- All right, so you wanna buy a MacBook, but there are so many
great options out there and you might be confused
about which one you should get. And don't worry, you're not the only one. The good thing is that there's one model that I don't really
recommend for most users and the choice becomes
a little bit easier. So let's talk about all
the important differences, this way you can have all
the information that you need to choose the right MacBook for you. We're going to start at the low end and then go ahead and go up in price. So the first option is the M2 MacBook Air. Of all the current MacBooks, this is the one that received the most updates this time around. It starts out at $1,199, which is actually $200 more
than the previous model was when it was released. For that extra money, you get
a new and more boxy design. So it's almost like you took one of the 14 or 16 inch MacBook Pros
and shrunk it down. And the result is an
extremely capable machine that's also super portable. If you're coming from any
of the MacBook Air models prior to the M1 version, you can forget everything that you know about those underpowered MacBooks. This one has the same M2 chip that you get in the 13 inch M2 MacBook Pro and the M2 Mac mini. So that's starting out
with an eight core CPU and an eight core GPU, and it can be upgraded to a 10 core GPU for an additional 200 bucks. This isn't really an upgrade
that I recommend to most users because the target audience
for the MacBook Air isn't likely to benefit from
the additional GPU performance. And I would prefer that you
upgrade other components and more on this later. Now, as far as the display, we're getting a new 13.6
inch liquid retina display, which is larger than the previous model and the current 13 inch MacBook Pro. It has smaller bezels. It's brighter than the M1 version. It's a P3 display, which
is a wide color gamut, and it supports one billion colors versus 16.7 million on the M1 MacBook Air and the M2 MacBook Pro,
which is really nice. So whether you're just using
this MacBook for school, for work, to surf the
web, or to watch content, this display is very good. And it's a noticeable upgrade
over the previous model. It's not as nice as the
14 or 16 inch displays, but we'll get to those in just a bit. And I'll also mention my thoughts about the notch in that section. Now, the speaker system
has also been updated on this MacBook Air, and
it's now hidden in the hinge. I was a little bit worried about these because it's a new design, but for laptop speakers,
they get plenty loud, they offer spatial audio, and they work well for watching movies, for playing games, or for video calls. Again, these aren't as good as the ones on the higher-end MacBooks, but they're pretty good
for laptop speakers. The camera was also upgraded
on this newer MacBook Air, and it's now 1080p. It's noticeably better than
the previous 720p camera. And when you combine the new hardware with the new ISP, or
image signal processor, on the M2 chip, you get
a better overall image with improved low-light performance. Now, the keyboard is excellent. It's a great size. There's no give when
you press on the board. The keys themselves are responsive, and they have a good amount of feedback. The trackpad is ever so slightly smaller than the one on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and it's absolutely outstanding. All of the trackpads in this lineup are extremely responsive and accurate. You can press anywhere, and they're the best trackpads
that I've used on any laptop. So really, the only
difference is the size. Now, as far as ports, we're getting two Thunderbolt
slash USB-4 ports, and they're both on the left side. Apple also added a MagSafe
3 port, which is great, because now you can safely
charge your MacBook Air. You don't need to worry about
an accidental cable pull by your dog sending your MacBook
Air flying across the room. I do wanna mention that
since all three ports are on the left side, you
can only attach accessories or charge your MacBook from one side. The advantage this MacBook has
over the 13-inch MacBook Pro is that you don't need to use one of the Thunderbolt ports to charge. So even if you're charging, you could still attach two accessories. Now, as far as configuration options, we start out with eight
gigabytes of unified memory, and you can upgrade to 16 or to 24. And for internal storage, we
start out with 256 gigabytes. We can go all the way to two terabytes. Since none of these
MacBooks can be upgraded, make sure that you get a configuration that will serve your needs
for the life of the device. For example, I would
upgrade to 16 gigabytes of unified memory instead
of adding GPU cores. And for internal storage, get as much as you need for
apps and for local files, and then supplement that with much less expensive external SSDs. You could easily get a fast
two-terabyte external SSD for under 150 bucks. Now, the M1 MacBook Air starts at right under 1,200
bucks in the Apple Store, and you can save 50 bucks if you use the links in the description. So with all the new upgrades, for the overwhelming majority of users who need a powerful,
light, and portable MacBook for their everyday school
or general business needs, the M2 MacBook Air is a great option. Moving up in price, we have
the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, which unlike the MacBook Air, didn't get any significant
