Best MacBook for 2023

$999 at Best Buy

MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

$999 at Best Buy

Price alerts on for MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

$800 at Amazon

MacBook Air (13-inch, M1, 2020)

$800 at Amazon

Price alerts on for MacBook Air (13-inch, M1, 2020)

$3,299 at Best Buy

MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023)

$3,299 at Best Buy

Price alerts on for MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023)

$1,999 at Apple

MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)

$1,999 at Apple

$1,099 at Amazon

MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)

$1,099 at Amazon

Price alerts on for MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)

NEW! CNET Shopping Extension

Get the lowest price on everything

Add CNET Shopping

Apple offers MacBooks from $999 all the way up to $3,499, and that's just the default configurations. Optional upgrades can add thousands more to the price. With the new M2 chip, we're now firmly in the second generation of Apple Silicon, and the M2 versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are strong performers, even if some models are more expensive than their predecessors. 

The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are known for excellent design, build quality and ease of use. MacOS, with its intuitive nature, plays a big part in that, as does the fact that Apple makes both the hardware and software, leading to inherent synergies. 

That said, MacBooks aren't flying off the shelves like they used to. Data from analyst firm IDC says that Mac sales in the first quarter of 2023 were down a whopping 40% from the same period a year ago. Part of that is because so many people bought new laptops during COVID-19, and those generally have a three- to five-year lifespan, so we're between upgrade cycles at the moment. 

Still, the current M2 version of the MacBook Air, which starts at $1,099, gets my vote as the most universally useful laptop most people can buy right now, and I use one almost daily. And now it's available in a 15-inch size, too.

Below, we go over each MacBook and its strengths and weaknesses, as well as offering some MacBook shopping tips and answers to common questions. 

Apple is still offering education deals on MacBooks: Normally, the Apple Store is (ironically) not the best place to buy an Apple laptop (really, almost any Apple product) because sales are all but nonexistent. The big exception to the rule is Apple's education discounts, which usually include MacBook deals. On the other hand, we've also found Apple laptop deals through Best Buy's Student Deals page.

The Touch Bar is (mostly) dead: Apple announced the Touch Bar with great fanfare in 2016 but this slim secondary touchscreen, which sits above the keyboard, is now only available on one model. You can find it on the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro, which retains its dated design, despite having Apple's latest chip. 

Great webcam on the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the 13-inch Air; 13-inch MacBook Pro webcam is still meh: The jump to a 1080p resolution camera in the newest MacBooks, as well as the 24-inch iMac, is a game-changer for people sitting in video meetings all day. Only that dated-looking 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro retains the not-great old camera. Here are some tips on making the 720-pixel cameras in those other Macs look better. 

If you need something bigger and don't mind it being tied to a desk: Apple updated its smaller iMac (formerly 21.5 inches, now 24 inches) in 2021, and it now comes in seven color options and runs on the company's M1 processor. You can also pair a Mac Mini or Mac Studio desktop with the new 27-inch Mac Studio Display. 

Almost all Macs have transitioned to Apple's own M1 and M2 chips:  Since late 2020, the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, 24-inch iMac, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro now all run either M1 or M2 chips (including Pro, Max and Ultra varieties), which combine both CPU and GPU cores into a single package. Based on our testing, the Apple M1 and M2 line has largely delivered on Apple's promises of better battery life and faster performance. You can still find the really old Mac Pro desktop with an Intel Xeon chip. 

The key question is how to make sure you're not buying too little MacBook -- or too much. Which is the best MacBook for your needs? For most people, the 13-inch Air remains the default choice and rightly so. The 14-inch and 16-inch Pro models are more powerful but in a way that only people who need heavy GPU support will appreciate.

Watch this: MacBook Air M2 vs. MacBook Air M1: Worth the Extra $200

09:10

 Read more: Best Mac VPN for 2023  

Best MacBooks of 2023

MacBook Air (13-inch, M2, 2022)

The 2022 MacBook Air got its biggest refresh in many years, moving to the M2 chip and adopting a new design. Thanks to that MacBook-Pro-like design, larger display (13.6-inch vs 13.3-inch), faster M2 chip and a long-awaited upgrade to a higher-res webcam, it's now my favorite Mac, with one caveat. At $1,199, the $200 price increase over the traditional $999 MacBook Air starting price is a disappointment.

