Have you made the decision to upgrade to a large Apple Mac desktop computer, but are hesitant to make the purchase because you are unsure which model to choose?
Do not worry because on this page, I will explain all the main differences between the various models currently sold by the Cupertino company and how to orient yourself in choosing the best Mac computer based on what you need. I also remind you that all Macs are quite expensive since they use exclusive solutions in terms of design and technical characteristics that are always particularly sought after.
But the choice of a Mac computer is not too different than that of a computer equipped with Windows. The main difference is that on a Mac. Here we will be listing the top 13 best MacBook pro.
- SUPERCHARGED BY M4 PRO OR M4 MAX — The 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro or M4 Max chip gives you outrageous performance in a powerhouse laptop built for Apple Intelligence.* With all-day battery life and a breathtaking Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1600 nits peak brightness, it’s pro in every way.*
- CHAMPION CHIPS — The M4 Pro chip blazes through demanding tasks like compiling millions of lines of code. M4 Max can handle the most challenging workflows, like rendering intricate 3D content.
- BUILT FOR APPLE INTELLIGENCE—Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data—not even Apple.*
- LEAN. MEAN. M3 MACHINE — With a powerful 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU, the blazing-fast MacBook Air with M3 chip is a superportable laptop that sails through work and play.
- BUILT FOR APPLE INTELLIGENCE—Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data—not even Apple.*
- PORTABLE DESIGN — Lightweight and under half an inch thin, so you can take MacBook Air anywhere you go.
- SUPERCHARGED BY M4 PRO OR M4 MAX — The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro or M4 Max chip gives you outrageous performance in a powerhouse laptop built for Apple Intelligence.* With all-day battery life and a breathtaking Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1600 nits peak brightness, it’s pro in every way.*
- CHAMPION CHIPS — The M4 Pro chip blazes through demanding tasks like compiling millions of lines of code. M4 Max can handle the most challenging workflows, like rendering intricate 3D content.
- BUILT FOR APPLE INTELLIGENCE—Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data—not even Apple.*
- STRIKINGLY THIN DESIGN — The redesigned MacBook Air is more portable than ever and weighs just 2.7 pounds. It’s the incredibly capable laptop that lets you work, play or create just about anything — anywhere.
- SUPERCHARGED BY M2 — Get more done faster with a next-generation 8-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU and up to 24GB of unified memory.
- BUILT FOR APPLE INTELLIGENCE—Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data—not even Apple.*
- LEAN. MEAN. M3 MACHINE — With a powerful 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the blazing-fast MacBook Air with M3 chip is a superportable laptop that sails through work and play.
- BUILT FOR APPLE INTELLIGENCE—Apple Intelligence is the personal intelligence system that helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data—not even Apple.*
- PORTABLE DESIGN — Lightweight and under half an inch thin, so you can take MacBook Air anywhere you go.
- Key Features 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 6-Core (9th Gen) 16GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 RAM | 512GB SSD 16" 3072 x 1920 Retina Display AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU (4GB GDDR6) P3 Color Gamut
- 512 GB SSD of storage.
- Multitasking is easy with 16 GB of RAM
- Equipped with a blazing fast Intel Intel i5 2.00 GHz processor.
- SUPERCHARGED BY M3 PRO OR M3 MAX — The Apple M3 Pro chip, with an up to 12-core CPU and up to 18-core GPU, delivers amazing performance for demanding workflows like manipulating gigapixel panoramas or compiling millions of lines of code. M3 Max, with an up to 16-core CPU and up to 40-core GPU, drives extreme performance for the most advanced workflows like rendering intricate 3D content or developing transformer models with billions of parameters.
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — Go all day thanks to the power-efficient design of Apple silicon. The MacBook Pro laptop delivers the same exceptional performance whether it’s running on battery or plugged in. (Battery life varies by use and configuration. See apple.com/batteries for more information.)
- BRILLIANT PRO DISPLAY — The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display features Extreme Dynamic Range, over 1000 nits of brightness for stunning HDR content, up to 600 nits of brightness for SDR content, and pro reference modes for doing your best work on the go. (The display has rounded corners at the top. When measured diagonally, the screen is 14.2 inches. Actual viewable area is less.)
