Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing a few articles looking at what areas I think Apple is doing well and struggling with its various product lines. I looked at the state of the iPad and the state of the Apple TV. This week, I want to look at the state of the Mac as we quickly head to the end of the year. What’s the best Mac laptop to buy? What’s the worst Mac to buy? What do we hope for heading into 2019? These are all questions I aim to answer as I look at the state of the Mac in 2018.
MacBook
Oddly enough, the MacBook hasn’t received an update this year. The MacBook starts at $1299 (routinely discounted), but the base model contains an Intel Core M processor, so it’s going to struggle compared to some of the other computers.
It includes the previous generation keyboard that was known to have reliability issues, and it still only has 1 USB-C port (you’ll need accessories). Is the MacBook worth buying? If you want the smallest and lightest laptop that runs macOS, then yes. You’ll pay a premium for it, but it’s still a good machine. It’ll likely receive an update sometime next year, so hold off if you can. I would recommend the model with the upgraded processor and 512GB storage if you can afford it.
The bottom line is that it’s overpriced for the performance, but you are paying for the portability.
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is the newest laptop in Apple’s lineup. After years of it selling well despite being an old machine, Apple finally revised it to include USB-C, a retina screen, a 16GB RAM upgrade option, and a modern processor.
Read more at 9to5Mac.com