Read more

$999 at Best Buy$1,099 at Apple$1,099 at B&H Photo-Video

MacBook Air (13-inch, M1, 2020)

This model has been surpassed, but not replaced, by the new M2 MacBook Air. Because it's staying on as Apple's sole $999 laptop, it still deserves a place on this list.

Read more

$800 at Amazon$800 at Best Buy$999 at Apple

MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023)

Apple's 2023 update to its flagship MacBook Pro 16-inch line follows the company's usual MO. It offers a modest refresh from the more significantly redesigned 2021 model; notably, upgrades to the latest generation of M2-class processors, Wi-Fi 6E and HDMI 2.1, which means support for displays up to 8K, 60Hz and 4K, 240Hz and variable refresh rates.

Read more

$3,299 at Best Buy$3,499 at Apple$3,499 at B&H Photo-Video

MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)

Compared with the 13-inch Pro, the screen size here jumps from 13.3 to 14.2 inches. It's what Apple calls a Liquid Retina XDR display, which is basically a mini LED screen, like in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It also has the same HDMI, SD card and MagSafe ports as the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the same 1080 webcam.

Read more

$1,999 at Apple

MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)

This new 2022 version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro looks just like the 13-inch MacBook Pro that was part of Apple's first wave of M1-chip Macs in late 2020. Same body, same camera, same limited ports, same Touch Bar. Yes, this remains the last holdout of the Apple Touch Bar, a clever-but-underused second screen that's fallen out of favor.

Read more

$1,099 at Amazon$1,099 at Best Buy$1,299 at Apple

Which MacBook should I buy?

My TL;DR advice is as follows.

• If you need a MacBook for everyday work, schoolwork, web surfing, movies and light creativity, go with the M2 MacBook Air. For most people, this is all the MacBook they'll need. 
• The new design and camera are great, as is the bigger screen, but the older $999 M1 version of the MacBook Air is still great if you don't want to spend $200 more on the M2 version. 
• The 13-inch MacBook Pro remains a tough sell. More expensive than the Air but essentially has the same performance and same Apple M2 chip. It's also the last holdout of the Touch Bar. 
• The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the one high-end creative types have been waiting for. The video editor and creative pros I've spoken to have flocked to it and usually with the highest-end M2 Max chip. 
• The 14-inch MacBook Pro can do almost everything the 16-inch can, but in a smaller package. It's either a premium mainstream laptop splurge or a work tool for creative types who need something a little more portable.

How we test MacBooks

When a computer -- typically a laptop, desktop, two-in-one hybrid or Chromebook -- arrives at the CNET Labs, we set it up as a typical user of the product would. As a best practice, during the setup, we disable as much of the invasive privacy and data collection options as possible. Then we update the OS, GPU drivers, BIOS and manufacturer utilities as needed and use an application such as Sandra from SiSoftware to gather information about the system's components, such as the CPU, GPU and RAM. 

Our benchmark tests consist of a core set we run on every compatible system including several we can run on both MacOS and Windows PCs. There's also an extended set of tests for specific use cases, such as gaming or content creation, where systems may have more powerful GPUs or higher-resolution displays that need to be evaluated. 

Primate Labs Geekbench 5: We run both single-core and multicore CPU tests, and either the Vulcan (Windows) or Metal (MacOS) Compute test. On Android, Apple devices and Chromebooks, we run the CPU tests and the Compute test. Geekbench's CPU tests measure the performance of a mixed workload. Primate Labs recently updated to version 6 for Geekbench, which we've started using on all new MacBooks.   

3DMark Wild Life Extreme: We run this test on MacOS (Apple silicon), Windows, Android and iPadOS systems; it's one of the few cross-platform benchmarks available to test graphics performance. We additionally run it in Unlimited mode, which eliminates screen resolution as a variable when making cross-device comparisons.