Choosing the Right MacBook For You

Hi this is Gary with MacMost.com. Now that Apple has come out with the new 16 inch MacBook Pro let's take a look at the entire MacBook lineup and see if we can figure out which one is the right one for you.

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So the new 16 inch MacBook Pro replaces the 15 inch MacBook Pro. Now the lineup is simply MacBook Air, 13 inch MacBook Pro, and 16 inch MacBook Pro. The differences are really well defined. The biggest difference is between the 13-inch and the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The 16 inch not only has a larger screen but also features real graphics processors making them much more powerful machines for professionals doing any kind of graphics work. But first let's take a look at what's the same between these three modes.

So all three models feature a retina display. This is important because until recently the MacBook Air didn't. They also now have Touch ID except that the Air only has Touch ID whereas the MacBook Pros include a Touch Bar as well. The battery life is similar between all of them. Now the MacBook Air's battery is half the size of the 16-inch MacBook Pro battery but because the MacBook Air isn't as powerful it doesn't use as much battery power. So you end up with very similar battery times between all the models. 

The number of ports on these MacBooks varies but they all have USB-C ports. That's the shape of the port. These ports feature USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and of course power as well and many display ports so you can connect external screens. They all also feature a Headphone jack. The camera is also the same on all of them so you get a 720p face time HD camera on all the models. Wi-Fi is also the same between all of them. You have 802.11ac connectivity. But on the MacBook Air you actually have an older version of Bluetooth. Version 4.2 whereas the MacBook Pros all feature Bluetooth 5 if that is important to you.

What about the differences? Let's look at the base models for these three different MacBooks starting with the MacBook Air. So as you can imagine the MacBook Air is the lightest and thinnest of all the MacBooks. It also has the lowest starting price at $1099. But it has the specs to match that. It has only a 1.6GHz Dual i5 and it has integrated graphics. Integrated graphics means it doesn't have its own GPU that's built into the CPU and using regular memory for graphics. For memory and storage it starts at 8 GB and you can go to 16. Storage starts at a very low 128 GB that I can't see anybody actually using but you can go up to 1 TB. The screen is a 13.3 inch screen which is the same screen on the 13-inch MacBook except there's going to be a difference that I'll mention in a minute. The keyboard has Touch ID so there's a Touch ID button on the upper right but no Touch Bar and it has two thunderbolt ports. So this is the most basic MacBook configuration.

For a little bit more money you can go to a MacBook Pro 13-inch. Now notice the size and weight aren't that different. It's only a little over a quarter of a pound heavier. So if size and weight are important to you, you should think about the MacBook Pro 13-inch if you need more power. Starting price is a little bit more but you start off with a 1.4 GHZ Quad i5. You have integrated graphics just like the MacBook Air and you have the same memory and storage options although you can go up to 2 TB if you want to spend the money. The keyboard includes a Touch Bar which is probably one of the biggest differences. The screen is the same as the MacBook Air but with one important difference. It's brighter. For a lot of people this is a big deal. I would suggest that you check out the screens of the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro in a store before deciding which one is right for you. Also the base model starts with 2 Thunderbolt ports but you can go to 4 Thunderbolt ports in the 13-inch MacBook Air.

Now let's look at the differences here. You've got a starting price that's $200 higher for the 13-inch over the Air, a brighter screen, and a Touch Bar. Those are the main differences. But a big difference in the 13-inch is that you can upgrade it a lot. Now this is going to cost you a lot over the starting price but if you want you can go to a 2.8 GHZ Quad i7. As I said before you can go to 2 TB of storage, and you get a model that has 4 Thunderbolt ports. 

So if you're willing to spend more than $2000 you can get a 13-inch MacBook Pro that is significantly better than the base model or the MacBook Air.

Let's jump to the 16-inch MacBook Pro which is a huge leap from the 13-inch. The first thing is the size and weight. It's considerably larger as you would imagine to accommodate the large screen and heavier not just for the screen but also for a much larger battery to power the chips inside of it. You're well above 4 lbs for this laptop. So it's not one to get if you're looking for something light. The starting price is $2399 but for that the base specifications are way higher than the 13-inch. You start with a 2.6 GHz 6-core i7 and even with that base model you get real AMD GPU. That's a graphics processing unit and having a dedicated graphics processing unit is key if you're doing any graphics work, playing any games, but it will also speedup everyday tasks. It makes the machine much more powerful. Everybody pays attention to the processor speed but it's the GPU that probably makes the biggest difference here.

The base model also starts with 16 GB of RAM and a half a terabyte hard drive. The screen, of course, is larger and it has the same brightness as the 13-inch. The keyboard has Touch ID and a Touch Bar. It also has a physical Escape key. Something a lot of people complained about previously as they didn't like having the Escape key as part of the Touch Bar. Also, of course, the big news is that the keyboard is much improved. It's not the same type of keyboard Apple has been using for the last several years and a lot of people have reported lots of trouble with. Another thing you get with the 16-inch is better speakers and mics which makes sense because you have a lot more room on the 16-inch to fit those things.

The big difference here when you go to a 16-inch is you get that GPU. You start with a lot more RAM and a much bigger drive. You have an improved keyboard. But if you really want to go for it and you've got money you can go all the way up to an 8-Core i9 processor, you can get 64 GB of RAM and up to an 8 TB drive. That will cost a fortune. So if you want to go to a more reasonable 32 GB and perhaps say a 2 TB drive it's actually not that bad.

So which one to get. The choice is actually a lot clearer with these three models than previous lineups of MacBooks. If size and weight are important to you then obviously the MacBook Air is the winner. But the 13-inch MacBook Pro isn't very far behind it. However you should probably rule out the 16-inch MacBook Pro. If you want processing power and graphics power then, of course, the MacBook Pros are the winner with the 16-inch being significantly ahead of the pack. But you can configure the 13-inch MacBook Pro to be somewhat powerful as well.

Now in terms of customizing the MacBook you really don't have much choice when you're getting the MacBook Air. But the MacBook Pro 13-inch has some options and you can customize it to fit your needs. The 16-inch of course starts out pretty powerful. But you can really customize this thing if you need more storage, if you need more memory, if you need more graphics power you can spend more money and get exactly what you want. Now it's really difficult to upgrade a MacBook so you really want to make sure you get exactly what you want now. It's not easy or impossible to say upgrade memory or upgrade the hard drive later. It's seems like the most common mistake people make is to get too small of a drive so remember to spend a little extra money there to get more than you think that you need right now. A few years from now needing more memory or a GPU is an inconvenience. But needing more hard drive space could be a major problem.

So if you're buying a new MacBook now which one are you considering and what makes it the right MacBook for you.