- Quad-core 8th-Generation Intel Core i5 Processor
- Brilliant Retina Display with True Tone technology
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- Apple M1 Pro or M1 Max chip for a massive leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance
- Up to 10-core CPU delivers up to 2x faster performance to fly through pro workflows quicker than ever
- Up to 32-core GPU with up to 4x faster performance for graphics-intensive apps and games
- pple M3 8-Core Chip 8GB Unified RAM | 512GB SSD 14" 3024 x 1964 Liquid Retina XDR Screen 10-Core GPU | 16-Core Neural Engine Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Bluetooth 5.3 Thunderbolt 3 | HDMI | MagSafe 3 SDXC Slot | FaceTime HD 1080p Camera Backlit Magic Keyboard Force Touch Trackpad | Touch ID Sensor macOS
- Brilliant Retina display with True Tone technology
- Backlit Magic Keyboard
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
- 16" 3072 x 1920 Retina Display 2.3 GHz Intel Core i9 8-Core (9th Gen)
- 16GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 RAM | 1TB SSD AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU (4GB GDDR6)
- P3 Color Gamut | True Tone Technology Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Bluetooth 5.0
Buying Guide to Select the Best Macbook Pro
You will always find the latest version of the macOS operating system pre-installed. The Macs are all high-end or medium-high end systems with aluminum alloy shells that are particularly sought after in terms of aesthetics.
They are mainly divided into three broad families: iMac (all-in-one), MacBook (portable), and then there is also the Mac family with two fixed desktop systems (Mac Pro and Mac mini) to be combined with a monitor.
The Macs are not only all in one or notebook, but some less famous models can be linked to external monitors. I’m talking about Mac Pro, a solution designed mainly for professionals, and of Mac mini, a small, not too powerful system that packs an entire computer in a decidedly contained space. Here are their characteristics.
Technical Features
So far, I have explained the essential characteristics of each model of Mac computer available on the market today, however, before choosing which Mac to buy based on your needs, you must check which hardware components contain the model you are interested in. Below I make a rundown of the most essential features and definitions you need to know.
Display and Resolution
Once you have chosen the type of computer to buy, between desktop, all in one and notebook, you have to find out which are the right size for you. If you buy a MacBook, you don’t have much choice. Still, for MacBook Air, Pro, or iMac, there are different models with different diagonal displays.
A larger screen means larger dimensions. This is undoubted, so you evaluate which is the best compromise in terms of sizes occupied in the environment according to your needs.
Apple also refers to the word “Retina” as high resolution and pixel density displays. If you need a computer for video or photo editing, always consider taking a 4K or 5K model. At the same time, for primary productivity, you can stop at the necessary resolutions.
Cpu and Gpu
The CPU of a computer represents its digital brain, or rather its ability to process the calculations necessary to complete operations.
The faster a CPU is, the faster the activities will be performed. The number of cores inside the processor is also fundamental: the more cores there are and, in principle, the more capable the CPU is to perform multiple operations simultaneously.
The Macs use only Intel CPUs in this generation, starting from the Core m3 (low end, but very low in consumption), up to the Intel Core i3 / i5 / i7 solutions of medium-low, medium and high end. Some professional (and very expensive) models also use CPUs from the Intel Xeon family, designed to give the maximum 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But for “normal” use, they do not provide real advantages.
The GPU is, instead, the component dedicated to the processing of graphic calculations. It can be integrated into the CPU, and in this case, it has somewhat limited computing power; or dedicated.
The latter solution is the one I suggest if you intend to perform intensive operations for graphics, such as heavy processing of photos, videos, or video games. In contrast, if you carry out only essential services (editing of documents, browsing the Internet, managing email), you can also go to a Mac with a GPU integrated with the processor.
Memoirs
The RAM is the short term memory of the computer, as I’ve already explained several times in other buying guides. It stores all the information of the apps open at a particular time, so that every time we select a window, all the data does not have to be loaded.
With more RAM, the computer will be faster, more responsive, and reliable when many applications are open simultaneously. The storage memory, also called storage, is instead dedicated to mechanical units ( hard disk ) or solid-state ( SSD).
The former is slower but even more reliable over time. The latter is hugely faster and better resist shocks and displacements.
Apple also uses hybrid drives, called Fusion Drive, which combine the advantages of both types. SSDs can also be connected through the PCIe interface (often used by Apple) for truly unattainable performance for other technologies.
Ports and Connections
Before buying a new Mac, always check the availability of ports and wireless connections in technical characteristics.
Especially on the latest generation of laptops, Apple has turned out to be somewhat “mean” at this juncture: MacBooks, for example, only have a USB-C port, forcing the user to purchase an adapter to connect their peripherals. At the same time, on other models.
You can find two or four USB-C ports. These can implement Thunderbolt 3 for digital video output and other features. Macs, like many Windows PCs, are always compatible with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks, for connection to external routers or peripherals.
