Best MacBook for college students
- aug
- 21
The 13-inch MacBook Air is the best MacBook college students can buy today. It's inexpensive for a Mac, has plenty of ports, and is light enough to carry with you all day.
CAUTION: Aside from the 12-inch MacBook, Apple hasn't yet updated any of its laptops for 2016. That's expected to happen sometime this fall, almost certainly before the holiday shopping season. So, if you can wait until then, you can get a next-generation model with the latest chipsets and ports. If you can't wait, read on!
Rene Ritchie has been covering Apple and the personal technology industry for almost a decade. Editor-in-chief of iMore, executive editor for Mobile Nations, video and podcast host, you can follow him on Snapchat or Twitter @reneritchie.
Best overall
13-inch MacBook Air
The 13-inch MacBook Air doesn't have a high-density Retina display or a Force Touch trackpad, but what it does have is is 2x USB, 2x Thunderbolt, MagSafe, SD card, and 3.5mm headphone jack, and a up to 2.2 GHz, 8 GB of DDR3 memory, and 512 GB of solid-state storage, all in an ultra-light package that won't break the bank. In fact, starting at just $999 and weighing in at only 2.96 lbs, it's literally the ultralight laptop that every other manufacturer has spent the last few years figuring out how to copy. I carried a 13-inch MacBook Air for years and when someone in my family recently headed to college, it's the Mac I had him go with.
Bottom-line: The 13-inch MacBook Air has been the go-to for tech writers for years, and for good reason. If you don't need the power or the Retina pixels, go with the portability.
One more thing: If you don't mind tiny, you can save a few extra dollars and go even smaller and lighter with the 11-inch MacBook Air.
Why the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best
The best less-expensive Mac ever.
The MacBook Air packs all the power most people need from a computer into a thin, light, strong aluminum wedge that's incredibly easy to carry around, and a cinch to use on your desk in class or on your lap on the couch. Because of its size — or lack thereof — the MacBook Air takes up minimal space in your bag or even tucked under your arm. Because it's a unibody, it also stands up to the wear and tear of life on the go. It also comes with a slew of ports, unlike Apple's latest ultra-light, the new MacBook. That means you can easily plug in all the peripherals you need, all at the same time.
Mark Spoonauer likes the 13-inch MacBook Air as well, writing for Laptop Magazine:
Our top overall pick for the money is the 13-inch MacBook Air ($999) because of its long battery life and strong performance from its 5th-generation Core i5 processor. But if you're willing to splurge on a sharper and more vibrant screen, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display ($1,299) is a fantastic choice.
As do Brian Lam, Nathan Edwards, and Dan Frakes of The Wirecutter:
The 13-inch MacBook Air is balanced. It offers great performance and battery life, the latest chips and ports, an unbeatable keyboard and trackpad—both things that other companies are still struggling to produce—an amazingly solid aluminum-unibody chassis, and a lack of outstanding flaws. It doesn't have a high-resolution Retina display, making the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro ever more appealing for people with more-demanding needs, and it's missing the very latest ports (USB-C and Thunderbolt 3), but we think those trade-offs are okay for most people, given everything the Air does right.
That last part is advice worth taking right now: What you get with the Air is a fine computer, but an outdated one. Apple may well update at least the specs and the ports as soon as next month, so if you can make do until October of 2016, please do.
Otherwise, if you absolutely need a new MacBook for college right now, the 13-inch MacBook Air remains your best bet.
Best workstation
13-inch MacBook Pro
For anyone studying anything that requires more horsepower, be it programming or modeling, there's the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It can currently be maxed out with a 3.1 GHz Intel Broadwell processor and Iris Graphics 6100, 16 GB of DDR3 memory, and up to 1 TB of solid-state storage. It includes a 13.3-inch 2560x1600 Retina display, which means the pixels are so dense they disappear at normal viewing distances, and there's Apple's new Force Touch trackpad, which simulates both standard trackpad clicks, and also enables secondary Force Clicks and pressure sensitive drawing options. It's also got plenty of ports: MagSafe, 2x Thunderbolt, 2x USB, HDMI, SD card, and 3.5mm headphone jack. All this in a durable aluminum unibody that weighs just 3.48 lbs.
Bottom line: With almost as much power as the 15-inch MacBook Pro and almost as much portability as the 13-inch MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best-balanced machine in Apple's lineup.
One more thing: If you need even more power and pixels and don't mind the weight, go with the quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Best with a burner
O.G. MacBook Pro
It's almost old-fashioned, but some people still want a big, platter hard drive and a DVD-burner to get them through school. For that, Apple has kept the years-old 13-inch MacBook Pro on the market. It doesn't have Retina display, it doesn't have a Force Touch trackpad. It doesn't have super-fast solid-state storage. It simply lets you store your stuff, burn your disks, and get on with college life.
Bottom-line: It's a tank from a previous age, but if you want a Mac with an internal DVD burner and a low price, you want the O.G. MacBook Pro.
One more thing: You can get an external DVD burner for any MacBook!
Conclusion
Apple now has iPad Pros as well, so the line between tablet and laptop has blurred. If you're considering an ultra-mobile option, you may want to consider one of them instead. Otherwise, if you need to buy now, get the 13-inch MacBook Air... or just hold on a couple more months for updated MacBooks!
Best overall
13-inch MacBook Air
The 13-inch MacBook Air doesn't have a high-density Retina display or a Force Touch trackpad, but what it does have is is 2x USB, 2x Thunderbolt, MagSafe, SD card, and 3.5mm headphone jack, and a up to 2.2 GHz, 8 GB of DDR3 memory, and 512 GB of solid-state storage all in an ultra-light package. In fact, starting at just $999 and weighing in at only 2.96 lbs, it's literally the ultralight laptop every other manufacturer has spent the last few years figuring out how to copy. I carried a 13-inch MacBook Air for years and when someone in my family recently headed to college, it's the Mac I had him go with.
Bottom-line: The 13-inch MacBook Air has been the go-to for tech writers for years, and for good reason. If you don't need the power or the Retina pixels, go with the portability.
One more thing: If you don't mind tiny, you can save a few extra dollars and go even smaller and lighter with the 11-inch MacBook Air.