The Best Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Laptops for 2025
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We've tested thousands of laptops at PCMag since PC Labs' founding more than 40 years ago. Naturally, we've reviewed Apple's line of laptops since before MacBooks were even a thing. Our analysts and editors have more than a collective century of experience telling the good laptops—macOS, Windows, ChromeOS, you name it—from the great ones. As with other laptops, we test all MacBooks for CPU, GPU, display, and battery performance using rigorous, repeatable benchmark tests. We also focus on design, usability, connectivity, and—crucially—value. Our take on Macs? Right now, the best MacBook for most people is Apple's 2025 13-inch MacBook Air, now $100 cheaper with more starting memory, the peppy M4 processor, and a Center Stage webcam. It's the most value-packed MacBook Air in a long time. We have more thoroughly tested and vetted MacBooks to recommend. We've also compared their specs and shared in-depth MacBook buying advice.
The 13-Inch and 15-Inch MacBook Airs
Apple's smallest laptop is the 13-inch version of the MacBook Air, last redesigned for 2022. That same design has remained up to the newest 2025 version. It's still a slim, sleek machine that measures just 0.44 inch thick and weighs only 2.7 pounds. The latest MacBook Air design heavily adopts the most current MacBook Pro design, with uniform thinness, an improved Magic Keyboard, a larger 16:10 screen (thanks to also adopting the "display notch"), MagSafe charging, and more.
The MacBook Air line is the family with Apple's cheapest MacBooks, starting with the long-running 13-inch M1 model for just $649 at Walmart. It's once again the choice bargain MacBook; when Apple released the M4 MacBook Air models, the company discontinued both the M2 and M3 varieties. Up until that point, Apple sold the M2 Air at $999 out of its own store, but it was ejected from its position by the $999 M4 Air that's available now.
However, in the M4 model, you get more for that $999 than ever before, particularly in the 16GB of starting memory capacity, and the Center Stage camera first found in the M4 MacBook Pro laptops. (The M4 Air still comes with a 256GB solid-state drive to start.)
As usual, Apple trims another $100 off MacBook Air prices for students and teachers. If you still want an M2 Air on the cheap, you might find it for sale for some time after its discontinuation at online retailers like Best Buy, particularly during shopping holidays. Regardless, supply will inevitably dry up for good.
Apple's 2025 13-inch MacBook Air keeps every advancement from the 2022 model and refines it with more power inside. Those design advancements include the new 16:10 display, the improved keyboard, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the MagSafe charging port, and the enhanced Center Stage webcam mentioned earlier. Of course, the M4 processor improves upon the M3 model while maintaining more battery life than Apple's own claims.
The MacBook Air is an ideal travel companion and, given its sleek styling and Apple's cachet, a bit of a status symbol. It's the Mac laptop we recommend for most people. However, if you're willing to pay more for additional screen space (with minimal impact on portability), Apple has the 15-inch MacBook Air, which was naturally updated alongside the 13-incher.
Apple's now-third-generation 15-inch MacBook Air was updated again with the M4 processor in the same frame. Once again, its M4 chip comes with two more GPU cores in its starting model (10 total) than in the 13-inch Air; you can upgrade the 13-incher to this more potent GPU by paying extra. The 2025 15-inch Air now starts at $1,199, which nets you the 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of unified memory, and a 256GB SSD. Alas, the port arrangement does not change here with the 2025 model, but the sharp Center Stage webcam carries over. Each component upgrade from there (SSD, memory) generally costs another $200 per step upward, save for the largest storage options.
14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro: For Pros in the Know
If you are a video editor, photographer, or software developer who might benefit from more computing power, skip the MacBook Air and instead consider a MacBook Pro. The factors to weigh here are more than just the extra screen inches and weight. You must also decide whether you need the extra horsepower that the new M4 processors can provide over the M3 series. This year's generational gains are smaller than the jump from M2 to M3 was, though the base M4 chip now starts with 10 CPU cores instead of eight.
