Very often, many users who want to buy a laptop from Apple, wonder: "Which MacBook to choose?" And indeed, everything is not as simple as it might seem. A variety of models of "apple" devices is full, and they are all very similar in their characteristics, but they differ markedly in price. In today's article, we will take a closer look at some of the most interesting and best Apple laptops that you can definitely buy.
Apple MacBook Air 13 (MMGF2)
The first model that comes to mind when asked "which MacBook to choose" is, of course, the MacBook Air 13. This laptop can be safely called the most balanced and popular among all Apple devices in the budget segment of the company. It is not only perfect for home use and work, but also will be a great device for travel and travel.
Scope of delivery and appearance
The laptop comes in a relatively small branded box of white color, on which there are images of the model itself. Also on the package are the main characteristics of the device and key features. The delivery package is as follows: Apple MacBook 13 Air laptop , user manual, warranty card, network cable with power supply, plug and, in fact, everything.
It's hard to find fault with the appearance of a laptop , because it looks very healthy and beautiful. The case is made of metal and has a pleasant to the touch texture. On the top cover is traditionally the company logo in the form of an apple that glows when turned on.
On the left side there is a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a jack for a network power cable. On the right side is a card reader, another USB port version 3 and a Thunderbolt 2.0 connector.
As for the laptop screen, it has a diagonal of 13.3 inches and a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. The matrix type is TN + film, and the pixel density is 127.7ppi. Apple is very famous for its well-calibrated and customized screens, so here everything is on top with picture quality. Color reproduction is good, correct, there is a margin of brightness and contrast, and everything is in order with saturation. The only negative that is worth noting is the glossy finish of the display. Fingerprints remain on it, and they are visible to the naked eye.
Well, in conclusion, a little about the keyboard and touchpad. In principle, here too everything is more than standard for the company. The keyboard is "stripped down", without a numeric keypad, but the layout of the keys is spacious and incredibly comfortable. The buttons have a not too big, but very clear move, and each click is accompanied by a pleasant click. In terms of ergonomics - a solid five. Those who work a lot with the text will obviously be pleased.
The touchpad is also very interesting and convenient. The finger glides on the surface easily, there is support for gestures. Buttons are also pressed easily and nicely. Another plus of the touchpad is its size - it is larger than in any other laptop, which makes the process of using it even more comfortable.
Characteristics
The MacBook runs on the Intel Core i5 5250U processor. The processor is dual-core, with a frequency of 1.6 GHz. There is an automatic overclocking mode in which the frequency increases to 2.7 GHz, which is very good. The CPU also has a third-level cache of 3 MB in size.
The memory in the laptop is 8 GB, and there is no possibility to expand this amount. RAM works at a frequency of 1600 MHz. The storage uses a 128 GB solid-state hard drive (SSD).
Unfortunately, the laptop has an integrated video card, Intel HD 6000. It does not have its own video memory, so it will subtract some part from RAM.
The operating system is on a Mac OS X laptop, not Windows, as many might have mistakenly thought. The fact is that Windows is not installed on the MacBook, this is Apple's policy.
Well, in the end, a little about autonomy. The laptop battery has a capacity of 4900 mAh. After fully charging, the device is able to work up to 12 hours, which is an excellent indicator.
Reviews
The reviews on this laptop show that the MacBook Air is an excellent and balanced device in all its characteristics, with good speed and performance. Especially users note the high autonomy and excellent build quality of the model. As such, the laptop does not have flaws. Unless the screen is Retina, and the price could have been lower (75 thousand rubles).
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (MPXT2)
Continuing the topic of “Which MacBook to choose,” we move on to the next model, the Apple MacBook Pro 13. This laptop is already considered a class higher than the previous one. There is also a Retina display, and the processor is more powerful, and the performance is higher, in general, better in all respects, only it costs more.
Options and appearance
The laptop is on sale in a small company box of white color. Inside the package is the following delivery: warranty card, instructions, MacBook Pro 13 laptop and network cable with power supply and plug.
Externally, the laptop looks very cool, even better than the Air version. The case is still made of metal and painted in silver. On the bottom of the laptop you can find only rubber legs, and the lid, according to tradition, is decorated with the company logo.
Of the jacks on the right side, there is only 3.5 mm for headphones. On the left are 2 USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 3). As you can see, there are no classic USB 3 ports here, so you need to use third-party USB hubs to connect the same flash drives.
Now you can go to the display. Immediately minus for the glossy finish, which will always remain fingerprints. Fortunately, this is the only drawback of the screen. The Retina display has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and a diagonal of 13.3. The pixel density is 227 ppi. The type of matrix is IPS. In terms of image quality, there are no complaints at all. The picture is very clear, bright, saturated, with rich colors, correct and natural color reproduction. There is a margin of brightness, there are no problems with contrast.
As for the keyboard, it is, as always, excellent. The layout is a little denser than the previous model, but still the distance between the buttons is enough not to press two keys at once. If we talk about the presses themselves, then the buttons have a small, but very confident and clear move. The sound from touching is almost inaudible, which is certainly a plus.
The touchpad is much larger than the Air version, making it virtually fully capable of replacing the mouse. There is huge support for gestures and combinations of taps to perform certain functions. Also in this touchpad Force Touch technology is implemented, which, in essence, is a rejection of the usual buttons. Instead, there are special sensors that measure the force of clicks and perform appropriate actions. It is very convenient and to some extent even better than a classic mouse.
Laptop specifications
It's time to move on to the specifications of the Apple MacBook 13 Pro. The processor here is from Intel, the i5 7360U model with two cores and four threads. The clock frequency is 2.3 GHz, and in automatic overclocking mode - 3.6 GHz. There is a cache of the 3rd level, its size is 4 Mb.
