the major step forward we’ve been looking forward to. It’s all down to Apple’s bespoke SoC for laptops, the M1. The M1 pushes the MacBook Pro’s speeds and battery life to the next level with the greatest power-per-watt performance of any CPU.
The MacBook Pro, in particular, outperforms practically every PC on the market, even some workstations. Despite packing so much power into such a small and compact chassis, the Pro lasted an impressive 16 hours and 32 minutes in our battery test, which mimics real-world usage.
But hold on a second. More than only speed and endurance are improved with the M1. The camera (unfortunately, still 720p) has an image processing unit, and because it runs on Apple’s ARM-based architecture, iPad and iPhone apps are now available on Mac. Yes, you can now use your laptop to run all of your favorite iOS games and applications.
Big Sur, the latest version of macOS, completes the list of improvements seen in the new MacBook Pro. Big Sur is the most significant upgrade to OS X since its inception a decade ago, and it’s a stunning overhaul of the desktop OS.
The MacBook Pro’s other features should be familiar to you. The Magic Keyboard features the same exquisite design that Apple has used for years, and it’s a joy to type on.
The MacBook Pro, although earning our rare 5-star rating, has a few flaws. Only two Thunderbolt 3 ports are available, and the display bezels are bigger than on rival devices. You’re also limited to 16GB of RAM, despite the fact that our benchmark testing demonstrates that this constraint has no effect on the performance of this beast.
The MacBook Pro 14 blends a little bit of old with a lot of modern to create a fascinating product that MacBook enthusiasts — especially multimedia makers and consumers — have been waiting years for. Gamers? For the time being, you might want to continue with Windows.
The laptop’s design is slim and light, with enough room for a complete HDMI port and an SDXC card reader. The M1 Pro processor adds considerably more power, taking on some of Intel and AMD’s heavyweights and easily defeating them. With a formidable rapid charge, a show-stopping display, a highly comfy keyboard, and an amazing audio system, it offers over 14 hours of battery life.
What’s the catch, exactly? It’s the price, as usual with Apple: $2,899 is difficult to swallow, even with trade-ins and payment options. And the beginning price of $1,999 isn’t much better. It would have been good if Apple had included a lower-cost version, perhaps with the M1 chip from last year crammed into the new hardware. However, the MacBook Pro 14 is a worthwhile investment for what it offers.
If you’re ready to spend even more, you can get the M1 Max chip or the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a larger screen. This year’s hardware options are identical to last year’s, with the exception of display size and battery capacity. If battery life is your primary concern, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro will outlast everything in its class that performs even remotely similar. The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max is practically unbeatable right now for individuals who require every last bit of processing power they can get their hands on.
How can you pick the best MacBooks for your needs?
The MacBook Air is a no-brainer for us. It costs $999, but because of its M1 processor, it has similar performance and endurance to the MacBook Pro. It’s also the lightest of the lot, with a 13.3-inch display that’s ideal for watching TV episodes or movies.
Get the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 if you want a little more stamina and greater performance over longer periods of time. It has a battery life of 16 hours and 32 minutes and outperforms the competition in terms of performance.
How can you pick the best MacBooks for your needs?
The MacBook Air is a no-brainer for us. It costs $999, but because of its M1 processor, it has similar performance and endurance to the MacBook Pro. It’s also the lightest of the lot, with a 13.3-inch display that’s ideal for watching TV episodes or movies.
Get the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 if you want a little more stamina and greater performance over longer periods of time. It has a battery life of 16 hours and 32 minutes and outperforms the competition in terms of performance.
The brightness and sRGB color gamut of a laptop’s display are measured using a Klein K10 colorimeter. We put the laptop through a slew of tests, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests, to see how well it performs.
We put the laptop through its paces by converting a 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicating a 4.97GB multimedia file. The Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings and 1080p resolution is our real-world graphics test.
We also perform heat testing by playing a 15-minute full-screen film, and our battery test involves continuous web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. Anything above the category average (8 hours and 36 minutes) is considered an excellent result. These tests are, of course, supplemented by our reviewers’ hands-on testing.
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