Last year was one of the best ever for Mac — six new models, brand new chips, and some of the most exciting new products to come out of Cupertino in some time. We're hoping for more of the same this year, and while there might not be any news on an upcoming M4 chip any time soon, we're hoping that M3 makes its way into more machines in the Mac lineup. With WWDC coming up soon, we don't have long to wait to see what 2024 has in store.
But which of the current range of Macs is the best? Or is it worth waiting for the newly-announced M3 MacBook Air? Which machine fills the most needs, and more, while not being the most expensive model? We've compared every single Mac you can buy right now to find out which Mac is the best for a variety of users and use cases.
Here, we’ll be looking at the whole range. That’s inclusive of our picks from the best MacBook line, including the 2023 versions of the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the 15-inch MacBook Air M2, as well as last year's MacBook Pro 13-inch, and the MacBook Air M2 and M1. There are also desktop Macs, such as the new Mac mini, the M2 Mac Studio, and the M3 iMac. All of these Macs have been stacked against each other to find the best option all around (as well as picks for those with demanding workloads, or those on a tighter budget).
I have used Macs for a long time (and currently own a MacBook Pro M1 Pro), and now I spend even more time testing them. Using both my own experience with the various laptops and desktops as well as the experience of others on the iMore team, this list has been carefully considered and curated to make sure you have an idea about which Mac is going to be the best for you.
The Best Macs out there
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Best Mac: MacBook Air 2022
The MacBook Air is a lot of things to a lot of users. It's the perfect middle ground in the Mac lineup, with upgrade options if you need something a little more potent, and some very competitively priced lower specced machines if you don’t want to spend as much. It’s easily worth the five stars it received in our review, and the accolade of being the best Mac.
The 2022 MacBook Air really is the laptop for almost everyone. It’s already the best MacBook for most people in our eyes, but it also manages to build a package that puts it at the top of the Mac tree, desktop or portable, overall as well. It was the second Mac with an M2 chip inside, but it was the first with a new design.
Replacing the then-aging M1 MacBook Air and its more wedge-like shape, the flatter, MacBook Pro-esque MacBook Air M2 brought some serious new design chops to the table. It’s sleek, attractive, and most importantly retains the thinness and lightness that makes it a truly portable machine. You can get it in more colors than any other MacBook as well, with fetching Space Gray, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight shades on offer. The screen that lies within the clamshell is a stunning Liquid Retina number, with an extra 0.3-inches giving you a little more space to work or play with compared to its predecessor. The keyboard has been improved as well, with more key travel and slightly larger keys, as well as a useful function row.
Inside the MacBook Air M2 is, obviously, that M2 chip. The M2 brought a massive boost of power to the MacBook Air, making it a true portable powerhouse. It’s cooled without a fan as well, so it is utterly silent in operation – although you’ll lose a little bit of performance over the actively cooled MacBook Pro 13-inch that comes with the same chip. There are RAM options up to 24GB, which is plenty for anyone, although the base model with its 8GB feels a step behind current RAM requirements. Sensible buyers would want to upgrade to 16GB of RAM for a degree of future-proofing. Storage-wise, you can choose up to a 2TB SSD, which is plenty, and it’ll last you a good long time with up to 18 hours depending on how you use the MacBook.
It starts at prices a little more expensive than the older model, coming in at $1199 for the base model. If you want to spec your machine up to something a little more potent, then you’ll have to pay a little extra on top of that price as well, although certain options like extra RAM are worth the outlay. That price makes it one of the less expensive Macs as well, and puts it firmly as the best Mac for almost everyone.
And don't forget the all-new 15-inch MacBook Air! With its larger screen it's arguably an even better machine, pretty much identical to the 13-inch MacBook Air in all other respects. However it's higher price tag puts it a little further out of reach of some pockets, hence the 13-incher being our model of choice.
iMore’s best Config:
Best budget Mac: Mac mini M2
The Mac mini is one of the newest machines on the list, and also one of the most impressive for the price. The base model only costs $599, making it the cheapest Mac that you can buy today. For the money, you’ll get a compact desktop with performance that you wouldn’t expect to find at this price point.
First, there’s the M2 under the hood, with a 10-Core GPU. That's more GPU power than found in the M2 in the base model MacBook Air M2, and it comes at a much lower price. There are plenty of options if you want to make the Mac mini more powerful as well, with a little extra RAM going a long way in making it a very competent computer for lighter workloads.
