Jun 25, 2008 A MacBook would work fine for digital photography. The MBP is faster, but not fast enough to justify the cost difference, if you're counting that way. I do a lot of digital photography, including tethered shooting.I use a MacBook Pro. After the major refresh of the MacBook Air line in late 2010, the 11″ and 13″ ultralights became objects of interest for photographers looking for the ultimate in mobile editing. However, lack of processing power limited their true usefulness in the field. With the mid-2011 refresh, the design.
BestMacBookiMore2019
You'd be hard-pressed to find any website that does as much deep-dive research into everything about Apple's Mac notebook lineup than iMore. We run every model, ever version through their paces (and then some) to determine which is the best MacBook for the average person and which one is perfect for the pros. Our best overall pick is the MacBook Air. With Touch ID, a retina display, and sleek and slim design, this is the one to beat.
Best Overall: MacBook Air
With a major update in 2018, the MacBook Air now has a faster processor, Touch ID, a Retina display, and is still thin enough to fit into a manila envelope.
The Retina display specs are 2560 x 1600 at 227ppi with an sRBG color gamut, and the bezels are slim, providing as much screen landscape as possible on a 13-inch Mac laptop.
Though you don't get the much-loved MagSafe charging port, you do get, in its place, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports along with the 3.5mm headphone jack. That means 40Gbps high-speed data transfer so you can move photos, videos, and huge documents between hard drives or other computers lickety-split.
The MacBook Air also now supports Touch ID for biometric security. Not only do you use it to unlock your MacBook Air, but also to pay for things online that use Apple Pay (it's such a time saver).
Pros:
- Retina display
- High-speed data transfer
- Touch ID
- Affordable
- 12-hour battery life
Cons:
- Only two Thunderbolt 3 ports
- previous-generation processor (8th-gen)
Best Overall
MacBook Air
The perfect Mac laptop for most people.
The MacBook Air has the perfect balance of features and affordability. As the lowest-price Retina display Mac in the laptop lineup, you're getting a hard-working computer without paying the premium price of the rest of the MacBook lineup.
Best value: 13-inch MacBook Pro (two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
The lower-priced 13-inch MacBook Pro is feature-rich without being too much computer for the average person's needs. It's got the highest-quality Retina display with 3DPI wide-color gamut, two high-speed Thunderbolt 3 ports for 40Gbps data transfer, and an ultra-fast processor chip. If you don't need more than two Thunderbolt 3 ports, support for heavy graphics, or daily lengthy video rendering, the smaller MacBook Pro has the best feature-to-price ratio, making it the best value of the MacBook lineup.
Pros:
- Portable
- Ultra-fast storage
- High-speed data transfer
- Retina Display
Best value
13-inch MacBook Pro (two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
The biggest bang for your buck.
When it comes to portability, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is just right. It's got the power of a top-of-the-line computer in a lightweight body you can take anywhere.
Best for pros: 15-inch MacBook Pro
For the pro on the go, there's the 15-inch MacBook Pro. This workhorse of a laptop can support up to 8 cores of Intel's latest Coffee Lake refresh processor chip with turbo boosts of up to 5.0GHz and SSD read speeds of up to 3.2Gbps. It's got four Thunderbolt 3 ports, the most in the entire Mac laptop line, and can be spec'd out to as much as 32GB of memory and a 4TB SSD hard drive with Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics with 4GB of HBM2 memory. It's fast. It's powerful. It'll sing for you while it renders your videos (not literally).
Pros:
- Latest Intel processor (9th-gen)
- Improved keyboard
- Advanced GPU
- Up to 8 cores
- Touch ID
- Retina display
- True Tone
Best for pros
15-inch MacBook Pro
A pro laptop for the pro user.
If you need the most power and the best performance with the option of mobility and are willing to pay the premium price, the 2019 15-inch MacBook Pro is your pick.
Best for Versatility: 13-inch MacBook Pro (4 Thunderbolt 3 ports)
The four Thunderbolt 3 port 13-inch MacBook Pro starts about $500 higher than the two Thunderbolt 3 port model, but those extra ports may be the most important thing you'll need. It's got the highest-quality Retina display with 3DPI wide-color gamut, four high-speed Thunderbolt 3 ports for 40Gbps data transfer, and an ultra-fast processor chip. If you're going to be plugging in more than two peripherals that need Thunderbolt 3's fast data transfer capabilities, you're going to want to spend the extra money on those extra ports.
Pros:
- Portable
- Ultra-fast storage
- High-speed data transfer
- Retina Display
Best for Versatility
13-inch MacBook Pro (four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Versatility at a lower price.
When it comes to versatility, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt 3 ports offers more flexibility for your dollar. You get high-speed data transfer from all four ports.
Bottom line
Because the MacBook Air has everything most people need for daily computer use tied up nicely in a small package, and because it supports Touch ID for biometric security and Apple Pay, it's our pick for the best MacBook in 2019. The fact that it's also the least-expensive Retina Display MacBook is just icing on the cake.
Of course, if you're looking for something with more power, but don't need the fastest, most powerful processor and graphics, the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar has the most specs for its price, making it our pick for the best value.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Lory Gil is iMore's managing editor and has extensive knowledge of the MacBook lineup. Though she doesn't own every single MacBook ever, she's got a pretty decent-sized pile building up.
Rene Ritchie is iMore's resident Apple analyst and has studied every aspect of every MacBook. He puts his MacBooks through their paces and knows exactly what each one's limits are.
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Take your MacBook Air everywhere!Don't carry around your new MacBook Air bare! Get a case!
If you're looking to carry around you're new MacBook Air with something that will protect it when you're on the move, here are our favorite options.
