MacBooks: Which Should You ACTUALLY Buy? 

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My machine has died and I'm doing my research on what to buy. I have to say that finding this channel has been an enormous help. Detailed, informed information from someone who knows what he's talking about and delivered without gimmicks or filler. There's a bewildering array of options out there and this channel brings some order to my thought process. 👍

Literally bought a 14in MacBook M3 Pro because of you and your videos last night!!!

I've never heard anyone recommend getting the base model of a MacBook, save the money you would have spent on upgrades, and upgrade the whole laptop more often. That's actually a great idea. For the record, I'm typing this comment on my base model M2 Air.

Love that you are straight to the point and so well-structured in your videos! It's very easy to follow. I also love that you include other non-apple options for people who like apple but are also consider other products with sometimes better cost/performance ratio.

Thank you for this video, it has exactly all the information I needed to consider in my purchasing decision

Bought a base M1 MacBook Air in the color I like. I use it for all the cloud work in a light weight and sturdy chassis. Great battery life and have had zero issues in the last week. Boots up faster than my Ryzen 5 Desktop too. So for anyone concerned about the 750 MacBook Air don’t be as long as most of your work is in the cloud. I also open like 20 tabs at a time and I am fine.

Hello, Josh. You are ruthlessly honest and that's good for customers which is so rare.

After watching your videos, I was looking for a refurbished M1 MacBook Pro to replace my 2016 old MBP. Luckily, I came across a heavily discounted 14” 2023 M2 pro w 1TB and 32GB… OMG, what a beast! this thing showed me how much time I was wasting on photo processing, now done in a fraction of time. Thank you so much for the very informative and unbiased videos. I’m sure many others are making more conscious and informed decisions when purchasing new tech, all thanks to you and your team! 👏

Excellent and honest Video! You are covering something what other channels do not speak about. Thanks Josh!

A very good, concise and "to the point" overview

I faced the upgrade dilemma when I wanted to by an M2 MacBook Air. I came to my senses and purchased a refurb'd M1 Pro MBP 14 (16GB/1TB) for less money.

Excellent review and information!!!!!!

Thanks very much, Josh, for an honest presentation of the facts on all of these machines. Your vast experience and practical wisdom certainly abet the buying decision process, giving both usable guidance…and comfort. So, bravo! If my major intent is to use the laptop at home 85% of the time, and mostly to do research, enjoy videos and movies, with what I believe the most demanding use being photo editing, i.e., Photo Shop, Luminar, Lightroom, etc., and perhaps some light video editing down the road, what would your recommendation be? As a PC user, would it be advisable at this point to make the jump to Apple for photography or could I invest in a high quality PC and be better off in terms of value? Also, I am a senior citizen with good, but not the best eyesight, so would a laptop with a larger monitor be a wise move, especially for PhotoEditing? If I were to offer you any recommendation to consider as you create more excellent videos, it would be to slow down a little. Thank you for a wonderful introduction to a topic and decision that has both stifled and confused me!

I bought m1 MacBook Air base model for software development and it works just great. You will here a lot of people on RU-vid recommend the MacBook Pro but if you are coming from a windows machine, even the air is a lot more powerful than a 16GB or 32GB RAM intel i9 windows laptop. The difference is very obvious. And if you are a web developer working mostly with JavaScript frameworks like React and Node then the M1 Air is more than enough. Don't waste your money on a Pro machine unless you are doing video editing or machine learning. Take my advice and just buy the air.