It’s not an unattractive little box, but it's also mostly just a slab of aluminum that sits on your desk with an Apple logo on top. It does require a monitor as well, so factor that into the end cost, although you can easily find one of the best Mac Monitors that fits within your price requirements.
We love this Mac for its price and performance, giving it five stars in our review. The inputs at the back are plenty for all your peripherals, and the specs help it keep up with its more expensive brothers and sisters. It's not the most flexible, given it needs to be rooted to a desk, but it's easily the best Mac if you don’t want to spend as much on your new computer.
There is a version you can get with the M2 Pro chip, too, which is even more powerful, but that makes it a little too expensive to be a ‘budget Mac’. It’s still an excellent machine, but not suitable for this section.
iMore’s best Config:
Best Mac for professionals: MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch
The staggering new M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBooks were launched less than 12 months after the M2 line, but there's a big difference to be found. The M3 chip line is built on a new 3nm process that packs more processing power into a smaller space. That means these chips are faster and more power-efficient than ever before. On the outside, not much has changed, the chassis is still the same square, premium aluminum shell. There's also the same number of ports including HDMI, MagSafe, USB-C, and an SD card slot. The big headline is a new Space Black color which is designed to repel fingerprints and is a real head-turner.
Under the hood, the new M3 Pro is actually nerfed slightly over the M2 Pro lineup, featuring fewer GPU cores and less memory bandwidth. By contrast, the M3 Max boasts 16 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores, as well as up to 128GB of Unified Memory clocked at 400GB/s. It's the model we tested in our review and an absolute beast. If you're on the hunt for a "Max" MacBook Pro, definitely choose the M3. If, on the other hand, you don't need all that power and the "Pro" M-series will do the job for you, it's worth looking around for a good deal on that M2 range.
iMore’s best configuration:
Best Mac design: iMac M3
It was a long time coming, but when the M3 iMac landed, it didn't disappoint. With Apple's latest, fastest chipsets, and retaining that iconic design, Apple's family-friendly desktop machine remains a great entry point into the world of Mac. A gorgeous screen, slimline design and approachable set up (everything you need is in the box) means it still sees off its all-in-one Windows competition too.
However, we were disappointed to see the iMac still shipping with Lightning-port connection devices in terms of its Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad. With all other elements of Apple's product line now moved over to USB-C, it feels a step behind the pack, and one final reason to keep those Lightning cables around.
After three-or-so years stuck on M1 chip hardware, the jump to M3 chipsets for the iMac is a big deal. While iMac owners are unlikely to push the chip to its limits, improvements on the GPU side will suit those looking to game on Mac, with the iMac a very competent gaming machine thanks to ray tracing and Dynamic Caching support.
It’s well-priced, although you may want to spend a little more and get a bit more RAM. For an extra $200 you’ll be able to use the iMac for longer as apps become more RAM dependent, and you’ll know that it will be able to multitask better as well. The base model costs $1299/£1399, but we’d recommend the more expensive $1899/£1999 model with a beefier processor, additional storage and RAM.
iMore’s Best configuration:
Macs that didn’t make the cut
These Macs are all available to buy at the Apple store at the moment, but they are now either outdated completely or make little sense when compared to the other machines you can get. To be clear – these are not ‘bad Macs’. There are no bad Macs – but there are some that drastically need an update to make more sense in the grand scheme of the Mac lineup.
MacBook Pro 13-inch
One can’t help but ask ‘Why does this Mac exist?’ when looking at the MacBook Pro 13-inch with M2. Sure, its active cooling means its performance numbers are slightly better than the passively cooled MacBook Air M2, but the chassis that's been around for nearly ten years and the weird touch bar make it feel like an anachronism. If you want more power, you’ll spend the extra and grab the MacBook Pro 14-inch or 16-inch, and if you want something more portable then you’ll get the MacBook Air.
The only thing that sets it apart is its excellent battery life, which can last you up to 20 hours. Beyond that, however, this is a Mac to avoid.
MacBook Air M1
This is still a good computer, but it is now getting a little too out of date to recommend buying. It's cheaper than the new model, but its M1 chip could soon start to show its age. Spending the extra $200 on the M2 Air is the way to go here, given that we could be seeing even newer models that make this model completely defunct.
Mac Studio
The M2-generation Mac Studio is so powerful, it could end up being the last computer you ever buy. Making demanding, professional workflows look like preschool work, the latest Mac Studio should be the first choice machine for high-level video editors, 3D artists and professional musicians. But PC owners with a top-end GPU still have an edge in a few key areas.
