Macworld

Which Mac is best for you?

Whether you want everyday portability, professional creative power, desktop performance, or budget-friendly computing, Apple’s lineup has a Mac that fits. For $699 you can own a MacBook Neo, which is Apple’s most affordable laptop. Spend a little more and the MacBook Air excels at everyday work and battery life, while the MacBook Pro lineup delivers the extra power required by demanding professional workloads. If you prefer a desktop, the iMac is a great all-in-one option for the home, while Mac mini offers good value if you don’t need portability and already have a display and accessories. At the top end, the Mac Studio is built for intensive professional workloads, including demanding creative work and AI development.

Choosing the best Mac in 2026 isn’t simply about buying the newest model; it’s about finding the Mac that best matches what you need from a computer. Apple’s lineup ranges from ultraportable MacBooks to powerful desktop Macs, with options for students, everyday users, creatives and professionals.

In this Mac buying guide, we cover everything you need to know about the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac and Mac Studio, including the differences in size, specs, features and price. We’ll help you decide which Mac and configuration offers the right balance of value, performance and portability for you.

Best Mac 2026: Mac & MacBook Buyers Guide

Our top Mac for most people in 2026 is the MacBook Air. It offers an excellent combination of performance, portability and value in a compact package that will suit the typical Mac user.

If you need more power, we recommend the MacBook Pro, which delivers high-end performance in a portable form. At the other end of the price range, the new MacBook Neo starts at $699/£699 and is Apple’s most affordable Mac laptop.

If you don’t need a laptop, Apple also has some excellent desktop options. The Mac Studio offers exceptional performance for the money and can save thousands compared with a similarly specified Mac laptop, while the Mac mini is Apple’s cheapest desktop Mac, starting at $899/£899.

Below, we take you through every Mac currently available from Apple, explaining who each model is best suited to and what you should consider when choosing a configuration. You’ll also find live prices to help you find the best deal today. For more help choosing between Apple’s laptops, see our MacBook comparison.

Price increases June 2026

In June 2026, Apple increased prices significantly across several product lines including Macs, iPads, the Apple TV 4K, and HomePod models, citing an unprecedented rise in component costs.

The company stated it had “never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly” and that it had shielded customers from these increases for as long as possible before finally raising prices.

For Macs, prices increased from $100/£100 to $500/£500 depending on the model.

  • MacBook Neo is $100 more
  • MacBook Air is $200 more
  • MacBook Pro is $300 to $500 more
  • Mac mini was $200 more, but is now $300 more following the August update
  • Mac Studio is $500 more

Prices have been updated throughout this article.

13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 2026) – Great all-rounder for most users Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

What is it? The 13-inch MacBook Air is Apple’s most affordable laptop, designed with portability in mind.

What’s new? Apple introduced the M5 MacBook Air in March 2026, featuring the M5 chip with its faster CPU and GPU. The base configuration now starts with 512GB of storage (double the previous model), along with faster SSD speeds, more memory bandwidth, and support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

Who’s it for? It’s perfect for students and everyday users who want a lightweight laptop that’s easy to carry, and powerful enough for working, studying, browsing, and doing light creative work. If you want a larger screen there is a 15-inch MacBook Air, which we discuss below.

How much does the 13-inch MacBook Air cost? The entry-level 13-inch M5 MacBook Air costs from $1,299/£1,299, that’s up $200/£200 from the launch price of $1,099/£1,099. You can create build-to-order models with more memory (up to 32GB) or storage (up to 4TB).

What are the specifications? The standard specs for the M5 MacBook Air offer an improvement compared to the previous generation. The MacBook Air now ships with 512GB SSD as standard.

  • Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 ports: $1,299/£1,299.
  • Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 ports: $1,399/£1,399.
  • Additional options: Up to 32GB memory, 4TB storage.

What are display specifications?

  • While referred to as 13-inch, when measured diagonally the screen is 13.6-inches.
  • The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina on the M5 MacBook Air display has a native resolution of 2,560×1,664 and 500 nits brightness.
  • The MacBook Air M5 can support two external displays.

How do I connect stuff? The M5 MacBook Air models supports Thunderbolt 4, which means that they can support a dual monitor set up. If you want to connect USB-A devices, you need either a USB-C to USB-A adapter, like Apple’s $19 / £19 one, or a USB-C hub that has USB-A ports. In the U.K. and Europe Apple has stopped including a Power Adapter in the box, so you will need to buy one separately. See our round-up of the best USB-C hubs and adapters.

