Thanks to the fierce competition, Apple is under more pressure to design the best Macs ever. As a result, we’re getting better and more powerful machines like the Mac Pro 2019, which is coming later in 2019 possibly alongside the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Would you recommend using a Mac for programming in the CS major? I really want the MacBook Pro, but I'm worried that I won't be able to use it for all of my programming courses since Apple is so exclusive with what programs you can run and all that crap.
In fact, if you’d rather not wait and want to get your hands on one of the best Macs now, there’s already quite a few excellent options to choose from, especially with Apple recently giving its MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Pro much-needed refresh.
To expand your choices further, the Apple computers are incredibly diverse. The best Macs cover everything from thin and light notebooks like the 12-inch MacBook, which is still on hand at third-party sites despite being discontinued, to professional workhorses like the iMac Pro.
Taking all these into consideration, it can be tricky choosing the perfect Mac for you. We put together a list of the best Macs we’ve tested ourselves – from iMacs to MacBooks – to help you with that important decision. Let’s dive in to all the best Macs you can buy right now, no matter your budget and use.
1. Mac Mini 2018
CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i3 – Core i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 8GB – 32GB | Storage: 128GB – 2TB PCIe-based SSD | Dimensions (W x D x H): 19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6cm
Hugely improved specs
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Expensive
Mac Mini fans, rejoice! The Mac Mini has finally been upgraded with modern hardware, ushering Apple’s smallest Mac to the modern age and naturally warranting it the top spot in our best Macs list. This tiny thing is packed with 8th-generation desktop processors, a ton of RAM and some of the fastest SSDs we’ve seen – all while keeping the same adored form factor. It’s a tad pricier this time around, but with the raw speed on offer, you’ll find that it’s worth the price increase.
Read the full review: Mac Mini 2018
2. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
Apple’s productivity machine gets the latest Intel tech
CPU: 9th-generation Intel Core i7 – i9 | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 555X – 560X, Intel UHD Graphics 630 | RAM: 16GB – 32GB | Screen: 15.4-inch, 2,880 x 1,800 Retina display | Storage: 512GB – 4TB SSD | Dimensions (H x W x D): 34.93 x 24.07 x 1.55cm
Powerful
Screen remains gorgeous
Lack of ports
If you want the most performance you can get in a MacBook without needing to pull off a heist, you’ll want to look into the MacBook Pro 15-inch. Now refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors and up to 32GB of RAM, you won’t be held back by anything you throw at it – especially now that you can get Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. With that kind of performance, the MacBook Pro takes a lofty spot on our best Macs list without breaking a sweat.
Experience precise grip for accurate navigation. The Zinc base improves stability and accuracy. Logitech trackball for mac.
6.Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac Trend Micro works well to identify 99.5% of infections as per AV-Test, so falls simply behind the top performers we’ve specified yet by a little edge. There is, nonetheless, a 30-day trial with a money back offer.
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Read the full review:MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
3. Apple iMac (27-inch, 2019)
Apple’s most affordable all-in-one
CPU: up to 3.6GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 570X – Radeon Pro Vega 48 | RAM: 8GB – 64GB | Screen: 27-inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display 5120 x 2880 | Storage: 1TB Fusion Drive – 2TB SSD | Dimensions (H x W x D): 51.6 x 65.0 x 20.3 cm
Stunning 5K display
SSD upgrades are expensive
The iMac has long been one of the cheaper ways to get into the macOS ecosystem, and we’re glad that hasn’t changed. Though what has changed, we also appreciate. The new iMac is packing with 8th- and 9th-generation desktop-class processors, letting this stylish all-in-one reach that fabled 8-core performance. If you’re looking for an all-in-one Mac, the new 27-inch iMac might just be the best Mac for you, at least if you’re on a budget.
Read the full review:iMac (27-inch, 2019)
4. MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch, mid-2018)
CPU: 7th-generation Intel Core i5 – 8th-generation Intel Core i5 | Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 – 655 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2,560 x 1,600 | Storage: 256GB – 2TB SSD | Dimensions (H x W x D): 30.41 x 21.24 x 1.49cm
Much more powerful
Keyboard learning curve
The biggest issue with the older MacBook Pro was that it was still packing Kaby Lake processors while its rivals had moved ahead. Luckily, the MacBook Pro 2018 changes everything, making it more powerful than ever. It still has the controversial Butterfly keyboard, but that’s also been improved so that its quieter and more reliable. It’s not hard to recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2018 to anyone looking for the best Macs.