This Mac didn’t make the list not because it's a bad machine. It's a very good machine in fact, with gobs of power at your disposal and loads of configuration options. It doesn’t make the list because it is starting to show its age in the wake of the M3-generation launches, meaning an M3 Studio variant is worth holding out for now.
Mac Pro
The new Mac Pro is another powerhouse, and all models are equipped with the M2 Ultra chip. There are loads of RAM options, and it will support up to six Pro Display XDRs which is a lot of mental 5K screens.
That said, the only people that should be buying this Mac are companies that need ridiculous amounts of processing power or people with more money than sense. It is a very powerful computer, but it is far, far too expensive. For most people with this sort of requirement, the Mac Studio now fits the bill. For ever more specialized workflows, if you don't know why you need a Mac Pro, that's a good sign that you don't need it at all.
Q&A
You likely have lots of questions about which Mac you should buy, how much Macs cost, what all this chip stuff is, and where the best place to buy a Mac is. We’ve answered all your burning questions below, so that you can make a more informed decision when you go to buy your new Mac.
MacBook or desktop Mac?
This question can be answered very simply by looking at your needs for a computer. If you need a computer that can be carried around, with a built-in screen, then a MacBook is for you. Think students and mobile professionals. For others, a desktop is the way to go. It’ll stay locked in one place, but you can easily pair it with a bigger screen and more comfortable peripherals.
Of course, a MacBook can also be plugged into a large monitor, making them more flexible. A desktop will cost you less for more power, however, which is also worth thinking about. For family computers, something like an iMac is perfect, with a great price and good features.
How much do Macs cost?
Macs actually span a much wider range of prices than you might expect. A Mac mini will cost as little as $599, but you can go all the way up to a Mac Pro which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. What you’ll pay comes down to what Mac you choose, and whether you choose to add to the baseline configuration. Those extras can cost a lot as well, with RAM upgrades often costing upwards of $200. Make sure you check around and have a play with the configurator on the Apple website to find your Mac price sweetspot.
What is an M-chip?
In 2020, Apple launched its M1 chip, an in-house designed processor that replaced the then-used Intel options. These new chips are super efficient, using far less power to give you loads of performance. The current models, the M2 chips, are Apple's latest silicon, and they are even more impressive than the M1 versions that came out a few years ago. If you want to learn more, we have a page dedicated to Apple’s M2 silicon, and it's latest M3 chips too.
As for the Pro, Max, and Ultra monikers that you might see, they are designations given to Apple’s more premium chips that offer more power. The best way to think of them is as super-charged versions of the base model chips, with more performance on tap. They are designed for more professional use cases.
Where is the best place to buy a Mac?
The first port of call is going to be the Apple website, where you’ll find all the configuration options. This is the best place to go if you want to spec up a Mac and put more RAM, storage, or a more powerful processor inside. One thing worth noting about the Apple website, however, is that there are very rarely any kind of discounts, if ever. Students get slightly lower prices, as do teachers, but the Apple store is still going to be full price for most of us. From time to time refurbished models appear on the Apple store, but you won’t have any say over what configuration these come in, and they tend to be snapped up quickly.
If you don’t want to make too many changes to the base spec of a Mac, then you can get one from Amazon. There, you’ll see discounts and fast shipping, albeit with fewer options to dial in exactly what you want from your Mac. There are other shops where you might find a Mac with more options, however.
BestBuy has configuration options, letting you choose different components that you may want to put in your Mac. They also have discounts as well, so you might even save a buck if you shop there. The same can be said for the retailer B&H Photo, where you can also choose what you want from your Mac. Fast delivery is also available here, and there are also discounts on occasion.
If you’re looking to save money on a Mac, you should watch out for sales like Black Friday. At some of the retailers above, you may find some brilliant prices on Macs over the biggest sale of the year, meaning you can get more Mac for your money.
When do new Macs release?
That depends on the Mac – and the whims of Apple. Sometimes, a Mac might see an upgrade every year, receiving a new chip or a new chassis. Sometimes it might be years between variants, making it a little harder to predict. As a general rule, however, MacBooks tend to receive yearly updates, while desktop Macs remain on lengthier cycles before upgraded models arrive. Don’t let a machine being replaced by a newer edition deter you either – sometimes it's a great way of getting a great price!
What kind of monitor will a desktop Mac need?
Apple would have you believe that the monitors it makes are your best bet — but if you don't want to spend loads of money or want something that's not got the Apple logo on it, then you've got loads of options. There are some of the best monitors for Mac out there (and we've tested them), as well as the best 4K monitors for Mac.