I can already see the new business plan you communicated to the audience bleeding into the videos, and it's pretty awesome. Having the sponsor not be the subject of the video really makes a difference (although trusting even a sponsored laptop review from you wasn't an issue; it's just different, if that makes any sense). I also love how you're promoting your website, and I'll be happy to give a little back to you at no cost to me by using an affiliate link when I buy a new machine. I can also see the difference in editing you guys are doing, including adding in the stock, but useful, b-roll that adds some personality to the video. If I can make one small request it would be, I think when you do the cut away a-roll shot to the other camera, if you look at the camera it would make such a big difference. Using that shot when you're looking straight ahead at the other camera, it just doesn't look as polished. And look, I am 100 percent certain you are far, far better at this than I could ever be, and I hope you don't take this suggestion the wrong way. And I also can only imagine how difficult it would be to plan exactly when you are going to cut away to the other camera (i imagine the choice of when to do so is made in post; my suggestion, therefore, may be unreasonably difficult to implement); I just thought I would mention it. Thanks for another awesome video, Josh. Have a great weekend man.

Just bought the M3 pro, 12 core, 18 gig memory 1TB 👌🏻

Very cool video and thanks for the info!

Thanks for this video man! Apples pricing model (schemes) just get me going back and forth on different models till I eventually just give up lol

Hi there! I'm looking to purchase my first Apple MacBook, and I'm interested in learning video editing using software like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe After Effects. Additionally, I want to dive into photo editing with Lightroom and Photoshop and then start my youtube channel. I'm aiming for a laptop that will last me at least 3-4 years. Currently, I'm using a Windows laptop for simple tasks like Word, Excel, and web browsing. Any recommendations or advice on which MacBook model would suit my needs best?

Great Video - Best I found - Thank you !!

Hey Josh, recommendation for a video - could you do a developer-centric video, especially for higher end MacBooks? Like I have an M1 Max with 64 GB RAM (I run a lot of VMs and also have been playing around with local LLMs) and it would be good to know comparisons to M2 and M3 Maxes in real world tasks for a developer that are CPU intensive, like building/compiling (maybe XCode and Android simulator build and launches), docker containers, etc to see if upgrading would ever actually be a benefit to my workflow (my guess is right now - probably not). I never see any youtubers doing software developer-centric "real world" videos, it's all final cut pro, photoshop, and other creative stuff. You're a former software dev though, so I feel you're probably best suited for the sort of comparison I'd love to see

Thanks for the great video 👍

Great video. Sounds like you've got feedback on your mic though dude

Thankyou for the help🙏🏻

I needed to see this. Thanks mate

GREAT video, incredibly informative

Very nice video John! Do you think 18 gb is enough to set up a windows virtual machine? Nothing too exaggerated, just to do some excel, medium spreadsheets... and few more things for windows...

Thanks for the comprehensive review. Got an M2 air at around 900 USD 2 months back, seems like the right choice.

Hey, Josh. Really loving this channel. Your honesty is very refreshing. Need a MacBook Pro for graphic design. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and maybe motion graphics. I’m also gonna also be using one for 3D rendering specifically for jewelry and watch design. And perhaps game development as well (Not for AAA games, so nothing crazy). Currently eyeing the MacBook Pro 16 with the M3 Max 40 cores, 48GB RAM, 1TB storage. Good enough?

"Go buy that laptop, you deserve it" Hahah love it. I was on the cusp of deciding on and buying a MBP 14" M3 - very glad I stumbled on your videos to make sure I choose the right one. Hello from the tech space in Sydney!

i really love how you mention the benefits to programmers. finally a tech reviewer that doesn't just go on and on about video export times

Thanks for the excellent video!

I watched many videos to tell me which MB would be the right for me and this is by far the best Video I watched in the last days.

Excellent video presentation!

Brilliant review!

I really love your videos! i was looking at the MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro for web design, video editing, and running Unreal engine. do you think i should go for the M3 Pro Max?

Thanks for the informative video, thinking about switching from a Lenovo linux laptop to MacBook. The comparison between the air and pro is very helpful.

Awsome video and production! Do you recommend a macbook pro for the use case of machine learning / deep learning? or do you think the dedicated gpu on windows laptops are still more powerful than the integrated gpus on the M* chips? Tank you and keep up the good work

Love to see a video comparing the m1 pro vs m2 pro vs m3 pro series and max series when it comes value in 2024.

