The best Macbook for each person is different, but Apple’s laptop lineup in 2023 has a great choice for almost everyone. Apple’s ARM-based M1 chip for laptops started a new era in 2020, and the company hasn’t slowed down since. The Apple-made SoC has made huge improvements to the performance and battery life of all MacBooks.
With the M1 Pro, M1 Max, M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max, Apple has a phone for everyone, no matter what they need. The M2 Macbook Air and Pro are two of the best laptops on the market right now, and the latest 16-inch and 14-inch Macbook Pro models are once again setting a high bar for creator laptops at the start of 2023.
Apple won’t be competing with our laptops under $500 for a long time, so expect to pay at least $800 for even the least expensive MacBook. If you can live with that price, though, these are all great laptops.
1. MacBook Air (M1, Late 2020)
SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU: Apple M1
- GPU: Apple M1
- 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
Most people still think that the MacBook Air M1 is the best MacBook. What’s the deal with the MacBook Air M2? It’s a great laptop, and we’ll talk about it next on this list. However, most users don’t need the upgrades, so Apple is keeping it around to keep the starting price under $1,000. The best part is that you can usually get it for $899 or less.
Still, its performance is better than that of every thin-and-light Windows laptop in the same price range, and in our tests, it lasted for 14 hours and 41 minutes on a single charge. For most computer tasks, the MacBook Air M1 is more than up to the task, and it will also last longer than most of its competitors.
So why not get the Pro instead of the Air? Even though the Pro has better performance over time, the Air is cheaper and has no fan, so it is very quiet. The 13.3-inch model from Apple that costs the least is also the most portable because it is only 0.6 inches thick and weighs 2.8 pounds.
Even when it’s not on sale, the MacBook Air M1 is still one of the best laptop deals, as long as you don’t mind the older design. Anyone looking to buy a new MacBook should give it a lot of thought.
2. MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU: Apple M2
- GPU: Apple M2
- RAM: 8GB/16GB/24GB
- Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
- Display: 13.6-inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels
- Size: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches
- Weight: 2.7 pounds
Most people will be happy with the MacBook Air M1, but the new look and chip inside the MacBook Air M2 are hard to ignore. The notch in the screen isn’t my favorite design choice, but the rest of the changes are great. The addition of MagSafe charging means that the two Thunderbolt 4 ports can be used for other things.
You also get a nice performance boost, and our test showed that it still had a battery life of 14 hours and 6 minutes. This puts it far ahead of the Windows competition, especially when performance is taken into account. The fact that it does all of this and stays cool and quiet without fans is still amazing.
A brighter screen, a set of four speakers, and a new 1080p webcam are also on the list of improvements. This first feature will be especially helpful for people who use the Air M2 on the go and may be in places with less than ideal lighting.
If you need to add a lot to the $1,199 base model, the price is the main thing to think about with the Air M2. As I said, the price of the Air M1 stayed at $999, so you’re paying more for the M2 model. If your configuration costs more than $1,499, you might want to think about the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, which I talk about later in this list and which can now be found for $1,799.
3. MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)
SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU: Apple M2
- GPU: Apple M2
- RAM: 8GB/16GB/24GB
- Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
- Display: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels
- Size: 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
- Weight: 3.1 pounds
4. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2023)
SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU: Apple M2 Pro/Apple M2 Max
- GPU: Apple M2 Pro/Apple M2 Max
- RAM: 16GB/32GB/64GB/96GB
- Storage: 512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8GB
- Display: 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display (3024×1964 pixels)
- Size: 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
- Weight: 3.5 pounds (M2 Pro) – 3.6 pounds (M2 Max)
Fans were upset when Apple didn’t release the M2 Pro or M2 Max chips at the end of 2022. The shiny new Apple Silicon came out, and it does most of what fans wanted. CPU and GPU with more cores? Check. More power? Check? Amazing screen, loud speakers, a comfortable keyboard, and a webcam that is clear and sharp? Checks the board down.
The M2 Pro and M2 Max are, of course, the big news. The hardware is mostly the same great laptop we got two years ago. The good news is that they are pretty much as impressive as Apple said they would be, beating down all competitors with ease. Apple’s bragging about these laptops now includes gaming, which is interesting because our resident Brit, Jason England, often says that Apple doesn’t care about gaming. Even though it won’t replace the best gaming laptops any time soon, it looks like we might finally be at a point where casual Mac gamers won’t have to play games from 5–10 years ago.
If I had to find something to complain about, it would be that I thought the new chip optimizations would make the battery last longer. Don’t get me wrong, the MacBook Pro 14 still makes our list of laptops with the longest battery life because it can run for more than 14 hours, but M2 was supposed to give it a boost.
5. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021)
SPECIFICATIONS
- CPU: Apple M1 Pro/Apple M1 Max
- GPU: Apple M1 Pro
- RAM: 16GB/32GB/64GB
- Storage: 512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8GB
- Display: 16-inch, 3072 x 1920-resolution
- Size: 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches
- Weight: 4.3 pounds
The MacBook Pro 14 M1 Pro or M1 Max is still a great choice for people who make content and want to save some money.
The design of the notebook is almost the same as the model from 2023. It’s thin, light, and has plenty of room for a full HDMI and an SDXC card reader. Plus, it has a battery life of over 14 hours, a quick charge that is hard to beat, a screen that steals the show, a keyboard that is very comfortable to use, and a great sound system.
The only problem is the price, but now that the MacBook Pro 2023 models are out, we expect the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max to be even cheaper while they are still in stock.
Most people will be happy with the M1 Pro, but if you want to spend more, you can get the M1 Max or the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a bigger screen. Except for the size of the screen and the battery, there is no difference between the two in terms of hardware. If battery life is the most important thing to you, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro will last longer than any other device in its class that even comes close to having the same performance.
How to choose the best MacBooks for you?
For us, it’s easy to choose the MacBook Air. It costs $999, but its M1 processor gives it the same speed and battery life as the MacBook Pro. It’s also the most portable, and the 13.3-inch screen is great for watching movies or TV shows. The MacBook Air M2 is for you if you want a little more power, a bigger screen, and a new look.
But those who want a computer that will last longer and work better over a longer period of time should think about the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2. It has a remarkable battery life of 18 hours and 2 minutes, and it scored benchmark numbers that are so high that they blow away the competition.
At least 90% of users should be able to choose from these three options. But if you need a bigger screen or a lot more power for professional apps, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the M1 Pro/M1 Max or M2 Pro/M2 Max chips are great, if pricey, choices.
How we test MacBook laptops
Before we give MacBooks to our reviewers, we put them through a lot of benchmark tests, both in the lab and in the real world. We test everything, from speed and battery life to the brightness of the screen, the volume of the speakers, and how hot the system gets.
We use a Klein K10 colorimeter to measure a laptop’s screen’s brightness and DCI-P3 color gamut. For testing the laptop’s performance, we put it through a series of tests, such as the Geekbench 5.4 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.
To see how well the laptop works in the real world, we ask it to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and copy a 25GB multimedia file. Assasin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry New Dawn, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider with 1080p or higher resolution, if the screen can handle it, are some of the games we use to test real-world graphics.
We also do tests for heat and battery life. For the heat test, we play a 15-minute full-screen video, and for the battery test, we surf the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. We think that anything that takes more than about 10 hours is a good result. These tests are, of course, backed up by tests that our reviewers do by hand.