Read the full review: MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13-inch, mid-2018)
5. iMac Pro
CPU: 8 to 18-core Intel Xeon W | Graphics: Radeon Pro Vega 56 - Radeon Pro Vega 64 | RAM: 32GB – 256GB DDR4 ECC | Screen: 27-inch 5K (5,120 x 2,880) Retina display (P3 wide color) | Storage: 1TB – 4TB PCIe 3.0 SSD | Dimensions (H x W x D): 65 x 20.3 x 51.6cm
Most powerful Mac you can buy
Very expensive
Professionals and creatives need something that can handle any workload they can possibly throw at it. If you’re one such user, the iMac Pro isn’t just one of the best Macs for you; it’s the only Mac to consider. Not only does it have a vibrant 27-inch 5K display with a P3 wide color gamut, but it also boasts the most powerful hardware Apple could get its hands on. It’s extremely expensive though, so it’s really only meant for folks who have deep pockets and need that unbridled power to get through their daily workloads.
Read the full review:iMac Pro
6. Apple MacBook Air (2019)
CPU: 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 617 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch (diagonal) 2,560 x 1,600 LED-backlit display with IPS technology | Storage: 128GB – 1TB SSD | Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56cm; W x D x H)
Lovely design
Fantastic battery life
Underpowered
Apple takes the MacBook Air (2018) and gives it a bit of refresh, adding True Tone technology to its display and an even more reliable keyboard. Unfortunately, it hasn’t upgraded the specs – which actually leads us to think that there might be a bigger update by early 2020. However, to be fair to this refresh, the 2018 version has already made our list, so this improved version is just as deserving or more so. But the best part is yet to come: this refresh is even cheaper, so you’re definitely getting more value for less.
Best Mac Computer Deals
Read the full review: MacBook Air (2019)
7. MacBook (2017)
Small and stylish
CPU: Dual-core Intel Core m3 – Core i5 | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 12-inch Retina (2,304 x 1,440) IPS | Storage: 256GB – 512GB PCIe SSD | Dimensions (W x D x H): 11.04 x 7.74 x 0.14~0.52in
Incredibly portable
Too expensive
While Apple has officially taken the MacBook out of its MacBook lineup, many third parties are still carry it. And because the 12-inch MacBook has found its niche as an ultraportable and lightweight laptop, it’s still deserving of a spot on our best Macs list… that is, until stock runs out. It’s low on ports, but that’s hardly a surprise in a laptop this thin. It can support basically everything under the sun with its Thunderbolt 3 port, anyway. It’s not as powerful as the MacBook Pro, but if you’re looking for a MacBook that’s easy to take with you wherever you go, look no further.
Read the full review: Apple MacBook (2017)
Michelle Rae Uy, Bill Thomas and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article
Picking the best laptop for college can make all the difference. Take a look at some of our favorites, and why you may consider picking one up for your next semester.
Most individual computing tasks don’t require a specific operating system or brand anymore. With many tasks becoming browser-based and the line between Windows and OS X becoming less relevant every day, the lines in the sand about what computer you should take to school have been significantly diminished. Instead, the challenge in deciding what laptop would serve you best now depends more on hardware. Battery life, whether or not you need touch, and screen size and quality now have a much greater influence in the decision. With that in mind, we’ve put together a quick list of which laptops would be best for your day-to-day needs based on those categories. (Note: we didn’t factor in specific school requirements, these are the general, all-around best laptops for college students that we could think of.)
Best Mac For Computer ScienceThe secret weapon: Chrome OS
Maybe you’ve got a powerful desktop that you built yourself, and so don’t need a laptop to handle every single task in your world. Maybe your school is super cool and lets you write everything in Google Drive instead of requiring Microsoft Office, so you can use a browser-based OS that lets you move every aspect of your schoolwork to the cloud. Or maybe you’re just not attached to any one particular OS, and do everything in the browser already anyway. Chrome OS is a good all-around idea for school, as most of the hardware running this lightweight OS can be picked up for about $300.