The MacBook Pro line begins with an M4-equipped 14-inch model for the same $1,599 baseline as before, the only Pro configuration that features a plain M4 rather than M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. Along with the processor, which combines 10 CPU cores (four performance and now six efficiency cores) with 10 GPU cores and 16 neural engine cores, the starting model of the laptop has a 512GB solid-state drive and now 16GB of unified memory. Optional upgrades include up to 32GB of memory and up to a 2TB SSD, either of which naturally hikes the price. The most loaded M4 14-inch MacBook Pro—including Apple's returning $150 nano-texture display option and a beefier charger—costs $2,769.
If you want an M4 Pro processor instead, you need at least $1,999 for a 14-inch machine with a 12-core CPU, a 16-core GPU, 24GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. (The 12-core count and the 24GB memory minimum are new.) Opting for the M4 Pro chip brings expanded capacity across the board, now supporting up to 48GB of memory and 4TB of storage (for a ceiling of $3,769 with the new display and enhanced charger). The M4 Pro models also gain you an extra Thunderbolt port, which the M4 Pro model upgrades to Thunderbolt 5 .
You can also configure the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip containing a 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU for another $200 above the starting price. A maxed-out model with this particular processor, the nano-texture display, and Apple's bigger charger costs $3,949.
Finally, if you crave a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the top-shelf M4 Max chip inside, it'll cost $3,199 to start. That starter model has a 14-core CPU, a 32-core GPU, 36GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD. You'll also find an M4 Max version with a 40-core GPU starting at $3,699. This model boosts the laptop's memory and storage limits to 128GB and 8TB, respectively, with a fully loaded configuration topping out at a princely $7,049.
So much for 14; then there's the bigger-screen MacBook Pro. With the 16-inch model's price ranging between $2,499 and $7,349, it's evident that you have plenty of options for customizing your build at purchase. The $2,499 base unit is outfitted with an M4 Pro processor, Apple's middle chip in the family. With 14 CPU cores (10 performance cores and six efficiency cores), it's a very muscular system for most office workers and a good basic model for content-creation and -editing pros. The stock model now comes with a 20-core GPU and 24GB of memory, as well as 512GB of SSD storage. That's enough power to drive two external monitors at up to 6K resolution and as fast as 60Hz.
Stepping up to the more powerful M4 Max processor bumps the price to $3,499. It comes with a more powerful 14‑core CPU and a beefy 32‑core GPU. It starts with 36GB of unified memory and now has 1TB of SSD storage. This power also allows it to double its maximum display support.
However, the M4 Max model can be upgraded considerably , with options for a more powerful 16-core M4 Max chip and 40-core GPU, up to 128GB of memory, and up to 8TB of SSD storage. Add it all up (and throw in the nano-texture screen), and the top possible model sells for $7,349.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops are also obvious choices for professionals who plan to connect peripherals like external monitors or transfer data using SD cards. Both include a full-size HDMI port and an SD card reader, setting them apart from the USB-C/Thunderbolt-only MacBook Air models.
What About Touch-Screen MacBooks?
All current Apple MacBook models lack any form of touch input, following the end of the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar, replaced by the 14-inch model during the M3 generation. Touch screens seem to go against Apple's laptop design philosophy, looking to keep focus on the keyboard and touchpad experience instead.
An Apple iPad or a Windows laptop is your best alternative for using a digital stylus or for other tasks best suited to touch screens. Fortunately, the trackpads on all Apple laptops are excellent, with oversized glass surfaces and virtual "haptic" feedback instead of a physical click mechanism.
So, Which Apple MacBook Should I Buy?
We hope this rundown has helped clear up that decision for you. These days, Apple seems to release updated Mac laptop models of some flavor twice a year. We're getting into a rhythm with M-series chip releases, debuting in the early-to-mid-year, followed by new MacBook Pros launching before the end of each year. Of late, we've been able to expect the latest M-series chip line to finish out on MacBook Air models early the following year. If you're not sure if a MacBook Air or Pro is your thing, also look at our roundup of the best laptops overall —Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS alike—to see how Apple's crew fits in among the other-OS competition.
