- Okay, so you're thinking
of buying a MacBook and you realize that there
are a lot of great options. And while that's great, it's probably super confusing and don't worry, you're not alone. So let's talk about the
important differences, so you can have all the
information that you need to choose the right MacBook for you. And spoiler alert, we're gonna pretty much
get rid of one of these, so that's gonna make the
decision even easier. Starting out, the MacBook
that I think is by far, the best option for most
users is the M1 MacBook Air. This MacBook was released in
November of 2020 for $999. And it immediately became a hit because it struck the perfect balance of performance, portability and cost. So essentially, if you want a MacBook and you're on a budget, this is the first time
where you can get one for under $1,000. And at the same time, get a machine that's extremely capable. In the beginning, some
buyers were concerned because they still had
memories of the older and underpowered MacBook
Air with the Intel chip, but this one has the exact same M1 chip as the 13-inch MacBook Pro. And the only difference
as far as the chip goes is that it's available in seven
and eight-core GPU versions, whereas the MacBook Pro is only available with an eight-core GPU. For the vast majority of users, the difference between a
seven and eight-core GPU, simply isn't going to be meaningful. As far as the display, we're getting a 13.3-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2560 by
1600, 400 nits of brightness and it's a P3 display,
so it's color accurate. So whether you're using this
MacBook to surf the web, watch content, work with
different productivity apps and even editing photos and videos, this display will work great. Speaking of watching content, the speaker system on the
MacBook Air is excellent. It's not as good as what we're getting on some of the higher end models, but if I compare it to any
other laptop that I own, it's right up there at the top. The camera on the MacBook
Air is actually pretty good for a 720P camera and the image signal
processor on the M1 chip helps with a lot of computational video. Now, ultimately it's still a 720P camera and it's most likely not gonna be as good as what you have on your phone, but honestly, that's expected these days. I would have liked to see a
1080P camera on this MacBook, and we are going to get that from some of the higher end models. But in reality, for video
calls, it definitely works. Now looking at the keyboard,
this is as good a keyboard as I've used on any laptop period. It's a great size, the keys are responsive and have a good amount of feedback and I've typed on this laptop
for hours without any issue. The trackpad is the
smallest of all four models, but that's the only difference. It's easily the best
trackpad that I've ever used. You can click anywhere,
it's super responsive and I have nothing but good
things to say about it. Looking at the ports, we're getting two Thunderbolt
3 ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right. For the majority of the target
audience for this laptop, the number of ports isn't
really gonna be an issue. The reality is the most casual users don't regularly attach any
accessories to their laptop. Most of the time, they're
gonna use one of the ports for charging, and then every so often, they're gonna attach another accessory or a hub to the other one. Now that's not how I use my laptops, but I'm talking about the average user for this type of laptop. In either case, the limitation
of only having ports on the left is still
there as well as the fact that you need an adapter or a hub if you're trying to expand the
functionality of these ports. As far as configuration, you have the option for
eight or 16 gigabytes of unified memory. And then from 256 gigs, all the way up to two terabytes
of internal SSD storage. Now remember that you can't upgrade any
of these after you buy, so you should consider getting
16 gigs of unified memory and then get as much internal storage as you think that you'll need. In that way, you'll be better
prepared for the future. You can also always supplement
your internal storage with an external SSD, but there is nothing you can do about RAM, so just keep that in mind. The M1 MacBook Air starts at under $1,000 from the Apple Store. And a lot of times, if you use
the links in the description, you can get it for under 900 bucks. So for the overwhelming majority of users who need a fantastic
machine for their everyday and general business needs, the M1 MacBook Pro is an excellent option. And that brings me to
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option is the M1 MacBook Pro, and you'll see that it's very
similar to the MacBook Air. As far as size, it has the same footprint with a slightly boxier form factor. The display is the same size, 13.3 inches. It has the same resolution. Unlike the MacBook Air, it's a P3 display. The only notable difference
is a higher maximum brightness at 500 nits versus 400 on the MacBook Air. We're getting a slightly larger trackpad and the same keyboard
with the one exception being the Touch Bar, which replaces the
function keys on the Air. I happen to like the Touch Bar, but I know a lot of people don't, so I'll let you decide
whether it's a pro or a con. We're getting the same 720P camera, but the speakers are listed
as high dynamic range. Now, personally, I have a tough time
hearing the differences between the MacBook Pro
and the MacBook Air. So while I know they're
supposed to sound better because I can read that in the specs, I can tell you that I
wouldn't buy the MacBook Pro just for the better speakers. We're also getting the
same two ports in the left and the same maximum
configuration of 16 gigabytes of unified memory and
two terabytes of SSD. But we are getting better battery life with the rating of 20 hours
versus 18 on the MacBook Air. The other advantage that we're getting with the Pro model is an
active cooling system. So, if you push this M1 chip to the limit for a prolonged period of time, naturally, the system is going to heat up. The MacBook Air will have
to throttle back performance in order to cool down, but the MacBook Pro can
just turn on the fan and then be able to
maintain that performance. Now, while I do think
that it's an advantage, you're not getting better performance, you're getting the same performance for a longer period of time, which I just don't see being a huge value for a large enough segment of the buyers. I think that you're much more likely to either be perfectly
fine with the MacBook Air, or want even more processing power and the additional features
