The Best MacBooks, Tested By Tech Experts
These laptops are great for students and professionals alike.
Tested by Alec SchermaTest Engineer
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Extreme speed, intense power, and long-lasting battery life are just a few of the things that make some of the newest MacBooks a great option for your next laptop (and why we ranked a MacBook as our best overall laptop of last year). Whether you're looking for the best laptop for school, the best MacBook for video editing, a computer for new students, or a MacBook for office work, you'll be able to find the right MacBook for you on our list.
To pick the best MacBooks, the experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Media & Tech Lab evaluated the battery life, processing speed, screen and laptop size, webcam quality, display quality, screen brightness, and more features of a variety of MacBook models. We also considered the price and which laptops are best for certain ages. Ahead, check out the three best MacBooks our tech pros recommend.
Pros
- Magsafe charger
- Liquid Retina Display
Cons
- Fanless configuration so can get hotter than typical laptops with fans
Most day-to-day users will adore this MacBook Air. Its slim size, intuitive features and light weight make it great as a graduation gift, birthday gift, for new students or for streaming your favorite shows on Netflix.
While testing, our pros found that it's best for most day-to-day tasks, is very fast and a comfortable size. We also appreciated the larger function keys and found the audio had a good range. It's a great option for those with less heavy-duty tasks, but won't be able to process more complicated things that video editors may require (like the larger MacBook Pros will with their additional power and extra ports).
Like some of the other picks on this list, this laptop features a magsafe charger, so when you inevitably walk into your charger cord, it will simply pop free from the laptop and you'll avoid tripping yourself and sending your MacBook crashing to the floor. Weighing in at just 2.7 pounds, it's comfortable to travel with and slim enough to store in almost any bag. Compared to the 2020 MacBook Air, this updated version has a larger display (13.6 to the 13.3 inch), a magsafe charger, up to 1.5x as much memory space, a lighter and thinner design, brighter screen and a liquid retina display that provides even better color contrast and higher quality image.
Its most important upgrade is the 10-core GPU from the 2020's 7-core, which helps improve the efficiency and performance and is up to 1.4x faster than the M1, according to Apple (and 15x faster than the Intel-based MacBook Air). Plus, this version functions without a fan so it's quiet as a mouse.
| Display size | 13.6 inches |
| Brightness | 500 nits |
| Display | Liquid Retina Display |
| Camera | 1080p HD |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Pros
- Under $1000
- Long battery life
Cons
- M1 chip is not as efficient as M2
For a more budget-friendly option, the 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip will do the trick.
Like the updated version with an M2 chip, this laptop has some cool features including a fingerprint touch ID, up to 2TB storage space, up to 18 hours of battery life and a plethora of built-in accessibility features for vision, hearing, mobility and more. True Tone technology means the screen adjusts to your environment so the color temperature of your screen is the most comfortable for your viewing experience.
Also like the M2, this laptop is incredibly fast and efficient, so you'll have no trouble streaming your favorite shows, knocking off some of those tasks on your to-do list or scrolling through your favorite sites. Unlike the upgraded version, however, this MacBook does not feature a maglock charger and only has 7-core GPU compared to the M2's 10-core so it is slightly less efficient.
The slightly less impressive webcam and smaller screen are two of the things you'll have to sacrifice to get this sleek MacBook for under $1000, but overall, it's a great option if you want to save a few bucks while still working on a fast and effective laptop. Like the M2, this pick is probably not your best choice if you need more power to do more intensive tasks but is great for most everyday users.
| Display size | 13.3 inches |
| Brightness | 400 nits |
| Display | Retina Display |
| Camera | 720p HD |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Pros
- Includes three thunderbolt ports, a Magsafe charger, headphone jack, SD card slot and HDMI port
- Extremely powerful
Cons
- Heavier and larger than other options
This powerhouse of a computer can manage some pretty hefty tasks, making it a great option for professionals who need a bit more power with their laptop. With three USB-C thunderbolt ports, a Magsafe charger, headphone jack, SD card slot and HDMI port, you'll never struggle to attach all your externals at the same time.
The screen is over twice as bright as the MacBook Air M2 and features Liquid Retina XDR display which is higher resolution and brighter than other MacBook's Liquid Retina display (and even higher than the typical Retina display). While testing, our experts found the screen to be a good size and have more display space than previous Pros, and appreciated the depth of the sound quality. We also liked the larger function keys. This laptop features the M2 chip that makes the Air so speedy, so you'll be able to run a variety of tasks at the same time without worry.
The slightly smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro is also a good pick that's a bit more affordable and features a touch bar (we ranked it amongst our favorite overall laptops), but it lacks a MagSafe charger and only features two thunderbolt ports which can be tricky if you're trying to connect more than one external at a time.
While testing, we found that the larger 16-inch is best for those like video editors who might benefit from a larger display, twice as much memory as the 14-inch, more storage space, longer batter life and larger speakers. However, these benefits do come with a sizable price tag and a more inconvenient size.
| Display size | 14.2 inches |
| Brightness | 1000 nits |
| Display | Liquid Retina XDR Display |
| Camera | 1080p HD |
| Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
How we test MacBooks
The Good Housekeeping Institute's pros have reviewed all your favorite tech products, from wireless earbuds to gaming consoles, and of course MacBooks.
Our experts test the CPU and GPU capabilities of each laptop, file transfer speeds and running temperature, as well as start up, program start and turn off times. We also evaluate things like audio quality and volume-to-screen and weight-to-screen ratios, plus viewing angles. When it comes to picking our favorite MacBooks, we take into consideration everything that matters to our users, from battery life to number of available ports to customer support options.
What to consider when shopping for a MacBook
Before picking out your new computer, here are few things you may want to consider.
✔️ Purpose: How powerful your laptop needs to be depends on what tasks you plan to use it for. Those with more intense tasks like large video editing or heavy coding may want a computer with more power to back up their projects.
✔️ Size: Larger computers are great for people who want bigger screens and speakers to see and hear more intensely, but will be more difficult to tote around with their added size and weight.
✔️ Speed: While any MacBook with a M1 chip or higher will have more speed than the average user will ever need, there's nothing more annoying than waiting around for your computer to download files. The more cores a CPU (central processing unit) has, the more work your computer can do at one time and therefore do its job faster. All of our picks have at least 8+ cores.
✔️ Webcam: Online students and work-from-home professionals might be spending more time on their webcam than they will in person, so getting a good camera is more important than ever. All of our picks feature cameras with over 720p HD video, but some are stronger than others.
✔️ Ports: Professionals that need to connect a variety of externals to their laptop will appreciate a computer than has multiple ports and spaces for everything from SD cards to HDMI cords.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
The Good Housekeeping Institute Media & Tech Lab tests a variety of electronics of all sorts. We provide expert reviews and advice on all things tech including smart glasses and home robots.
In his role as test engineer, Alec Scherma brings all his mechanical engineering knowledge to help rigorously test new products. To write this guide, GH Institute analyst Jamie Spain worked with Alec to research and vet the best MacBooks on the market.
Alec Scherma (he/him) is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s test engineer, where he helps to create and implement new product testing methodology across home, cooking and cleaning appliances, wellness, tech products and more. He graduated from Drexel University’s College of Engineering with a B.A. in mechanical engineering.
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