You made a great point about the Air not getting warm to the touch. My M3 Pro gets at least 10 degrees warmer than my M2 Air did while doing the exact same task.

Wow, thanks so much for breaking down which laptops suit each profession best. Here I was trying to get a pro when I don't do any coding or real video editing. Thanks for saving me money!

This is the best laptop review channel. You value value and that's what it's all about for me. I hope your mother reads this comment and feel a little bit of pride. I bought a brand new heavily discounted 10-core M2 Pro 14" MBP because of you. It is replacing my 2017 13" MBP, which in turn had replaced a 2011 13" MBA.

Hi, John. I'm considering to buy my first MacBook after four years of working as a software engineer, my daily activities aren't too demanding, so should I go with the m3 16/512 or m1 pro model? 14" In my country, these two versions are priced the same.

Loved this. Got the new space black 14 pro since I work in post.

Excellent video very informative.

I got the m1 air with 16 gb of ram and no issues for years!

Josh, what a great channel you have

Great video. What if I'm rendering in 1080p? Is the M2 Max still faster in Premiere, Davinci and FCP compared to the M3 Pro?

Thanks for your video. I'm planning to upgrade my current MacBook Pro 13'' 2020 - Intel i5 / 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD. Since I still have an Intel processor to work in music production and it's not that bad for me, do you think I should upgrade to another Pro, or I would be fine with a MacBook Air 15'' - M2 / 24GB RAM / 1TB SSD? Sorry about posting a very specific question, but it might help anyone who still have Intel chips.

@justjoshtech Love your insight and intel (no pun intended) on this and direct to the point. After watching would you say that the 14" is better than this 16"? The 14" im looking at is a 14-inch MacBook Pro Apple M2 Max Chip with 12‑Core CPU and 30‑Core GPU - 32GB unified memory / 1TB SSD / 400GB/s memory bandwidth VS a 16-inch MacBook Pro Apple M3 Max Chip with 16‑Core CPU and 40‑Core GPU - 48GB unified memory / 1TB SSD / 400GB/s memory bandwidth. Its a difference of $800 plus the portability aspect of the 14 is more enticing. This is my one big purchase every 5 years and am struggling with which to invest in as a designer who is graphic illustrator now going into 3D and possibly video...I know to avoid the M3 Max 14's, so I figure the M2 Max 14's are a good purchase. Which would you choose? ....I see the Newer M3 Pros only have 150 CPU while the Older M2 Max has 400 CPU mem bandwidth...I should go M2 Max right? thanks so much.

Would you recommend the standard M3 MBP 14” but with the upgraded 24gb of ram?

Hey Josh. Looking to replace my 2013 MacBook Pro (yeah it lasted this long.) I use my laptop very often but really only use it laptop to watch Netflix/youtube and some occasional video editing. I have never been a huge fan of MacBook airs (I had many friends that had them and they just never felt right to me.) what would you recommend for someone in my situation?

I need it for app development (both iOS and android) and I need Xcode. Also I do CAD and heavy data processing for science stuff. Should I go M3 max?

Thank you I have an older intel MacBook Pro and want to upgrade. I am looking at the MacBook Air because I only do little vacation videos (just started with iMovie) and watching web content. Would this work a MacBook Air too much ?

Im Curious: I love LaTeX - is M1 macbook air good enough? I plan on getting an imac m3 for at home and m1 macbookairm1 for when im on the way

Thank bro. I almost get a M3 pro for video editing instead of M2 pro. Now I will get an M2 pro

I'm pretty worried about the soldered ssds and something about them failing due to shorting ground and rendering the laptop a paperweight. Seems to affect models from 2019 onwards, is this really as big an issue as some have made out?

