MacBook Neo, Air or Pro: finding the right Mac laptop
Apple's laptops come in three families. The MacBook Neo is the starting point, a 13-inch model with the A18 Pro chip, 8 GB of memory and 256 GB or 512 GB of storage, suited to browsing, schoolwork and streaming. The MacBook Air with the M5 chip comes in 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch sizes, with 16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB unified memory and up to 1 TB of storage.
The MacBook Pro is for sustained, demanding work such as video editing, coding and 3D. Choose 14-inch or 16-inch models with M5, M5 Pro or M5 Max chips, some reaching 64 GB of memory, a 40-core GPU and 2 TB of storage, plus newer 14-inch M6 models. Some have a Russian keyboard layout, noted in the product name.
Frequently asked questions
Which MacBook is best for students?
For notes, research, office apps and video calls, the MacBook Neo or a 13.6-inch MacBook Air M5 is usually enough. The Air starts at 16 GB of memory, which helps if you keep many apps and browser tabs open or edit photos. Students in design, music production or engineering may prefer a 14-inch MacBook Pro for heavier software.
How much memory should I choose on a MacBook?
Memory on Apple silicon MacBooks is built into the chip package and cannot be upgraded later, so choose with the next few years in mind. 16 GB suits most everyday and office work, 24 GB to 32 GB helps with photo editing, larger projects and many open apps, and the 36 GB to 64 GB configurations on M5 Pro and M5 Max models target video, 3D and development.
What is the difference between M5, M5 Pro and M5 Max?
All three are Apple silicon chips that scale up in CPU and GPU cores and in how much memory they support. The M5 handles everyday and creative work in the MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro. The M5 Pro adds more cores for sustained professional workloads, and the M5 Max has the biggest GPU, up to 40 cores, for 3D rendering and high-resolution video.