on the next two models. I have a dedicated video talking about why I no longer consider
this 13.3-inch model to be a great value for most people. And if you're interested in learning more, I'll put a link to it in the description. Now, the one area where this laptop rules without question is battery life. And if that's your top priority, I can promise you that
you won't regret it. Okay, now we're really getting
into the higher end models, which is where Apple took
a major leap forward. And you're going to see that
the improvements go beyond just the processing power of
the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Starting with the
14-inch model, of course, we're getting a larger
display at 14.2 inches, so it's almost an inch
larger than the M1 models. It's also a Liquid Retina XDR display, which is powered by mini-LEDs, and it's the same type of display that we saw in the 2021
12.9-inch iPad Pro. I'll get into more of
the details in a minute, but let me just tell you that
this display looks amazing and it's noticeably better
than the two smaller displays. This is not a knock on the M1 MacBook, it's just one of those situations where these displays are
good and this one is great. We're getting a higher
resolution at 3024 by 1964 versus 2560 by 1600. We're also getting up to 1,000
nits of sustained brightness and then 1,600 nits peak
brightness for HDR content, which looks absolutely amazing. The last advantage that I wanna mention is that this is a ProMotion display, which is Apple's adaptive refresh rate. So the M1 MacBooks have a 60
Hertz constant refresh rate. On the 14 and 16-inch MacBooks, if you're doing something
like looking at static content on the web or reading a document, the display can lower the
refresh rate down to 24 Hertz and then save on battery life. If you're scrolling or
opening and closing apps, playing games or doing
anything where smoother motion would provide a better user experience, then the display can
ramp up the refresh rate to a more fluid and responsive 120 Hertz. When we look at the design, we're getting an even
more boxy MacBook Pro than the 13-inch model. Both are .61 inches or 1.5
centimeters in thickness, but the 13-inch model tapers
as you get to the edges and the 14-inch is the
same all the way around. It's also slightly wider and deeper and weighs 1/2 a pound
or .2 kilograms more. As far as the keyboard and the trackpad, we're getting the same amazing keyboard and the larger trackpad that
we had on the M1 MacBook Pro. We're also getting a full-height row, a function keys to replace the Touch Bar. And then finally, a
larger Touch ID button. The camera is also been
upgraded to a higher resolution, 1080P camera with better
low light performance. And if you wanna see a difference, check out my detailed comparison. The speakers are another
noticeable difference. And while I have no
issues with the speakers on the 13-inch model, these
are definitely better. When we look at the ports,
it's not even close. So we're getting three
Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on the right, two on the left. So you can now connect accessories and charge this MacBook from both sides. We're also getting an HDMI port and an SD card reader on the right, so it's less likely that
you're gonna need an adapter or a hub. And on top of that, we're getting a MagSafe
3 port on the left, so we can charge the MacBook without actually using any
of the Thunderbolt ports. And we're also getting protection against an accidental pull on the cable. If you're working with multiple SSDs, need access to a card reader and wanna add external displays
for a multi display setup, this upgrade is huge. And speaking of external displays, on the M1 MacBooks, you can connect one 60 Hertz, 6K display, on the M1 Pro chip with both
the 14 and the 16-inch model, you can connect two 60 Hertz, 6K displays. And then on the M1 Max chip, you could do three 60
Hertz at 6K displays, and then a four 60 Hertz, 4K display. So again, if you're a more demanding user, this is definitely a meaningful upgrade. I have six monitors on my
main workstation and the fact that a MacBook could even
come close is amazing. Since we brought up the two chips, the M1 Pro gives us the option
for eight or 10 CPU cores, a 14 or 16-core GPU. And you can go as high as 32
gigabytes of unified memory and eight terabytes of SSD storage. Let me just tell you that even the base M1
Pro model outperforms the M1 chip by about 29% with
six high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores versus four and four on the M1. And if you wanna learn more, check out this video right here. You can then upgrade to the M1 Max and all the way to a 32-core GPU and 64 gigabytes of unified memory, which would be an amazing
machine for the right user. To be crystal clear, this is far beyond what the
vast majority of users need, and no casual users should even consider this maxed out configuration, but those who need it are
going to absolutely love it. We're also getting an
upgraded act of cooling system with two fans instead of one. And I pushed both the
14 and 16-inch models to 100% CPU usage for 30-minute straight without any drop in performance. Now, there was a difference in how they handled the additional heat, so let's get to the 16-inch model. All right, so now we're
looking at the big boy. And, of course, we're
getting a larger form factor and a larger 16.2-inch monitor, but for the most part,
the features, functions and the configuration options are the same as the 14-inch model. A few other important
differences are the battery life where the 16-inch model
is rated for 21 hours versus 17 on the 14-inch. It also comes with 140 watt
charger, which is more powerful. As far as actually using the laptop, the keyboard is the same, but the trackpad is absolutely huge. I personally didn't think that I would like this larger laptop but in real life, it's been amazing. If the reduced portability and the larger form factor
are not an issue for you, and you need the higher performance of the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip, this is an absolutely fantastic laptop. As far as the chip itself,
there isn't a difference between the 14 and the
16-inch MacBook Pro, but the 16 does have a
larger thermal envelope, and it's better able to
handle the heat buildup. If you wanna learn more about that, check out my comparison of
the 14 and 16-inch model. Hopefully this video was helpful. Click on my face to subscribe. You know what I always say, buy it nice or buy it twice. Good luck and see you soon.