upgrades other than the chip. So as far as the size and the shape, it's exactly like the previous model. It has a slightly smaller display than the MacBook Air at 13.3 inches, and it's the only display in
this lineup without a notch. We've got a great keyboard,
a slightly larger trackpad, and the one major difference is that this is the only
MacBook with a touch bar. I know that this is a touchy
subject for a lot of people, but I actually like it. I know lots of people don't, so you get to decide whether this is a pro or a con for this model. The camera is still the older,
lower-resolution 720p camera. The speakers are actually quite good, probably on par or slightly
better than the MacBook Air, but not really different enough for me to be able to pick them
out in a blind test. Again, we're getting two
ports on the left side, but there's no MagSafe port for charging. The maximum internal
storage is two terabytes, just like the MacBook Air, but you can only go up to 16
gigabytes of unified memory, which is less than the Air and kind of strange for a pro device. As far as battery life, it's rated for 20 hours
versus 18 on the MacBook Air, and while it has the same M2 chip, the advantage you get with the pro model is the active cooling system or a fan. If you plan on pushing the M2 to the limit for a prolonged period of time, the system will eventually heat up. The MacBook Air uses passive cooling, so it will eventually need
to throttle back performance in order to cool down and
then keep the chip safe. The MacBook Pro will
simply turn on the fan and be able to sustain performance. Now, keep in mind that you're not getting better performance than the MacBook Air, you're just getting the same single and multi-core performance for longer. Personally, I don't really see this as a big enough advantage for a large segment of the audience. Most people are going to benefit from the upgrades of the MacBook Air much more than they would from
this sustained performance, and the users that really need it should look at the 14 and 16 inch models, which offer significant
additional advantages. The 13 inch M2 MacBook
Pro starts out at $1,299, which is $100 more than the MacBook Air. And I wanna be clear that I'm not saying that this is a bad MacBook, and I absolutely love the battery life, but where it's positioned
in terms of price, it's missing features when you compare it to the MacBook Air while
being more expensive, and it's not far enough in price from the 14 inch MacBook Pro once you match up the unified
memory and internal storage. So it's not a great value for most users. You can also look at the
14 inch M1 MacBook Pro, which will essentially be the same price and a much better value, and you can learn more
about that in this video. As far as external display support, just like with the M2 MacBook Air, it only supports a single 6K
60 Hertz external display. But what if you want a
three display MacBook setup when you're on the go, or just working around the house with one of the higher end MacBooks, and you don't have room
for multiple monitors? That's where these AR
glasses are a game changer. These are the Nreal Air
from today's sponsor. They not only create
multiple virtual screens, they also make the size, distance, and position of the screens
flexible and adjustable. If you've seen my main setup, you know that I'm used
to multiple displays. And even with the 16 inch MacBook Pro, I still want more screen real estate. Maybe I'm doing research for a video and I want a couple of articles open, a Google doc, and a YouTube video. Or maybe I'm editing a video and I want multiple bins
open at the same time, and maybe a full screen preview. The Nreal Air glasses give
me that type of versatility without being tied to a desktop setup. I can be on a couch, in
bed, or at a coffee shop, plug them into my MacBook,
and I'm good to go. They are fully compatible with
the M1 and M2 chip MacBooks, and all you need to do is
just download the Nebula app. So if you're ready to take
your MacBook productivity and convenience to the next level, check out the link in the description for pricing and availability. And thank you to Nreal for sponsoring this portion of the video. So now it's time to talk
about the higher end MacBooks. And this year, Apple didn't
change anything about the design and instead focused on performance. With the 14 inch model, we're getting a beautiful 14.2 inch liquid retina XDR display,
which is powered by mini LEDs. It's the same display that
we had with the M1 Pro models and the same technology that we see with the 12.9 inch M1 and M2 iPad Pro. Now, even considering
the improvements we got with the new MacBook Air display, this display is very clearly better. And it's something that I still notice every time that I use it. It's got a higher resolution
than the two smaller MacBooks, and it also gets brighter with 1000 nits of sustained brightness and
1600 nits peak brightness for HDR content, which
looks absolutely stunning. Another important difference is that it's a ProMotion display, which is Apple's adaptive refresh rate. The two smaller MacBooks have a constant 60 Hertz refresh rate. The 14 inch automatically
adjusts in real time based on what you're doing. So if you're reading or
looking at static content, it can reduce the refresh rate to 24 Hertz and save on battery life. But if you're opening and closing apps, if you're scrolling through a website, if you're gaming or
