✓ Updated: October 2026 | 3 products compared
The best Apple laptop for most people in 2026 is the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M5 chip. It weighs 1.23kg, has no fan, and Apple rates it at up to 15 hours of wireless web use. The version we list comes with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD, which is the configuration we'd buy. Go for the 15-inch Air if you want a bigger screen and louder speakers, or the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro chip if you edit video, write code or run heavy apps for hours at a stretch.
We've kept this to three MacBooks you can buy new from Amazon UK, each checked against Apple's own spec pages for the exact configuration. Renewed and used Macs aren't included, which is why the older M1 and M2 Airs have gone from this page.
Quick Picks
Best overall: MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 16GB, 512GB). Silent, light and quick enough for nearly everything.
Best big screen: MacBook Air 15-inch (M5, 16GB, 512GB). A 15.3-inch display, a 10-core GPU and six speakers.
Best for heavy work: MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 24GB, 512GB). More cores, a 120Hz XDR screen, HDMI and an SD card slot.
Best Apple Laptops at a Glance
| Product |
Best For |
Chip |
Memory and storage |
Screen |
Weight |
Price |
Rating |
| Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) |
Most people |
M5, 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU |
16GB, 512GB SSD |
13.6in, 2560 x 1664, 500 nits |
1.23kg |
£1,187.97 |
★★★★½ (4.6) |
| Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M5) |
Big screen |
M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU |
16GB, 512GB SSD |
15.3in, 2880 x 1864, 500 nits |
1.51kg |
£1,349.97 |
★★★★☆ (4.4) |
| Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 2024) |
Heavy creative and dev work |
M4 Pro, 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU |
24GB, 512GB SSD |
14.2in XDR, 3024 x 1964, up to 120Hz |
1.60kg |
£1,999.00 |
★★★★½ (4.7) |
Best Overall
This is the MacBook we'd point most people towards. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, split into four of what Apple calls super cores and six efficiency cores, with an 8-core GPU alongside. The listing here is the 16GB, 512GB model in Sky Blue. Memory on a MacBook is fixed when you buy it, so 16GB matters more than it would on a laptop you could open up later: it's the difference between a machine that copes with a busy browser, a video call and a document all at once, and one that starts shuffling things to disk.
There's no fan. Apple designs the Air to be completely silent, which is lovely in a library or a quiet office. Fanless laptops do have one catch: during a long, heavy job such as a big video export they slow themselves down to stay cool, where a laptop with fans can keep going at full pace. For writing, browsing, spreadsheets, photo edits and the odd bit of light video work, that limit rarely comes into play.
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen runs at 2560 x 1664 and 500 nits, with support for P3 wide colour. Around it you get a 12MP Center Stage camera, a four-speaker system, a backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and Wi-Fi 7 plus Bluetooth 6 through Apple's N1 wireless chip. Battery capacity is 53.8Wh, and Apple claims up to 18 hours of video streaming or 15 hours of wireless web.
Two things to plan for. Ports are two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) sockets, a MagSafe 3 charging port and a headphone jack, so an HDMI monitor, an SD card or an old USB-A stick means an adapter. And there's no power adapter in the UK box, only a USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable. Apple says you need at least a 30W USB-C charger, and 70W or more for fast charging, so budget for one if you don't already own a suitable brick.
Pros
- 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage in this configuration
- Silent fanless design
- Light at 1.23kg and 1.13cm thick
- Apple claims up to 15 hours of wireless web
- Wi-Fi 7 and support for two external displays
Cons
- No power adapter in the box
- Only two USB-C ports, no HDMI or SD slot
- Memory and storage can't be upgraded later
- Slows under long, heavy workloads, as fanless laptops do
Which Apple Laptop Should You Buy?
Start with the 13-inch MacBook Air. For email, browsing, documents, study, streaming and photo editing, it has more than enough power, and being silent and light makes it easy to live with. It's also the lowest-priced of the three; Apple lists it below the 15-inch.
Move to the 15-inch Air if you spend most of the day with two windows side by side, or you watch a lot on your laptop and want the better speakers. Performance is close, with a slight edge for the 15-inch on graphics.
Choose the MacBook Pro only if you can name the heavy work you'll do on it. The extra cores, the XDR screen and the ports earn their keep for video editors, photographers, developers and music producers. For everyone else, that money is better spent on a bigger SSD or AppleCare.
Best MacBook for Writers and Students
For long writing sessions, the 13-inch Air is the one. The backlit Magic Keyboard has full-height function keys and Touch ID, there's no fan noise to distract you, and 1.23kg is easy to carry between lectures, libraries and cafés. If you write with research notes or a PDF open beside your draft, the 15-inch Air's bigger screen makes that split far more comfortable, at the cost of 280g more in your bag.
Best MacBook Under £2,000
Both MacBook Airs sit comfortably inside a £2,000 budget, with room left over for a charger, a USB-C hub or AppleCare. The MacBook Pro is the borderline one. It sits right on the £2,000 line, and prices on previous-generation stock move around, so check the live price on its card before you set your heart on it.
Is There a Good New MacBook Under £1,000?