I just got into college graphic design and I’m thinking on buying an m1 MacBook Air or an m1 MacBook Pro probably used or refurbished (2020 with Touch Bar) both base model, I don’t mind having an external ssd since I’ve always wanted to try a MacBook, in the case that I don’t like it I’ll just sell it and buy a windows pc. I was wondering if I’m making the right choice since I’m in a budget of max 1000 USD and if I end up selling the MacBook what windows pc would anyone recommend? Or should I stick with any of the two MacBooks I mentioned and upgrade the ram or the ssd?

I have also heard from people like MacBook M3 pro 14 inch when compared with 16 inch heating and also the sound quality is better managed in 16 inch Varsha it seems is it true what would you say on this and one more thing is I have bought M3 pro 16 inch now I am thinking should I return it and get 14 inch because for the same price I would be getting more storage in 14 inch I already bought a small adapter and put my SD card into the Mac now it's so good like the SD card will always be inside my Mac and it never comes out like that good it is, so what would you suggest should I keep it like that or I should not?

thanks for the great video! I'm curious for your take on the M1 Max chips in 2024. I would love to grab an M2 pro/max refurbished machine but it seems they're pretty hard to come by. looking at a few available refurbished M1 Max 32gb 1tb MacBook pros around $2000 though

You mention video rendering. Does that refer to when I’m compiling a video for export in DaVinci Resolve or drawing the detailed scenery in X-Plane 12, my flight simulator or both/neither?

My focus is on photo editing, video editing and 3d (blender) equally. M2 max or m3 pro?

Hi! If I found a really good price for the 14” M3 with 16GB RAM it’s still a bad choice?

i went with the 14” M3 pro 12/18 36gb configuration and couldn’t be happier with the choice on retrospect. Snappy, powerful, silent, all day battery life, portable and slick. Pretty much everything you could ever ask for in a laptop.

Good arguments. You deserve it!

what about if you do stock investing and use 2-27 " screens? I need about 30 gigs of ram to keep up with charts and multi functions

Never buy a laptop with 8 gb ram in 2024

I had filled the storage on my 2TB 13" M1 MBP so I wanted a 4TB machine. This was last December. I looked around and found that B&H Photo had a 4TB 64GB 16" M1 Max MBP for $3000, $1900 off the original price. I got it and have been quite happy with it. They don't have any more of these, so I am glad that I got it when I did.

I recommend the macbook air for programming as well

is it worth it to buy a mac book pro to to run windows via parallels?

I highly appreciate this guide, I got the M3 pro 14 with a $200 discount, fantastic laptop and the black color is so nice.

Do you recommend to buy the MacBook Pro 16 18GB/512GB? Because I’m planning to get Samsung T7 SSD 2GB

Just had to buy a laptop for woe and bought the MacBook Pro M3 base chip. Slightly impulsive buy…. Any other advice …?

Can you please advise which model is best for a PhD History student whose research involves opening many tabs on Safari and working with PDFs all day long. I don’t play games or render videos. I’m desperate for good advice as my MacBook Pro 2015😂 with 512GB is starting to show its age. I have about 190GB available in my hard drive. Thank you for your advice and this video.

This is by far the best comparison video of the M3 MacBooks. Now I have some clarity. Thank you.

I'm confused. Your M3 Pro outperformed your M2 pro during the Export Test. You say, the 14 M3 Pro is good but you will deal with slower rendering. But slower compared to what? The M2 Pro, which your test shows was slower? Also, why not the 14 M3 Max for video and graphic creators IF the priority is performance and portability. The downside of a hotter keyboard and shorter battery life does not seem like deal breakers. Thanks.

Can you comment on SSD speed between the M3pro with 11C (512gb SSD) and 12C (1tb SSD)? As far as I understood from searching online, the speed of the 1 tb version is much higher.

Hey Josh, you said that m3 pro is great for developers but you didn’t talk about memory. Is it enough the 18gb or should I go for 36gb?

This was the best video thx you!

I’m a programmer Which one would you recommend? MacBook Pro 16” with: M1 Pro, M3 Pro or M3? 16gb minimum of course

Man you are the real deal. Proper, solid, honest advice without any fanboying or anything like that. I'm gonna pick up an M3 Pro base model thanks to you!

