If you walk into an Apple Store, you will find a few MacBook options, with different sizes and hardware specifications. After factoring in their features, performance, and price tag, it can be difficult to find the right fit. We will provide you with some guidance to get the best MacBook model for your personal preferences and requirements in 2022:
M2 MacBook Air ($1,199): Balanced
The latest MacBook Air model is powered by the new, proprietary processor from Apple, which offers significant improvement in terms of computing and graphics performance over the earlier M1. It resembles the thin MacBook Pro model with the signature wedge-shaped design. On top of the 13.6-inch display that houses the 1080p front-facing camera. The base model comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB solid-state drive, which is suitable for balanced daily uses. A more expensive variant has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, which gives you more room for multitasking. The hardware is more than enough for casual uses, like typing, editing spreadsheets, and browsing the web. You can still use M2 MacBook Air for video editing and 3D gaming, but you should expect a longer rendering time and 30fps of frame rate for triple-A games from a few years ago at 1080p medium settings.
M2 MacBook Pro ($1,299): Daily driver
Despite its slightly higher pricing, the M2 MacBook Pro is lacking in certain features. It has a slightly smaller 13.3-inch display and there is no MagSafe. However, instead of the 8-core integrated GPU, you get 10 cores. This MacBook model also comes with a more robust cooling solution, so you can push the CPU and integrated GPU further, without causing them to overheat. Some people may discourage you from buying the M2 MacBook Pro, due to certain missing features and the fact it’s slightly more expensive. But if you use its graphics longer and harder, this MacBook model is worth the price.
M1 MacBook Air ($999): Budget
The older M1 MacBook Air is an excellent entry-level model that is suitable for many laptop users. It has only a seven-core GPU, but it’s still faster than many integrated graphics options. Despite the weaker hardware, it is still capable of light video editing tasks. Unfortunately, M1 MacBook Air has only passive cooling, so this MacBook model may start to throttle performance if you push it too hard. The basic $999 model has 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD, which is acceptable for some people. For $1,399, you will get a variant with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro ($1,999): High performance
These models still use the older M1 platform, but it’s not the same thing as the one in the budget M1 MacBook Air. Depending on the variants, you may get a GPU with 14 to 32 graphics cores. If you want a larger display, you may choose an M1 MacBook Pro with a 14-inch or 16-inch display. However, the upper-tier model with the best GPU and 16-inch display is sold for $2,499. The processing performance is comparable with other M1 MacBook models, but their graphical performance still outclasses the current M2 model. However, we could expect Apple to release an M2 processor variant with beefier graphics performance.