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Power vs portabilityTechnoBuffalo has used both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (non-Touch Bar), and each is different in its own way. If you're considering jumping into the Mac ecosystem, we're here to help you decide which one to buy.The latest
MacBook Air (2018)
More power
MacBook Pro (2017)
The MacBook Air (2018) is Apple's most affordable laptop available right now — and it's powerful enough for most people. In addition to a beautiful design, the MacBook Air is great for sending email, browsing the web, and light content creation.
Cons
- Limited ports
- Shallow keyboard
If you're a photographer, designer, or filmmaker, the MacBook Pro (2017) is a great tool for getting work done. It features a beautiful wide color (P3) display, powerful guts, and a gorgeous design. This is the laptop you should get if you plan to do more strenuous tasks.
Cons
- Limited ports
- Shallow keyboard
- Expensive
If you plan to do intensive content creation, including photo editing, video editing, or graphic design, then the MacBook Pro is a great option. If you want a machine for more general use—with some light content creation—you should buy the MacBook Air, because it's more affordable and still offers plenty of great features. Overall, the MacBook Air is the best MacBook for most people.
The MacBook Pro is for content creation
If you plan on flexing your creative muscles, whether it be with photography, videography, or graphic design, the MacBook Pro should be in your bag. It offers the most power out the Mac laptop lineup, along with the best display, which is important for photographers and filmmakers.
The MacBook Pro comes equipped with a 13.3-inch screen that features a wider DCI-P3 color gamut, which provides users with a wider range of colors. Again, if color science is important to your workflow, then the MacBook Pro's screen is worth the more expensive price tag.
The MacBook Pro is a nice option for users who want to start down the path of content creation.
From a design standpoint, the MacBook Pro is a little larger than the MacBook Air. It doesn't feature a tapered wedge, but rather a flatter and more squared design. But it's still just as portable at 3.02 pounds, despite not being quite as svelte.
The base MacBook Pro features a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB of storage, and two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports. If you want to step up in price, you can get features like a Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor.
Although the MacBook Pro is faster than the MacBook Air, it's not faster by much. Apple hasn't updated the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro for over a year, and it's unclear if we'll see any changes now that the MacBook Air is around.
The MacBook Air is great for the everyday user
Not everyone needs a laptop to edit photos and video. If you want something more tailored to everyday tasks, such as sending email, browsing the web, and document editing, the MacBook Air is the device for you.
At 0.61 inches tall and weighing in at just 2.75 pounds, the MacBook Air is a small, beautiful laptop that's perfect for lugging to class, work, or the nearest coffee shop. But just because it's portable doesn't mean it's not capable. Even though it's not quite as powerful as the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air can still handle plenty of intensive tasks.
The MacBook Air features Touch ID and the MacBook Pro (non-Touch Bar) does not.
The MacBook Air doesn't feature a screen that's quite as nice as the MacBook Pro's. However, the base MacBook Air does come equipped with a Touch ID sensor, while the non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro does not. That's not a huge deal, but it does make the MacBook Air a little more convenient to use, especially when buying things online.
Additionally, the newest MacBook Air features Apple's third-generation keyboard, which includes a rubber membrane to protect the keys from dirt and dust. The second-generation butterfly keyboard found in the MacBook Pro, meanwhile, has run into a number of documented reliability issues regarding durability.
Finally, the MacBook Air features Apple's latest T2 Security Chip, which the company says will protect your machine from malicious attacks while keeping your files and personal information safe. You don't get that with the base MacBook Pro.
MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air specs
Although the MacBook Pro is the more powerful machine, you'll find that the MacBook Air isn't that far behind. The Air features the same number of ports, RAM, and storage, plus the same size display.
Category | MacBook Pro (2017) | MacBook Air (2018) |
---|---|---|
Processor | 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz | 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz |
Display | 13.3-inch LED backlit display with IPS technology 2560-by-1600 native resolution Wide color (P3) | 13.3-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology 2560-by-1600 native resolution |
Memory | 8GB RAM (configurable to 16GB) 128GB of storage (configurable to 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB) | 8GB RAM (configurable to 16GB) 128GB of storage (configurable to 256GB, 512GB, or 1.5TB) |
Size and Weight | Height: 0.59 inch Width: 11.97 inches Depth: 8.36 inches Weight 3.02 pounds | Height: 0.16-0.61 inch Width: 11.97 inches Depth: 8.36 inches Weight: 2.75 pounds |
Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 | Intel HUD Graphics 617 |
Battery | Built-in 54.5-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery Up to 10 hours wireless web Up to 10 hours iTunes movie playback | Built-in 50.3-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery Up to 12 hours wireless web Up to 13 hours iTunes movie playback |
Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) |
Camera | 720p | 720p |
Which one should you buy?
Both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air offer plenty of great features, so it comes down to how you plan to use it.
If you have aspirations to edit photos, video, or high resolution graphics, then you're better off going with the MacBook Pro. Generally, the MacBook Pro is the all-around better laptop despite the higher price tag.
However, if you have no interest in any of those things, then consider the MacBook Air. For more general use, the MacBook Air is the smarter option, because it's cheaper and comes with Touch ID. Plus, it's easier to carry around, thanks to its tapered design and lighter frame. If we had to pick between the two, we'd go with the MacBook Air. It's just the best option for most people.
Our Pick
MacBook Air (2018)
A great laptop for everyone
The new MacBook Air is a great all-around machine for getting work done. It's nice and portable and is capable of handling multiple tasks, whether you're sending out email or doing light content creation. It's also Apple's most affordable laptop, making it a great entry point into Apple's ecosystem.
More Power
MacBook Pro non-Touch Bar
Great for content creation
The non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro is a nice entry into Apple's more powerful lineup of Pro laptops, giving you the tools to perform more intensive tasks, whether it be editing and exporting video or powering through RAW photos after a photoshoot.
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