Do you suggest to buy the m3 pro macbook instead of the m3 one , even for me who just have to use office and surfing on the net ?

great video

Oh my gosh thank you this video was so helpful I finally know which MacBook to buy you are the best RU-vidr ever not afraid to say bad things about a laptop and someone who I can trust

Should I get a base macbook air m1 or an intel/amd laptop?

Can you do an up to date buying guide for windows laptops. That would be useful as well

Absolutely LOVE this video! my question is, is it worth it to buy the 12 core M3 pro vs the 11 core? the testing provided shows essentially the same results

The audio was a bit echoey for a majority of video. Overall, the video is very informative, thank you! Glad your ma is proud.

Great review, especially for those who may be unfamiliar with Macs like myself. I'm a Windows guy who does freelance work, but I wanted to try developing on a MacBook to see what it's like. A couple days ago I ended up buying a 14" MacBook Pro with M3 Pro chip, 16GB RAM and 512GB storage on sale for $200 off at a local Microcenter. The build quality of these machines is fantastic. For my needs I think the specs are perfect.

I just got the 32 gb mem, 2TB storage configuration last week at best buy for $1400. I have the mac book pro 14 as well, and i can honestly say this one is a very strong competitor. I am loving it.

looking for a mac that can be used for editing with iMovie...would be using video clip contant stored on an external HD. Would also use Laptop to dump videos from GoPro and Digital cam to external. What would be the best low end ($$) Mac laptop that would work for me? I do not need to store much on the laptop itself. I use many external drives for storage. thanks

That was a fantastic video. Just nailed a MacBook Air M2 15 inch for $875 with 4 cycles on the battery. Yippy!

I am wanting to start a RU-vid channel and become a contact creator. What would you suggest as a bare minimum for my usage because I will be creating and editing videos on my laptop. My current laptop is it 2012 MacBook Pro with 8 GB of memory I cannot upgrade anymore from Big Sur.

Hey josh just bought the legion pro 5 ryzen 7745hx rtx 4060(black colour) , previously i was using the legion 2021 ryzen 7 5800h rtx 3060 version (white colour) from starting it was having some screen flickering issue, the screen and motherboard has been replaced by the lenovo mutiple times but they coudn't diagnose the problem and at the end i have to return it now with my new legion pro 5 im facing same issue idk what to do since i have just brough the laptop I have updated the laptop to the latest version but im still facing this issue idk if it is beacuse of the regional difference of the version. love from INDIA

Someone explain to me why all these expensive usb c / Thunderbolt docs don't have removable cables.

is M1 pro chip with 16go ram relevant today for things such as digital painting and multi windows opened ?

The MacBook Air M1 in my experience is actually still pretty solid for Mobile and Web Development. For context I’ll have 2-3 Ruby, Elixir or JavaScript API’s running locally, plus a couple React Based Apps. OR I’ll have 2 React Native Apps (running via XCode and Android Studio) along with the API that these Apps consume from. This is of course my personal machine, my work issued laptop was a MacBook Pro M1 Pro, and it was much faster when compiling and was able to do more multitasking (I.e me unnecessarily leaving a lot of other taxing things running in the background). But aside from that there wasn’t much speed benefits outside of compile times. Also, you’re likely doing doing whole recompiles of your application very frequently, so don’t expect a massive improvement unless your application is particularly demanding - which typically you don’t want your application to be, unless it’s something like a video game

I guess the base variant M3 Pro MacBook Pro if enough for most people I’m getting the same model but I’m planning to upgrade the SSD to 1 tb

I was so excited about the new Macbook Air's when they came out. But the only thing keeping me from buying one for myself is it's exorbitant price for what it offers. It's specs are egregious for what's considered a premium laptop. I would be way more excited for any Macbook if their base prices were about $300 less.