The 2026 MacBook Air offers Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) for connecting to a network. It also provides built-in Bluetooth (6) for wirelessly connecting a mouse or other peripherals. If you want to connect to an ethernet network, you need an adapter.

How fast is it? In our tests the M5 saw consistent gains over the M4 in the previous generation, as you can see in our Mac processor benchmarks. In some benchmarks the M3 even beats the M1 Ultra. If you are upgrading from an old Mac – especially if it is one with an Intel chip – you will see a huge difference.

Any other considerations? The MacBook Air should be more than fast enough for general-purpose use. The only issue is that, because it doesn’t have an internal fan, it may slow down during long processing sessions to keep cool. So if you are likely to be video editing or compiling code the MacBook Pro with its fan is a better choice. Also note that it’s impossible to upgrade the storage or memory after purchase, so you should buy the model with the largest amount of storage and memory you can afford or invest in external storage.

Why we recommend the 13-inch MacBook Air: The MacBook Air is a great choice for someone who does general-purpose work and moves around a lot, such as a student or a self-employed person.

We compare the MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro separately.

Read our full Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (M5, 2026) review

Apple MacBook Neo – Budget-friendly Mac for students and casual users Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

What’s new? The MacBook Neo is Apple’s new entry-level Mac laptop. It’s powered by an iPhone-class chip (the A18 Pro) rather than an M-series processor, and it introduces a colorful design and a simplified feature set at a much lower starting price, although not as low as it was, thanks to Apple’s June 2026 price hikes which pushed prices up $100.

Who’s it for? The MacBook Neo is designed to appeal to students and those who want to use a laptop for everyday tasks like web browsing, video calls, schoolwork, streaming, email and office apps. Because it uses an A18 Pro iPhone chip and is limited to 8GB of non-upgradable RAM, it is not suitable for heavy video editing or large-scale photo processing.

How much does the MacBook Neo cost? At launch the MacBook Neo was the the cheapest Mac laptop Apple has ever released, starting at $599/£599. That price is now slightly more, at $699/£699, but its still about half the price of a MacBook Air.

What are the specifications? The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to use an A-series processor, the same family used in iPhones. That chip has a 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, and either 256GB or 512GB storage.

  • Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB memory, 256GB SSD, two USB-C ports: $699/£699.
  • Apple A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB memory, 512GB SSD, two USB-C ports: $799/£799.
  • Additional options: None.

What are display specifications? The MacBook Neo features a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with 2,408×1,506 resolution at 220 ppi, at up to 500 nits and sRGB color. That should be good enough for everyday work.

How do I connect stuff? Connectivity is basic. There are two USB-C ports; one is USB 3, the other is slower USB 2. There isn’t a separate MagSafe port so charging is via USB-C. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 are included.

How fast is it? MacBook Neo uses the A18 Pro chip that first appeared in the iPhone 16 Pro. Our tests and benchmarks of that chip indicate that it offers similar performance to the M1. It is suitable for everyday tasks like web browsing, streaming, and office apps.

Any other considerations? To get to the low price Apple has made several trade-offs. The MacBook Neo lacks Thunderbolt and MagSafe support, there is no keyboard backlight and no Touch ID on the base model, and RAM is limited to 8GB with no option to increase that to 16GB.

Why we recommend the MacBook Neo: This is the most affordable way to own a Mac laptop – unless you buy a used or refurbished model. If you don’t need pro-level performance it’s a very compelling entry-point into Apple’s ecosystem.

Read our full Apple MacBook Neo review

Apple 15-inch MacBook Air (M5, 2026) – Bigger screen without Pro pricing Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

What is it? The 15-inch MacBook Air is essentially identical to the 13-inch model above aside from the bigger screen and six-speaker system rather than four speakers. Surprisingly, battery life isn’t better on the 15-inch, despite the bigger battery.

What’s new? The M5 MacBook Air arrived in March 2026. Like the 13-inch version it features the M5 chip for faster CPU and GPU performance compared to the previous generation. The base configuration now starts with 512GB of storage (double the previous model), along with faster SSD speeds, more memory bandwidth, and support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

Who’s it for? The 15-inch MacBook Air is ideal for anyone who wants a big-screen laptop for far less than the price of a 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro. The big screen will allow more room for spreadsheets and browser tabs, and for multitasking with multiple apps open. It’s also great choice for anyone who values portability due to its lightweight and thin design.