Not among these three at full price. If your ceiling is £1,000, £750 or £700, the 13-inch Air is the closest of the three, so keep an eye on its live price for offers. We don't include renewed or used MacBooks on this page. If a lower price matters more than macOS, our guide to HP laptops under £500 covers new laptops at a fraction of the cost.
Buying Guide: What to Look For in an Apple Laptop
M5 or M4 Pro: which chip?
The M5 in both Airs is Apple's newer chip, built for everyday speed and efficiency. The M4 Pro is an older generation but a bigger chip, with more CPU cores, twice the GPU cores of the 13-inch Air and much more memory bandwidth. Newer isn't the same as bigger: the M4 Pro's extra cores and bandwidth matter most on long, heavy jobs, while everyday tasks rarely stretch either chip.
Memory: why 16GB is the floor
Apple fixes memory at the point of sale. You can't add more later, so buy for how you'll use the laptop in three or four years, not just today. 16GB covers most people comfortably. The Pro's 24GB is worth having for large photo libraries, virtual machines or music projects with many plug-ins.
Storage
All three come with a 512GB SSD, and like memory it can only be chosen when you order. If you keep a big photo or video library, a fast external SSD over Thunderbolt is a much cheaper way to add space than a higher configuration.
13-inch or 15-inch?
The 13-inch is the better travel laptop and fits in almost any bag. The 15-inch gives you noticeably more working room and better sound, and it's still light for its size at 1.51kg.
Chargers and ports
Neither Air includes a power adapter in the UK, so factor one in: 30W minimum for the 13-inch, 35W for the 15-inch, and 70W or more if you want fast charging. The MacBook Pro includes a 70W adapter. If you use an HDMI monitor, SD cards or USB-A accessories with an Air, budget for a small USB-C hub as well.
Best Big Screen
The 15-inch Air is the same idea stretched out. You get a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display at 2880 x 1864 and 500 nits, which is enough room to keep two documents side by side without squinting, or a spreadsheet and a browser window open together. That extra space is the main reason to buy it.
It isn't only the screen that changes. Every 15-inch M5 Air comes with a 10-core GPU, where the 13-inch model above has eight cores, so graphics-heavy work such as photo editing gets a little more headroom. The speaker system moves up to six drivers with force-cancelling woofers, and the battery grows to 66.5Wh. Apple quotes the same up to 18 hours of video and 15 hours of wireless web as the 13-inch, since the bigger screen takes much of the extra capacity.
Memory and storage match the smaller Air here: 16GB and a 512GB SSD, both fixed at purchase. It's fanless too, with the same Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, 12MP Center Stage camera and Touch ID. Ports are identical: two Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3 and a headphone jack.
The costs are weight and bag space. At 1.51kg and 34cm wide, it's still light for a 15-inch laptop, but it won't slip into a small sleeve the way the 13-inch does. There's no charger in the box either. Apple's minimum for this model is a 35W USB-C charger, or 70W or more for fast charging.
Pros
- Large 15.3-inch screen at 2880 x 1864
- 10-core GPU on every 15-inch M5 model
- Six-speaker sound system
- Silent fanless design
- Bigger 66.5Wh battery
Cons
- No power adapter in the box
- Heavier and wider than the 13-inch
- Same limited ports as the 13-inch
- No battery life gain over the 13-inch on Apple's own figures
Best for Heavy Work
If your work involves long exports, big code builds, music projects with lots of tracks or large photo libraries, this is the one. The M4 Pro has a 12-core CPU (eight performance cores and four efficiency cores) and a 16-core GPU, with 24GB of unified memory and 273GB/s of memory bandwidth. The Airs above manage 153GB/s. More cores, more memory and more bandwidth are what count once a job runs for minutes rather than seconds.
The screen is a clear step up. It's a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR panel at 3024 x 1964, with ProMotion refresh rates up to 120Hz, up to 1,000 nits sustained across the whole screen and 1,600 nits peak for HDR content. For grading video or editing HDR photos, neither Air comes close.
You also get the ports the Airs leave out: three Thunderbolt 5 sockets, an HDMI port that can drive an 8K display at 60Hz or a 4K one at 240Hz, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 and a headphone jack. Unlike the Airs, a 70W USB-C power adapter comes in the box. The battery is 72.4Wh, and Apple rates this model at up to 22 hours of video streaming or 14 hours of wireless web.
Be clear about what you're buying. This is the 2024 model. Apple has since moved the 14-inch Pro on to M5-generation chips and no longer sells this configuration itself, though Amazon UK still sells it new. It also has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, a generation behind the Airs' Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. At 1.60kg it's the heaviest of the three, and the 512GB SSD is the same size as the Airs', so plan on external storage if you shoot a lot of video.
Pros
- 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU and 24GB of memory
- XDR screen with 120Hz ProMotion and up to 1,600 nits HDR peak
- HDMI, SD card slot and three Thunderbolt 5 ports
- 70W charger included
- Apple claims up to 22 hours of video playback
Cons
- Previous-generation model, no longer sold by Apple
- Wi-Fi 6E rather than Wi-Fi 7
- Heaviest here at 1.60kg
- 512GB fills quickly with video projects
