ULTIMATE MacBook BUYING GUIDE 2022

 

ULTIMATE MacBook BUYING GUIDE 2022!

 

Okay, so you're thinking of buying a MacBook and you realize that there are a lot of great

options. And while that's great, it's probably super confusing and don't worry, you're not alone. So let's talk about the important differences, so you can have all the information that

you need to choose the right MacBook for you. 

And spoiler alert, we're gonna pretty much get rid of one of these, so that's gonna make the decision even easier. Starting out, the MacBook that I think is by far, the best option for

most users is the M1 MacBook Air.

This MacBook was released in November of 2020 for $999 -1500.

And it immediately became a hit because it struck the perfect balance of performance, portability and cost. So essentially, if you want a MacBook and you're on a budget, this is the first time where you can get one for under $1,000. And at the same time, get a machine that's extremely capable.

In the beginning, some buyers were concerned because they still had memories of the older and underpowered MacBook Air with the Intel chip, but this one has the exact same M1 chip as the 13-inch MacBook Pro. 

And the only difference as far as the chip goes is that it's available in seven and eight-core GPU versions, whereas the MacBook Pro is only available with an eight-core GPU. For the vast majority of users, the difference between a seven and eight-core GPU, simply isn't going to be meaningful. 

As far as the display, we're getting a 13.3-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2560 by 1600, 400 nits of brightness and it's a P3 display, so it's color accurate. So whether you're using this MacBook to surf the web, watch content, work with different productivity apps and even editing photos and videos, this display will work great. 

Speaking of watching content, the speaker system on the MacBook Air is excellent. It's not as good as what we're getting on some of the higher end models, but if I compare it to any other laptop that I own, it's right up there at the top. 

The camera on the MacBook Air is actually pretty good for a 720P camera and the image signal processor on the M1 chip helps with a lot of computational video. Now, ultimately it's still a 720P camera and it's most likely not gonna be as good as what you have on your phone, but honestly, that's expected these days. I would have liked to see a 1080P camera on this MacBook, and we are going to get that from some of the higher end models. But in reality, for video calls, it definitely works. 

Now looking at the keyboard, this is as good a keyboard as I've used on any laptop period. It's a great size, the keys are responsive and have a good amount of feedback and I've typed on this laptop for hours without any issue. 

The trackpad is the smallest of all four models, but that's the only difference. It's easily the best trackpad that I've ever used.You can click anywhere, it's super responsive and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Looking at the ports, we're getting two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right. 

For the majority of the target audience for this laptop, the number of ports isn't really gonna be an issue. The reality is the most casual users don't regularly attach any accessories to their laptop. Most of the time, they're gonna use one of the ports for charging, and then every so often, they're gonna attach another accessory or a hub to the other one. Now that's not how I use my laptops, but I'm talking about the average user for this type of laptop. 

In either case, the limitation of only having ports on the left is still there as well as the fact that you need an adapter or a hub if you're trying to expand the functionality of these ports. As far as configuration, you have the option for eight or 16 gigabytes of unified memory. And then from 256 gigs, all the way up to two terabytes of internal SSD storage. Now remember that you can't upgrade any of these after you buy, so you should consider getting 16 gigs of unified memory and then get as much internal storage as you think that you'll need. In that way, you'll be better prepared for the future.

You can also always supplement your internal storage with an external SSD, but there is nothing you can do about RAM, so just keep that in mind. The M1 MacBook Air starts at under $1,000 from the Apple Store.

So for the overwhelming majority of users who need a fantastic machine for their everyday and general business needs, the M1 MacBook Pro is an excellent option. And that brings me to today's sponsor monday.com. If you've heard of it before, but you weren't sure what it is, think of as a super flexible platform where you can easily build software for your work, but don't worry, you don't even need to know how to code. It's really as simple as drag and drop, and you've got a totally customized way to run all aspects of your work. 

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Moving up in price, the next option is the M1 MacBook Pro, and you'll see that it's very similar to the MacBook Air. As far as size, it has the same footprint with a slightly boxier form factor. The display is the same size, 13.3 inches. It has the same resolution.

Unlike the MacBook Air, it's a P3 display. The only notable difference is a higher maximum brightness at 500 nits versus 400 on the MacBook Air. 

We're getting a slightly larger trackpad and the same keyboard with the one exception being the Touch Bar, which replaces the function keys on the Air. I happen to like the Touch Bar, but I know a lot of people don't, so I'll let you decide whether it's a pro or a con. We're getting the same 720P camera, but the speakers are listed as high dynamic range. Now, personally,

I have a tough time hearing the differences between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. So while I know they're supposed to sound better because I can read that in the specs, I can tell you that I wouldn't buy the MacBook Pro just for the better speakers. We're also getting the same two ports in the left and the same maximum configuration of 16 gigabytes of unified memory and two terabytes of SSD. 

But we are getting better battery life with the rating of 20 hours versus 18 on the MacBook Air. The other advantage that we're getting with the Pro model is an active cooling system. So, if you push this M1 chip to the limit for a prolonged period of time, naturally, the system is going to heat up. 

The MacBook Air will have to throttle back performance in order to cool down, but the

MacBook Pro can just turn on the fan and then be able to maintain that performance. 