How much does the 15-inch MacBook Air cost? The price of the 15-inch model was $1,299/£1,299, but following the June 2026 price increases it now starts at $1,499/£1,499. There are three configurations and you can create build-to-order models with up to 32GB memory and 2TB storage.

What are the specifications? The specifications of the 15-inch M5 MacBook Air are generally the same as the 13-inch model, expect there is no 8-core GPU option here. The actual screen measurements, measured diagonally are 15.3in. You are essentially paying $200/£200 more for the bigger screen.

  • Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, two Thunderbolt 4 ports: $1,499/£1,499.
  • Additional options: Up to 32GB memory, 4TB storage.

What are display specifications?

  • While referred to as 15-inch, when measured diagonally the screen is 15.3-inches.
  • The 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display has a native resolution of 2,880×1,864 and 500 nits brightness.
  • The MacBook Air M5 can support two external displays.

How do I connect stuff? Both M5 MacBook Air models support Thunderbolt 4 and can support a dual monitor set up. For USB-A devices you need a USB-C to USB adapter (Apple sells one for $19 / £19), or a USB-C hub with USB-A ports. In the U.K. and Europe Apple has stopped including a Power Adapter in the box, so you will need to buy one separately. See our round-up of the best USB-C hubs and adapters.

The 2026 MacBook Air offers the new standards of Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth (6). If you want to connect to an ethernet network, you need an adapter.

How fast is it? This is the same M5 as found in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, so you can expect similar performance. In our tests we found the M5 to be faster than the M1 Ultra in some benchmarks. If you are updating from an older Mac expect a big boost.

Any other considerations? The Air doesn’t have a fan to keep the computer cool, so it may throttle down its speed during long processing sessions, such as video editing or compiling code. If that’s the kind of work you intend to do, a MacBook Pro would be a better option. Also note that you won’t be able to update RAM or storage later, so get as much as you can afford.

Why we recommend the 15-inch MacBook Air: Starting at $1,499/£1,499, the 15-inch MacBook Air is a much more affordable Mac laptop than the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,999/£1,999, so if you want your screen to be bigger than 13 inches, and you don’t need the power of a MacBook Pro for the kind of work you do, the 15-inch MacBook Air is a great option.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, 2025) – Portable power for work and study Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide

What is it? There are three distinct types of MacBook Pro, the M5 model discussed here, and the M5 Pro and M5 Max models we look at separately. Like it’s more powerful siblings, the M5 MacBook Pro has an HDR ProMotion display, which the MacBook Air lacks. The MacBook Pro offers more ports than the MacBook Air: HDMI and SDXC slots. The 14-inch MacBook Pro offers 24 hour battery life – which, along with the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip, is the best battery life ever on a MacBook.

What’s new? In October 2025 Apple updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip. There were no other major changes, aside from the new option to add 4TB storage at point of sale. Bigger changes came with the launch of the M4 MacBook Pro in October 2024, back then we saw RAM increase from 8GB to 16GB as standard, camera improvements, and Thunderbolt 4 support.

Who’s it for? The 14-inch MacBook Pro is for a more demanding user than the MacBook Air. Its main benefit is the design allows for better cooling, which means that if you push the machine it won’t slow down to avoid overheating. However, there are other MacBook Pros available from Apple (including a 16-inch model) that offer faster processors, so if you really need a powerful machine one of those might be more suitable–we discuss the M5 Pro and M5 Max models below.

How much does the 14-inch MacBook Pro cost? The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 starts at $1,999/£1,999 (up from the $1,699/£1,699 it cost in March 2026 (even that was an increase compared to the $1,599/£1,599 it cost at launch in October 2025).

What are the specifications? The standard specs for the 14-inch MacBook Pro offer an improvement on the previous generation. The MacBook Pro now ships with 1TB SSD as standard, up from 512GB.

  • Apple M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB memory, 1TB SSD, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, SDXC, HDMI, $1,999/£1,999.
  • Additional options: 32GB memory; up to 4TB storage.

What are display specifications?

  • Apple refers to it as a 14-inch screen, but the screen measured diagonally is actually 14.2-inches.
  • The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display has a native resolution of 3,024×1,964 and 1,000 nits brightness, 1600 nits peak, 600 nits SDR brightness, and ProMotion for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz.
  • The notch at the top of the display conceals the 12MP FaceTime camera which now features Centre Stage.

How do I connect stuff? Th