Best MacBook

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best MacBook you can buy today. It balances power with portability and performance with price

Why the 13-inch MacBook Pro the best

Striking the perfect balance between portability and power.

It's no coincidence all of Apple's MacBooks are or have a model around the 13-inch screen size. It's big enough that you can scroll web pages and documents without feeling like the bottom is cut off short, yet it will still fit in every laptop bag, backpack, and sling on the market. The lack of bulk translates into a lack of weight — the 13-inch MacBook Pro not only fits in a backpack, it won't break your back lugging it around between meetings, classes, at conferences, while traveling, or around town. And while it's not as performant at its 15-inch quad-core brother, it still has plenty of power for video editing, compiling, photo editing, and more.

I went back and forth on the 13-inch Air vs. 13-inch Pro several times as well. I've owned a couple of each over the last few years. While the Air is alluring for its price and portability, I ultimately went with, and stuck with, the 13-inch MacBook Pro because:

1. Once you go Retina is very hard to go back.
2. When you do need to render video, either for work for holidays, the speed difference is a huge time saver.
3. Once the new MacBook was introduced, there didn't seem to be a future for the MacBook Air.

There are several versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro you can find online or in stores, and you can also use Apple's build-to-order (BTO) options to spec out variations and even higher-end models.

All of them, though, are based on Intel's Skylake processors. The current-generation Kaybe Lake processors weren't available in the core or graphics combinations Apple needed for the MacBook Pro at the time of release.

If Kaybe Lake is important to you — and it's a mixed bag at this point — you should wait until at least the summer of fall before getting your MacBook Pro.

There's also Touch Bar and Touch ID as options now. Touch Bar is controversial, with many people not finding it useful for their workflows. Others like how it surfaces previously obscure and arcane shortcuts and makes them easily accessible.

Everyone loves Touch ID, though, which lets you quickly and easily log onto your MacBook Pro, authenticate apps, and even authorize Touch ID purchases on Safari.

USB-C / TB3 only for the ports has also been controversial. Many dislike the need for dongles, though that has always been true for anyone using peripherals with a MacBook Pro — and we have the FireWire adapters to prove it! Those who want to drive a 5K display, or dual 5K displays on the 15-inch version, along with high speed storage, are happy enough.

Otherwise, the 13-inch MacBook Pro remains the best-balanced laptop in Apple's lineup, and when you throw in AppleCare and the availability of both telephone, online, and in-store support, one of the best values in higher-end computing.

Conclusion

Apple now has iPads Pro as well, so the line between tablet and laptop has blurred. If you're considering an ultra-mobile, you may want to t consider one of them instead. Otherwise, the next era of Macs is about to begin, starting with the new MacBooks and continuing later this year with new MacBooks Pro. If you need to buy now, get the 13-inch MacBook Pro or one of my other picks. Otherwise, hold tight.