Choosing the Right MacBook for College: A Guide by Apple Insider

Hey everyone, it's Andrew from Apple Insider, and you're about to head to college and you're looking for which MacBook is best to get you through your college years. In this video, we're going to break down which machine you should get and any customization options that you should use, and the best way to save the most money on those machines.

So, there are a lot of different Macs out there, and the MacBook that we recommend for 95 percent of you out there is going to be the 1.1 gigahertz quad-core i5 MacBook Air. This is absolutely the best bang for your buck, and it's perfectly suited for college. It's going to be powerful, it's got the new 10th generation Intel chips inside, and if you compare it to the entry-level MacBook Air, it's $300 more but it doubles your SSD from 256 to 512, goes from an i3 to an i5 processor, getting you better power, and you're going from a dual-core to a quad-core machine. So, there's a huge difference between that entry-level MacBook Air and that mid-tier MacBook Air with the 1.1 gigahertz quad-core i5 processor.

If you want to get a little bit more speed out of your machine and don't mind spending a little bit more, you can drop an extra $150 to go from an i5 to an i7 processor. Or, if you're doing graphics work, anything with video or photos that you really want to make sure is nice and smooth, then you can opt to double the RAM which will go from 8 to 16 gigs, and it's going to cost you $200 more. Those are two upgrades that we'd consider if you're looking to get a little more power out of your machine or you're looking for a little bit better graphics without having to jump up to one of the Pro models.

Now, not only that, but because of Apple's education discounts, these deals can be even more affordable. And, as always, there are always deals going on with all of Apple's gear, which is why we have a daily updated price guide. So, if you want to check out the latest deals and prices on all of Apple's gear, be sure to check out our price guide.

Recommended Machines

So, what are the recommended machines for college? Well, for power, we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the 1.1 gigahertz quad-core i5 processor. This machine is going to get you a lot in terms of performance and portability. It starts off at $2,600, but thanks to Apple's education discounts, it can go down to around $2,400. And, as always, there are deals going on all the time, so be sure to check out our price guide for the latest prices.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, we recommend the 1.1 gigahertz quad-core i5 MacBook Air. This machine is still powerful and will get you a lot done, but it's going to cost less than the MacBook Pro. It starts off at around $1,400, but again, thanks to Apple's education discounts, it can go down to around $1,200.

What Do You Guys Think?

We want to know what you guys think! Which MacBook are you picking up for college? Let us know over on Twitter at @Andrew__OSU. We'll catch you guys in the next video when did you guys like that video? Be sure to click on that like button so we can create content that we know that you guys want to see.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everyone it's andrew from apple insider and you're about to head to college and you're looking for which mac is best to get you through your college years in this video we're going to break down which machine you should get and any customization options that you should use and the best way to save the most money on those machines so let's go ahead and just dive right into this there are a lot of different macs out there and the mac that we recommend for 95 percent of you out there is going to be the 1.1 gigahertz quad-core i5 macbook air this is absolutely the best bang for your buck and it is perfectly suited for college it's going to be powerful it's got the new 10th generation intel chips inside and if you compare it to the entry level macbook air it's 300 more but it doubles your ssd from 256 to 512 it goes from an i3 to an i5 processor getting you better power and you're going from a dual core to a quad core machine so there's a huge difference between that entry-level macbook air and that mid-tier macbook air with the 1.1 gigahertz uh quad-core i5 processor now if you want to get a little bit more speed out of your machine and don't spend don't mind spending a little bit more you can drop an extra 150 to go from an i5 to an i7 processor or if you're doing graphics work anything with a video or photos anything like that that you really want to make sure is nice and smooth then you can opt to double the ram which will go from 8 to 16 gigs and it's going to cost you 200 more so those are two upgrades that we'd consider if you're looking to get a little more power out of your machine or you're looking for a little bit better graphics without having to jump up to one of the pro models not only that but because of apple's promotions right there you can get a hundred dollars off out of the gate for being a student and right now you can get a free set of air pods so it goes from a thirteen hundred dollar machine to twelve hundred dollars and you are getting a free set of airpods at the same time so the 1.1 gigahertz quad core i5 macbook air is our absolute hands down recommendation for almost everyone out there going to college of course we're going portable versus a desktop and it's the most portable of apple's lineup and it's the best mix between that portability and power and affordability in general now that is great that is the most all-around mac but if you're looking for something more there's one other mac that we would absolutely recommend to students heading to college so if you are someone who wants a lot of power in your machine heading to college we are going to recommend the 2.3 gigahertz quad-core 10th gen intel i5 processor macbook pro and that's the 13-inch macbook pro not the 16. and here's why one portability is still going to be key you're going to be toting this thing around campus and the 16-inch adds a lot of weight it's more screen real estate it's more metal and it's more battery in there so we really recommend sticking with that 13 inch now if you want the 16 inch get it there are a lot of people out there who want that 16 inch and those are probably not people watching this video trying to decide what machine to get if you were someone who wants a 16 inch you are already there you are already picking out that 6 inch macbook pro and you're not worried about what we're saying in this video so for anyone out there who's on the fence they just want a lot of power in their machine we'd recommend that 2.3 gigahertz quad-core 10th gen intel i5 processor 13-inch macbook pro so that is an upgrade kind of from their higher end tier so there's like the pre-configured models and this is an upgraded processor on top of that the other change we would possibly recommend is going from that 16 gig to 32 gigs of ram remember ram is not adjustable or upgradeable after the fact so if you're kind of debating you really want those solid graphics performance or you're doing a lot of multitasking in general there we're going to recommend jumping up to 32 gigs of ram 32 gigs of ram is great in these machines so that is one upgrade we'd also consider there and where that actually puts you is at about twenty six hundred dollars which is two hundred dollars more than the entry-level 16-inch macbook pro but that six inch macbook pro has a lot of limitations it only has 512 gigabytes of storage rather than the one terabyte that's coming in that 13-inch that we mentioned it is only a 9th gen intel chip though it is a 6-core machine versus that quad-core machine but there is difference there just an older processor in there apple just updated these macbook pros the 13 inch model so those are very new compared to the 60 inch which haven't been updated in quite some time that 2400 macbook pro also still only has 16 gigs of ram versus the 2600 dollar macbook pro 13-inch that we configured there that has 32 gigs of ram so your macbook pro 13-inch is going to be just crazy outfitted you can get a lot in that machine versus that six-inch pro and you're retaining that portability so i think that's really important so not only does that start off there at uh 2600 compared to the 24 hundred dollars for that 60 inch macbook pro you can get that down thanks to apple's education discounts that'll come down to i believe like 24 39 is roughly what it ends up at i believe and again you get that free set of air pods so 24 39 out the door for that plus a free set of air pods and there's always deals going on all these machines which is why apple insider has a daily updated price guide so these deals are great and there's many links for all of this down below in the comments and or the description and if you want to check out the apple insider price guide for other great deals in all of apple's gear be sure to check that out because you never know what sales will be popping up depending on when you watch this video you watch this video down the line there may be another good sale going so check out that apple insider price guide updated daily with just the best deals around on all of apple's gear so that is it the 13-inch macbook pro is going to be our recommendation for power and that 13 inch macbook air the 1.1 gigahertz quad core i5 processor going to be a recommendation for pretty much everyone well all the details on the recommended machines down below in the description and the comments but i want to know what you guys think which macbook are you picking up for college let me know over on twitter at andrew underscore osu and we'll catch you guys in the next video when did you guys like that video be sure to click on that like button so we can create content that we know that you guys want to see and follow apple insider on all social media channels if you want the best prices on any apple gear check out the apple insider price guide that is updated daily and until next time we'll see you later\n"