Mac Studio
With the new academic year just around the corner, it's becoming increasingly essential to have a computer that can keep up with the demands of the modern student. Whether you're getting ready to embark on a new adventure at university, or looking for a fresh device for the school/college year, a MacBook is the perfect companion to help you achieve your academic goals.
Why choose a macbook?
The MacBook has been the go-to notebook for many students since its introduction in 2006, thanks to its unbeatable design and functionality. macOS is a powerful operating system, and supports a wide range of apps and software suitable for various academic disciplines. It's also easy to learn and navigate, sharing multiple apps and features you can find on an iPhone, like FaceTime, Photos and Messages.
Best MacBooks for students
When you're looking to buy a MacBook it's important to think about what you might need it for and how you’ll use it. It can be overwhelming to consider things like the size of the laptop, the amount of memory you need and what processing capabilities it has, all while considering your desired budget. For example, if you're a student that needs a laptop to carry around campus all day, a MacBook Air might be ideal for you. However, If you're into heavy duty video editing and rendering, a MacBook Pro with a powerful GPU would be the way to go. In this blog we will outline some common uses for the MacBook, and our recommendations for what spec to choose. Just make sure you look carefully at what software you'll be likely to run during your studies, and further check if the device can meet your specific requirements.
Best MacBook for documents and word processing
Documents and word processing are classed as lighter workloads, so a large processor and GPU in a MacBook Pro is unnecessary. If your studying involves writing, presentations, and research, a MacBook Air would be a great selection. Available in both 13-inch and 15-inch models, the slimline design of a Macbook Air allows for ease of portability and will fit comfortably inside a backpack or bag. If you’re also looking to save a little money, 8GB of memory will be more than enough to guarantee a smooth workflow. Just make sure you close down any unused programs or tabs when you don’t need them.
Please see our recommendations below.
best MacBook for Graphic design and photo editing
Creating original works of art can be time consuming, and require the right tools to get the job done. Whether your drawing sketches on Adobe Illustrator, or enhancing your photographs in Photoshop, you need a device that can help bring your work to life. For this, a MacBook with a crisp screen resolution, strong processing power and sufficient memory is where you should narrow your search.
At Hoxton Macs, we always recommend at least 16GB of memory to prevent any issues with your Macbook's performance. It’s also crucial to check the website for any professional applications to see the system requirements. You should always lean towards the recommended specification over the minimum.
With this in mind, the 14-inch and 16-inch Apple silicon MacBook models feature a Liquid Retina XDR display providing an exceptional visual experience, and coupled with an Apple silicon processor you wont need to worry about being slowed down by the speed.
Please see our recommendations below.
Best MacBook for video editing
Video editing can be one of the most intensive tasks for any computer, so finding a device with the right hardware is important. With that in mind, there are a number of factors to consider before you make a purchase, including screen resolution, rendering speeds and storage requirements.
For popular software like Premiere Pro, Vegas Pro, or Final Cut Pro, either a 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro would be the place to start. With any professional application, it would be wise to go for a minimum of 16GB of memory, but 32GB is optimum. Anything less than 16GB could result in a noticeable drop in performance when multitasking.
If you're looking for a capable machine on a budget, the M1 Apple silicon devices are still very capable today. As the first generation of Apple’s custom CPU chipset, they represent a significant jump in performance compared to their previous Intel-based devices.
Make sure you take a careful look at the power of the GPU before you buy, as you would benefit from choosing the most powerful one you can afford. A powerful GPU will help to keep your rendering times down.
Please see our recommendations below.
Best MacBook for Music production
Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Logic Pro, Ableton Live and FL Studio are processor intensive applications. Both the memory and CPU should be your most important consideration. The more powerful your CPU the more tracks and plugins you can use, preventing any limitations to your music production capabilities. For any professional applications, it is essential to have at least 16GB of RAM (32GB is recommended)
The Macbook Pro 14-inch or 16-inch with an Apple silicon processor is both capable and portable for studio sessions and college/university lectures. With a budget in mind, avoid the Max processors as you will not benefit from the increased GPU cores.
Please see our recommendations below.
Best MacBook for computer programing and coding
Last but certainly not least is our recommendations for a MacBook that is ideal for programming and general coding. While this activity isn’t too power intensive, if you run multiple tabs (such as GitHub and Reddit), or any other process in tandem, it can put significant strain on the memory and CPU of your device. For this type of usage we suggest a minimum of 16GB of RAM (32GB is preferred) with an Apple silicon processor to ensure your device can handle the workload without any issues.
For coding you should steer towards a large, high resolution display so you don't have to worry about constantly scrolling through your code. Writing code also requires long hours of screen time so you need to have a display with a good visual experience. Taking all of those factors into consideration, we advise to select a MacBook with either a 15-inch or 16-inch display.
Please see our recommendations below.
Other factors to consider
The Apple silicon MacBook is not only the ideal companion for educational purposes or the workplace, they also function as an excellent personal device for when you need a break from all the research and essays.
Gaming has become more accessible to Mac users since the release of Apple silicon, thanks to Apple’s ongoing investment towards expanding its game library. It’s also becoming increasingly common for developers to port their games to macOS. If you are interested in using a MacBook for gaming, we have another article available that goes into further depth about gaming with Apple silicon available to view here.
All MacBooks are equipped with a front-facing camera and built-in microphone, perfect to use for video calling software like Zoom, all without the need to buy any external peripherals. An essential avenue of communication for a student studying away from home.
The examples above cover the most common uses for students, but we know there are other use cases we haven’t addressed. If you have specific needs, please feel free to email us at info@hoxtonmacs.co.uk. We’d be more than happy to help you find the best MacBook for your requirements.