RAM in a laptop 8 GB, without expandability. It works at a frequency of 2133 MHz, which is an excellent indicator.
Integrated graphics card - Intel Iris Plus 640, without its own dedicated memory.
The hard drive of the MacBook is solid-state, at 256 GB. The ability to put another one, alas, is not provided, so only the option with replacing the drive with a more capacious one is possible.
As the OS is the proprietary Mac OS Sierra, which has many useful and interesting "features", as well as chic optimization.
Summarizing the technical part, it is worth noting this: the system works very fast, without any delays or slowdowns. The laptop has a good level of performance - it is suitable not only for home use, but also as a device for video editing, working with photos and even 3D graphics. In conclusion, a few words about autonomy. The MacBook Pro 13 battery has a capacity of 6580 mAh, which allows the laptop to work on a full charge a little more than 10 hours. Given the characteristics and capabilities of the model, this indicator can be considered very good.
Notebook Reviews
Reviews on the laptop show that the model "MacBook Pro 13" turned out to be very successful, interesting and with excellent characteristics, but not without drawbacks. So, users note the absence of conventional USB ports, only 2 USB-C ports, easily screened cover, strong heating during long-term operation (additional cooling stand is needed), lack of an HDMI port, not very successful charging technology and high price. The rest is no complaints.
Apple MacBook Pro 15 (MPTU2)
Well, the last one for today is the MacBook Pro 15 laptop. Another representative of the Pro line, which deserves attention. It has a larger screen, even better performance and features, an incredibly high-quality screen and much more. More details below.
Notebook delivery set and its appearance
It makes no sense to write about packaging, since it is the same as above, so you can immediately go to the package. Inside the package, in addition to the MacBook Pro 15 itself, there is a network cable with a power supply, a plug, a user manual and a warranty card.
You also don’t have to dwell on the appearance and design, since it is almost the same laptop as the previous one, only slightly larger. The case is also metal, everything is assembled perfectly, the only thing is the color is different - it is lighter.
As for the elements and their location, then almost everything is unchanged. On the right side are 2 USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) and a 3.5 mm headphone input. On the left side are 2 more USB-C (Thunderbolt 3) and that's it. There is no disk drive, card reader, or anything else here, as before.
Retina-screen has a diagonal of 15.4 inches with a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels and a pixel density of 220 ppi. Type of IPS matrix. There are no complaints about the quality of the display. The matrix is tuned and calibrated very accurately. Colors are transmitted correctly, contrast, saturation and brightness are at a very high level. The display will definitely appeal to those who work with photos or vector graphics. Unfortunately, the screen has a minus - a glossy finish. Probably Apple will never give it up. Anyway.
There is no point in talking much about the keyboard and touchpad, because they are actually the same as the previous model. The layout and layout are identical, the buttons have a short but clear move, which is accompanied by a click. Using the keyboard is convenient, and those who type a lot will definitely appreciate it.
As for the touchpad, it is even slightly larger than in the Pro 13 laptop, but it is made using the same Force Touch technology, with all its chips, comfort and convenience.
The only thing else in this model is the touchbar, a strip above the very top row of keyboard buttons. By itself, this touchbar is a small touch panel on which, depending on the situation, various controls appear. For example, when watching movies on the touchbar, a time bar is displayed, with which you can rewind. Useful thing.
Features MacBook Pro 15
The device runs on a quad-core Intel Core i7 7700HQ processor. In addition to 4 cores, there are also 8 threads here, which will be a huge plus in applications for 3D-graphics or the same video editing. The CPU clock speed is 2.8 GHz, and in automatic overclocking mode it is 3.8 GHz. The size of the cache in the second level is increased to 1 MB, and the cache in the third level has a volume of 6 MB.
The RAM on the MacBook Pro 15 is as much as 16 GB. Opportunities for expansion, as always, no. RAM operates at a frequency of 2133 MHz.
The video card, finally, is discrete - AMD Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB of memory on board. However, a discrete “vidyuha” is also here - this is Intel HD 630, without its own memory.
The drive is traditionally installed solid-state, but only 256 GB, and without the ability to add another disk. Expectations from a laptop above class are somewhat different. Of course, I would like the SSD to be at least 500 GB, but alas, that is, that is.
The operating system of the model is the same as above - Mac OS Sierra. Everything works quickly, smoothly, without brakes and freezes.
In general, with regard to overall performance, the laptop is just great. It can be safely used for work in heavy applications, especially where multitasking is required.
If we talk about battery life, then everything is not bad here either. The battery has a capacity of 6320 mAh, which allows it to work on a full charge of 5-6 hours.
User reviews
MacBook Pro 15 reviews are mostly positive. Owners note the excellent screen of the laptop, its characteristics, performance, a comfortable keyboard and touchpad, but at the same time there are some disadvantages. The first is the lack of HDMI, DisplayPort and USB 3 ports. The second is the easily screened screen. The third is the lack of a charging indicator and Magsafe charging technology. Fourth - the touchbar is not very convenient during intensive work. And the last - the price is from 140 to 200 thousand rubles.
Conclusion
Which MacBook to choose from today? Well, here, perhaps, everyone should decide for himself on the basis of their requirements and financial capabilities. If you need a not-too-expensive and compact device for everyday tasks, then the MacBook Air will be a good choice. If you need a laptop with better performance and for more serious tasks, then you should pay attention to the Pro 13 and Pro 15 models, which without problems will satisfy most of the requirements and are suitable for virtually any task.