performing any other task where smoother motion would
improve the user experience, then the display can
bump up the refresh rate up to 120 Hertz. Looking at the keyboard and the trackpad, we're getting the same
outstanding keyboard in terms of quality. And I like how the black anodized aluminum separates it from the rest of the frame. We're getting a larger trackpad. We go back to a full
height row of function keys instead of the touch bar. And there's a touch ID
button on the top right. In terms of design, it's boxy and similar to the MacBook Air. It's the same height as
the 13 inch MacBook Pro, but it's wider, deeper, and weighs a half a
pound or 200 grams more. When we look at the camera,
we're back to 1080p, just like with the MacBook Air. But as we look at the speakers, we're absolutely getting
a bump in quality. These speakers are louder
than the two previous models and the sound is fuller, warmer, and has more presence to it. As far as ports, we see
some meaningful upgrades that actually make this
more of a pro device than the 13 inch. We're getting three Thunderbolt 4 ports, one on the right and two on the left. So you can connect accessories and charge this MacBook from both sides. We're also getting an HDMI port and an SDXC card reader on the right, which means that I don't
need a hub or an adapter. And just like with the MacBook Air, we're getting a MagSafe
3 port on the left. So you can charge your MacBook while still using multiple accessories or multiple external displays. Now, remember that the MacBook Air and the 13 inch MacBook Pro can only support one external display. If you get the 14 inch
model with the M2 Pro chip, you can connect up to
two 6K 60 Hertz displays. If you get it with the M2 Max chip, you can connect up to
three 6K 60 Hertz display and then a fourth 4K 144
Hertz display over HDMI. So if you wanted to, you could set up a very powerful
and versatile workstation and then essentially use
this MacBook as a desktop. Now, speaking of the two
variations of the chip, the M2 Pro comes with either
a 10 or a 12 core CPU, a 16 or a 19 core GPU, up to 32 gigabytes of unified memory and as high as eight
terabytes of SSD storage. When compared with the M2 chip, the M2 Pro gives us the same
number of high efficiency cores but twice the number of
high performance cores. And we can see the difference
in the multi-core performance. We're also getting better GPU performance and faster memory bandwidth. If you need even better GPU performance, you can go with the M2 Max chip, which goes all the way
up to a 38 core GPU, 96 gigabytes of unified memory and even faster memory bandwidth. Keep in mind that that setup
would be complete overkill for the overwhelming majority of users. And at the same time, it would absolutely crush what
super demanding users need. Basically, if you don't know whether you need the M2 Max chip, you don't need the M2 Max. Now to handle all of
this improved performance and the heat buildup, we're getting an active cooling system with two larger fans than the
one fan on the 13 inch model. This easily keeps the temperatures down. And during my tests, I ran the 14 and the 16 inch MacBooks at 100% CPU usage for 30 minutes straight with no meaningful drop in performance. The only difference I noticed was how hard the fans had to work. And if you want more
information about that, watch this video. All right, so now we're
at the top of the list and we've got what might
be my favorite MacBook. It's definitely bigger and heavier, but the 16.2 inch display
is absolutely beautiful. Like the 14 inch and the
MacBook Air, it has a notch, but on all three models, it's pretty much always
covered by the menu bar and it's invisible when
I'm watching content. So it's not really something
that impacts any aspect of how I use these MacBooks. We're essentially
getting the same features and functions of the 14 inch, but the speakers are even better. These might actually be the best speakers that I've ever tested. And if you'd rather use wired headphones, all four models have a 3.5
millimeter headphone jack. We're getting the biggest track pad. And while the keyboard is the same size, the larger palm assembly makes typing more comfortable for me. When comparing prices, keep in mind that while it
has the same max configuration as the 14 inch models, it starts out with a 12
core CPU and a 19 core GPU, which are a $200 upgrade
on the 14 inch model. We're also getting a more powerful 140 watt power adapter
for super fast charging, which brings me to battery life. The 16 inch MacBook Pro is
the highest rated MacBook right now in terms of battery life. And here's how it compares
with the rest of the lineup. Now I've been using all four of these since they were released, and I can confirm that the
battery life is outstanding. With a typical workload, I have plenty of battery
left at the end of the day, regardless of which one of these I use. And it's really only during
days where I'm editing video or batch processing a lot of images that I noticed the additional capacity. If you don't absolutely need the latest and greatest MacBooks, I would also consider
looking at the M1 models, and I've made videos about those as well. Hopefully this video
helped you make a decision. Click on my face to subscribe and then watch one of
these detailed comparisons. You know what I always say, buy it nice or buy it twice. Good luck and see you soon.
