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Year after year, when the time comes to choose the best laptops, a MacBook always has a sure spot on our list. In terms of design, hardware, and software, we all know how hard it is to beat Apple. Granted, there has been a surge of excellent Windows-based portable computers over the years, particularly from Dell, HP, and Microsoft, but owning a MacBook is just — different. A couple of fine specimens from Apple are the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The former is arguably the world’s first Ultrabook, while the latter is the company’s premium laptop offering. Save up to $249 when you get them on Amazon right now.
Macbook Air — $750, was $999
The MacBook Air is now thinner and lighter than ever, yet still possesses the same power and solid build quality typical of Apple devices. The latest version of the MacBook Air normally retails for $999, but right now you can purchase it on Amazon for $750 — a huge $249 off. To make the deal even sweeter, you can get an additional $50 off instantly upon your approval for the Amazon Rewards Visa Card, reducing the price to $700.
The latest version of the MacBook Air looks almost exactly like the previous one, with a few significant hardware and software upgrades. The older version is outfitted with a single Thunderbolt 2 port and two USB 3 ports; the latest one has two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports instead. Although both models have a 13-inch LED-backlit screen, the newer MacBook Air’s display is made better thanks to Apple’s True Tone technology. The screen now has the power to adapt to your environment’s ambient light to make images appear more natural, with accurate colors that aren’t oversaturated.
Working alongside an Intel i5 processor, this MacBook Air has 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. It proved speedy and performed well when tasked with normal daily workflow, like streaming videos, working in Photoshop, word processing, and web browsing. We did, however, notice a bit of a slowdown when we had multiple browsers, apps, and programs open simultaneously, but not enough to raise concern.
The MacBook Air can last up to eight hours with light web browsing. While not exactly a bad number, it pales in comparison next to Huawei’s MateBook X Pro, which managed 9.5 hours in our test.
If you’re determined to buy a MacBook but don’t want to shell out too much money, then the MacBook Air is for you. It’s a well-rounded portable laptop that boasts a solid performance and premium build quality. Get the latest version of the MacBook Air for $750.
Renewed Macbook Pro 15 — $835, was $949
The MacBook Pro 15 looks almost exactly like its 2017 and 2016 predecessors, save for one significant hardware upgrade: Its keyboard. One of the things we disliked about the older model was its low-travel keyboard, which left users feeling like they were typing on a block of wood. Thankfully, Apple has mostly fixed this issue. The keys now have a softer feel and they’re no longer obnoxiously loud. Overall, typing has become a more pleasurable experience.
As usual, the MacBook Pro 15 offers industry-leading display and sound. The 15-inch screen is a thing of beauty, with Apple’s 16:10 aspect ratio (most laptop screens are 3:2) providing more vertical space for a fuller view of your work. Colors are extremely accurate, black levels are great, and images look completely natural, which makes this a great laptop for photographers and creative professionals. In fact, the MacBook Pro is our choice for the best laptop for photo editing. The same goes for its up-firing stereo speakers, which offer an incredibly loud room-filling sound that retains the richness of spoken words and the subtleties of music.
Unfortunately, the MacBook Pro 15 still lacks ports. There are four Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack. This decision may be forward-thinking as more and more peripheral devices are being outfitted with USB-C, but the lack of an SD card slot is odd since this is being marketed to creatives.
The MacBook Pro 15 now boasts more power courtesy of its Intel core i7 processor. With a jump up to six cores, we saw a huge boost in performance. The improvement is also down to Apple’s MacBook Pro software patch which fixed a throttling issue. You can open multiple heavy programs like Photoshop and Final Cut Pro X simultaneously and operation will remain glitch-free.
This laptop’s battery life is decent. Apple claims it can last for 10 hours on a single charge, and we saw close to that in our high-definition video loop test. Web browsing was decidedly less impressive at eight hours. These numbers aren’t terrible, but we’ve seen better.
The MacBook Pro 15 is the most powerful MacBook yet and has been future-proofed through its port selection. It comes at a high cost, but if it’s peerless performance you’re after, it won’t disappoint. Get a renewed unit for a cool $114 off on Amazon. Instead of its usual price of $949, get it for $835. And if you’re approved and pay via the Amazon Rewards Visa Card, you’ll enjoy an additional $50 off instantly, bringing the price down to $785.
Visit our curated deals page for more MacBook and laptop deals and other awesome discounts.
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