Best MacBooks (2022): Which Model Should You Buy?

I (Brenda) have examined each—particularly the 14-inch MacGuide Pro with an M1 Max chip and the 16-inch mannequin with the M1 Pro. If you’re caught between sizes and chipsets, you may slender it down based mostly in your preferences and workload. The 14-inch MacGuide Pro has slimmer bezels across the display screen, so its total measurement is pretty just like the 13-inch MacGuide. The better of each worlds. The similar is true for the 16-inch MacGuide Pro, however it nonetheless feels ginormous. 

Both sizes include mini-LED screens (offering deeper blacks and wealthy colour like on the iPad Pro), a 120-Hz refresh rate for smoother-looking screens, a bodily row of operate keys instead of the Touch Bar (full with a Touch ID button), a 1080p webcam, and a six-speaker sound system. Apple additionally introduced again an array of ports, together with an HDMI port, three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, an SD card slot, and a high-impedance headphone jack. There’s additionally a MagSafe charging port that permits you to magnetically join the charger to the MacGuide Pro, so you may relaxation assured your MacGuide received’t fly off your desk while you journey over the wire.

The two processor selection choices are considerably extra highly effective than most individuals want. If you’re principally working by means of an internet browser and typing up paperwork, these machines are overkill, and it’s best to follow a MacGuide Air. Editing 4K video? Rendering 3D fashions in CAD? Producing music? That’s what these machines are meant for. They’re each highly effective, however I used to be in a position to discover the distinction when enhancing 20 GB (at a 4:1 compression) of RED uncooked footage. The M1 Max delivered buttery easy efficiency, with the followers whirring solely barely. I skilled some stuttering and dropped frames throughout the identical workload on the M1 Pro. Just to reiterate, this was a heavy stress take a look at. The M1 Pro is greater than able to dealing with much less taxing footage; most individuals aren’t enhancing clips from RED cameras.

The 16-inch MacGuide Pro with an M1 Max does have unique entry to a High Power Mode, which reinforces efficiency for extra graphics-intensive initiatives like enhancing 8K footage, according to Apple. Its bigger chassis lends itself to raised airflow and cooling, and it additionally trumps the 14-inch in battery life. The 14-inch MacGuide Pro lasted about one hour whereas enhancing the aforementioned footage, whereas the 16-inch Mac was solely at 70 p.c after the identical period of time. The larger measurement means you’ll get just a few additional hours of battery life. 

Those who work on CPU- and GPU-demanding initiatives all day and are in want of a pc that received’t buckle underneath the strain of gigantic recordsdata ought to go for the 16-inch MacGuide Pro with the M1 Max. If your workload isn’t as intense (however you continue to assume you want extra energy than the MacGuide Air), the 14-inch MacGuide Pro with the M1 Pro will greater than fulfill you. 

Apple MacGuide Pro (M2, 2022)

The Middle Child

As with its predecessor, the brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 sits in an ungainly spot. Aside from the brand new M2 chip (the identical one which’s within the new MacGuide Air), it doesn’t supply any main upgrades. It nonetheless comes with the identical 13.3-inch show, 720p webcam, and two Thunderbolt ports. The solely distinction is added assist for high-impedance headphones within the audio jack, offering barely extra constancy.