Best MacBook for students

Are you a student just entering college or cruising through your high school years and need a good laptop for your daily tasks? A computer has become a necessity in the tech-driven approach in the educational sector.  Several laptops are available in the market with various price tags and features. But students usually prefer a reliable machine that can help them in seamlessly achieving their daily goals.

Various MacBook variants have emerged as a go-to machine for students around the globe. MacBook is a laptop series designed and developed by Apple Inc. Multiple models are available in this line-up with varying specs keeping the needs of various classes of users in check. Students love to game, and apple gaming laptops are rare. Some MacBook perform better than others.

We will discuss each option in detail to decide which one to buy depending on your needs and budget but first let us give you a pro tip on how you can save hundreds of bucks while purchasing a MacBook or iMac.

Apple’s Discount for Students on MacBook and Mac

If you are in high school or have been offered a place in a university or a college, don't forget to avail Apple's Student Discount while purchasing MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or other computing devices from Apple's Education Store. You can get a discount from Apple Education store if you are a current student, newly accepted into a college or a university or a faculty member in a recognized university/college. All you need to do is provide proof of your studentship or job.

Apple unveiled a new MacBook Air during March 2020, with lower starting prices but twice storage than the 2019 version and relatively lower cost, starting at $999.

Apple then announced the new MacBook Pro in the May of 2020 with standard 16GB and twice the storage than the previous year's release but at a higher price tag. MacBook Pro comes in two variants a smaller 13-inch and a larger 16-inch variant.

Although the MacBook's are expensive devices, they offer security, stability and reliability. The easy-to-use operating system that powers the devices make it even more desirable for students.

The choice of MacBook is entirely dependent upon the personal preference and the usage of the person. If you are looking for a sleek lightweight yet powerful laptop, then MacBook Air 2020 is a perfect option. However, if you do not want to compromise on performance and want a larger display, then MacBook Pro shall be your go-to machine.

The choice will also depend on what you will study in college and the size of your budget. There are four variants on offer currently in MacBook Pro and two variants of MacBook Air.

Let's dive into the details of each model before deciding which MacBook you should buy?

MacBook Pro for Students

Students need a MacBook to create and edit documents. You can also take help from excellent editing services like Research Prospect. MacBook Pro is the bigger, faster, resilient and costlier and might not be suitable for students' budget. The starting price of MacBook Pro is starting at $1299 and goes up to $2799.

So, let's delve into each model and start analyzing everything that these fantastic machines have to offer.

1. The first and foremost stream variant is the 13-inch model, powered with 1.4 GHz Quad Core 8^th generation Core i5, you can avail one of the two storage options 256 GB or 512 GB. It features Iris Plus 645 graphics, eight gigs of RAM and USB Type-C ports. It is priced at around $1299.
2. The second variant has the same size, but it is powered with 2 GHz, Quad-Core 10^th gen Intel Core i5. It also has turbo boost up to 4.8 GHz processor speed. You can either get 512 gigs or 1TB of storage. It features a better Iris Plus graphics, 16 Gigs of LPDDRX4 memory and 4 USB Type-C Thunderbolt ports. You can get your hands on this performance-oriented MacBook for $1,799.
3. Similarly, two variants are available in 16-inch display size. The first variant has Core i7 (9^th gen) six-core 2.6 GHz processor. The processor is augmented with Radeon 555x graphics processing card for superior graphics performance. It also features 16 Gb Of DDR4 RAM. It has 4 Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports. It is available on the Apple stores for $2,399.
4. The other variant has 16-inch Iris Plus display, one terabyte of storage. It is powered with 2.3 GHz eighth-core 9^th generation with Turbo boost 4.8 GHz. Four Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C. The graphics performance is accelerated with Radeon 560x Graphics Processing Unit. The Ram unit is 16 gigs of DDR4. It is priced at $2,799.

So, if your primary usage is concerned with basic performance then opting a cheaper version in 13-inch display size and eight gigs is a reasonable option. If you are looking for extreme video and image processing power, you can choose one 16-inch version. You can buy MacBook at discounted education price.

The MacBook Pro got an upgraded keyboard that wasn't upgraded since 2016, and this can be a great plus for the students who have a lot of typing and document editing work. If you are looking for a budgeted laptop, you can also consider the 2016 model as Apple did not make any changes other than the keyboard. These older models can quickly fulfil your needs and won’t stretch you financially.

MacBook Air for students

It might seem that MacBook Air is less powered as compared MacBook Pro, but the latest upgraded models of MacBook Air are at par with entry-level models of the MacBook Pro.

There are two models in the Macbook Air line-up, both have a 13-inch display with Iris plus graphics. The first model has 1,1 GHz 10^th gen Core i3 with Turbo Boost 3.2GHz, 8Gb of LPDDR4X Ram and two Thunderbolt 3 Type-C USB ports. There is only one storage option, and it has 256 gigs of storage space.

The second model has the same spec but a Quad Core-i5 processor instead of dual-core, Core-i3 processor. It comes equipped with 512 GB storage space.

The prior version is priced at $999, and the later version is priced at $1299. So, being a student, the decision is dependent on the type of needs and the budget. For typical students need, MacBook Air or entry-level MacBook Pro is more than enough. If there is high-end video processing, graphics designing, and graphical analysis, you might consider choosing a MacBook with an advanced spec sheet but a higher price tag.

If you have decided to go for a MacBook according to your choice, there are two options. You can either buy a brand new device or go for a used version that will cost you less and give you what you need, but there are obvious risks involved in purchasing a used machine.