Chrome OS puts everything in the browser, so as long as you’re connected to the internet you’ve got access to the same web experience found on any other computer. The advantage here is the inexpensive parts used to drive most of these laptops. While you could go all out and drop $1500 on the Chromebook Pixel, the most common versions of Chrome OS hardware exist in the much cheaper Samsung and Acer Chromebooks. These cheaper experiences offer 6-8 hours of battery life and are quite light. You also never have to worry about anything happening to your data of your Chrome OS laptop gets in an accident, which could be the most important feature for the forgetful student.
Today the best-selling Chromebook is Samsung’s 11.6-inchExynos 5000-powered system ($249) and the Acer C7, while the newest, best performing models should be the new Haswell systems. These Chromebooks, which were just announced last week, include the Acer Chromebook and the HP Chromebook14. More details on them should be available soon.
The standard: Windows ultrabooks and convertibles
Windows has, and for a long time will likely remain, an OS with many different kinds of hardware. Right now in particular, with Microsoft shaking things up a bit through Windows 8, there’s a lot of different kinds of hardware to choose from when it comes to picking a Windows machine. Sorting through all of these odd looking machines in search for a winner can be a challenge unless you know exactly what you’re looking for. For most people, it comes down to battery life and the weight of the device itself.
Intel’s massive push into what they call “ultrabooks” has created a surplus of thin and light laptops that are perfect for school. Unfortunately the thinner you make a computer the more you sacrifice, and a lot of the early Ultrabooks took a hit when it came to battery life or screen quality. Fortunately, we now live in the wonderful world of Haswell, and those problems are slowly going away. Ultrabooks with a Haswell-based Intel processor are going to offer much better battery life than their predecessors, and still be able to deliver a great computing experience. Currently the Asus Zenbook UX 301 and 302 ultrabooks are some of the best on the shelf, offering a high quality display and a great overall experience.
The addition of touch is one of the most interesting changes to Windows 8. The ability to reach right out and touch your screen feels a lot more natural now in such a smartphone saturated world, and the latest version of Windows really gives you a reason to consider making it your default input mechanism. There are some laptops that now focus directly on touch, with the added flexibility of using them as a traditional laptop if you need to. These machines are commonly known as “ultrabook convertibles”, because they either are able to bend all the way back on themselves (to use as a tablet) or the screen can detach from the keyboard to use as a tablet. Many of these machines come with a Wacom stylus, which when combined with the handwriting recognition of Windows 8 turns them into fantastic note taking machines. Chief among these machines is the Lenovo Yoga 2, a Haswell-powered convertible ultrabook, that can fold back on itself as well as function as a regular laptop.
The student’s choice: MacbooksMac Desktop Computers Best Deals
Of course if you’d rather avoid confusing version names and really have no love of touch on your laptop yet, you could just get a Macbook. Apple’s laptop line is very straightforward, and there’s some clear benefits and drawbacks to each of their models for students.
If you’re looking for battery life, you couldn’t ask for much better than the 2013 Macbook Air. This incredibly thin machine will get you through a whole day of classes without needing to bring out the power cable, and it’s light enough that you can sling it in your backpack when you’re rushing out the door with no problems. The display on this Air is the lowest quality of all the Macbooks as a trade-off, but it’s decent enough to get things done.
The Retina Macbook Pro is a great all-around machine, striking a decent balance between display quality and battery performance. You won’t get a whole day out of either the 13-inch or 15-inch version of this laptop, but the display is one of the best in current generation laptops. It’s heavier than the Macbook Air, and nearly twice as thick, but in exchange you get the ability to add more RAM, more storage options, and an overall more powerful computer. If you’re looking for one machine to handle all of your needs, including maybe a little casual gaming, this could easily be the machine for you. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a top pick for college students because of its excellent cross of price, performance, battery life, features, and support.
Best Mac For Computer Science MajorThe best laptop for your studentApple Mac Computers Best Price
Picking the best computer for college is a as simple as knowing what all the best options are, and what kind of user you are buying for. Your portable computer needs could be minimal, or you could want to make your laptop the only computer you need. You may be interested in touch, or you may just want the longest battery life you can get without sacrificing too much else. Either way, there’s at least one great option out there for you.
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