Now, while I do think that it's an advantage, you're not getting better performance, you're

getting the same performance for a longer period of time, which I just don't see being a huge value for a large enough segment of the buyers.

I think that you're much more likely to either be perfectly fine with the MacBook Air, or want even more processing power and the additional features on the next two models. I have a dedicated video talking about why I no longer consider this 13.3-inch model to be a great value for most people. And if you're interested in learning more, I'll put a link to it in

the description. 

Now, the one area where this laptop rules without question is battery life. And if that's your top priority, I can promise you that you won't regret it. Okay, now we're really getting into the higher end models, which is where Apple took a major leap forward. And you're going to see that the improvements go beyond just the processing power of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Starting with the 14-inch model, of course, we're getting a larger display at 14.2 inches, so it's almost an inch larger than the M1 models.

It's also a Liquid Retina XDR display, which is powered by mini-LEDs, and it's the same type of display that we saw in the 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro. This is not a knock on the M1 MacBook, it's just one of those situations where these displays are good and this one is great. 

We're getting a higher resolution at 3024 by 1964 versus 2560 by 1600. We're also getting up to 1,000 nits of sustained brightness and then 1,600 nits peak brightness for HDR content, which looks absolutely amazing. 

The last advantage that I wanna mention is that this is a ProMotion display, which is Apple's adaptive refresh rate.So the M1 MacBooks have a 60 Hertz constant refresh rate. On the 14 and 16-inch MacBooks, if you're doing something like looking at static content on the web or reading a document, the display can lower the refresh rate down to 24 Hertz and then save on battery life. 

If you're scrolling or opening and closing apps, playing games or doing anything where smoother motion would provide a better user experience, then the display can ramp up the refresh rate to a more fluid and responsive 120 Hertz. 

When we look at the design, we're getting an even more boxy MacBook Pro than the 13-inch model. Both are .61 inches or 1.5 centimeters in thickness, but the 13-inch model tapers as you get to the edges and the 14-inch is the same all the way around. It's also slightly wider and deeper and weighs 1/2 a pound or .2 kilograms more.

As far as the keyboard and the trackpad, we're getting the same amazing keyboard and the larger trackpad that we had on the M1 MacBook Pro. We're also getting a full-height row,

a function keys to replace the Touch Bar. 

And then finally, a larger Touch ID button. The camera is also been upgraded to a higher resolution, 1080P camera with better low light performance. 

The speakers are another noticeable difference. And while I have no issues with the speakers on the 13-inch model, these are definitely better. When we look at the ports, it's not even close. So we're getting three Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on the right, two on the left. So you can now connect accessories and charge this MacBook from both sides.

 We're also getting an HDMI port and an SD card reader on the right, so it's less likely that you're gonna need an adapter or a hub. And on top of that, we're getting a MagSafe 3 port on the left, so we can charge the MacBook without actually using any of the Thunderbolt ports. 

And we're also getting protection against an accidental pull on the cable. If you're working with multiple SSDs, need access to a card reader and wanna add external displays for a multi display setup, this upgrade is huge. 

And speaking of external displays, on the M1 MacBooks,  you can connect one 60 Hertz, 6K display, on the M1 Pro chip with both the 14 and the 16-inch model, you can connect two 60

Hertz, 6K displays. And then on the M1 Max chip, you could do three 60 Hertz at 6K displays, and then a four 60 Hertz, 4K display. So again, if you're a more demanding user, this is definitely a meaningful upgrade. The M1 Pro gives us the option for eight or 10 CPU cores, a 14 or 16-core GPU.

And you can go as high as 32 gigabytes of unified memory and eight terabytes of SSD storage. 

Let me just tell you that even the base M1 Pro model outperforms the M1 chip by about 29% with six high performance cores and two high-efficiency cores versus four and four on the M1. And if you wanna learn more,

check out this video right here. You can then upgrade to the M1 Max and all the way to a 32-core GPU and 64 gigabytes of unified memory, which would be an amazing machine for the right user.

To be crystal clear, this is far beyond what the vast majority of users need, and no casual users should even consider this maxed out configuration, but those who need it are going to absolutely love it. 

We're also getting an upgraded act of cooling system with two fans instead of one. And I pushed both the 14 and 16-inch models to 100% CPU usage for 30-minute straight without any drop in performance. 

Now, there was a difference in how they handled the additional heat, so let's get to the 16-inch model. All right, so now we're looking at the big boy. And, of course, we're getting a larger form factor and a larger 16.2-inch monitor, but for the most part, the features, functions and the configuration options are the same as the 14-inch model. 

A few other important differences are the battery life where the 16-inch model is rated for 21 hours versus 17 on the 14-inch. It also comes with 140 watt charger, which is more powerful. As far as actually using the laptop, the keyboard is the same, but the trackpad is absolutely huge. 

I personally didn't think that I would like this larger laptop but in real life, it's been amazing. If the reduced portability and the larger form factor are not an issue for you, and you need the higher performance of the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip, this is an absolutely fantastic laptop. 

As far as the chip itself, there isn't a difference between the 14 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but the 16 does have a larger thermal envelope, and it's better able to handle the heat buildup.