MacBook Guides

Avg Price: $1404

Apple introduced the 14” MacBook Pro alongside a 16” model in October 2021. The 14” MacBook Pro serves as a follow-up to the 13” model that was released in late-2020. This model features a 14.2” Liquid Retina XDR display with True Tone and ProMotion technology and is available with Apple’s M1 Pro or M1 Max processor chip. Options to configure this model include up to 64GB of RAM and up to 8TB of storage, and key features include three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port, an SDXC memory card slot, and Touch ID. This model also features a 1080p FaceTime HD camera and ships with macOS Monterey.

Avg Price: $652

Apple announced a refreshed MacBook 13-inch in May 2020 with a new keyboard, double the storage, and faster performance options. Apple’s new Magic Keyboard officially makes its way to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, killing off the previous model’s controversial Butterfly keyboard. The new keyboard brings more travel with quieter typing, inverted “T” arrow keys, and physical escape key. Intel’s 10th-generation processors are also on board, with optional quad-core options delivering 4.1GHz Turbo Boost speeds and 80% faster Iris graphics. 16GB of faster 3733MHz RAM is now standard, with up to 32GB RAM available for the first time on the 13-inch MacBook. Storage configurations range from 256GB to 1TB, and can even go up to 4TB with a custom order. This is all in addition to staple features, like a True Tone Retina display, Bluetooth 5.0, T2 Chip, Hey Siri, Force Touch trackpad, high-quality stereo speakers and up to 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. At launch, the new retail price for the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) started at $1,299.

Avg Price: $590

Apple released two versions of the 13” MacBook Air in 2020. The first version was released in March 2020, which featured updated Icy Lake Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 processors. The second version was released in November 2020 and was the first MacBook Air to feature an Apple M1 processor chip. These two notebooks serve as the final models to be released as part of the 3rd generation MacBook Air lineup.

Avg Price: $501

Apple shifted back to a mid-year release with the 2019 model MacBook Air, this time arriving in July 2019. This model shared many of the same specs as the 2018 model, however, Apple did upgrade the display with True Tone. The display size remained unchanged at 13.3-inches and the resolution was 2560 x 1600. The 2019 MacBook Air was powered by a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor and had Intel UHD Graphics 617, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage. The 2019 MacBook Air was running macOS 10.14 Mojave at launch. Other hardware specs included the butterfly style keyboard, Apple T2 security chip, a 720p FaceTime HD camera, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This 2019 model also kept the 4379 mAh battery and 2.75-pound weight that was found on the 2018 model Air.

Avg Price: $721

Apple kicked off its fifth generation of MacBook Pro in November 2019. The MacBook Pro 16” 2019 serves as the successor to the fourth-generation 15” model released earlier that year. As its name implies, the MacBook Pro 16” features a 16-inch Retina display with a 3072×1920 resolution at an insanely crisp 226 pixels-per-inch, making it the largest screen on a MacBook since the 17” model was discontinued in 2012. Despite its larger screen, the ultra-thin bezels on the MacBook Pro 16” mean that it’s only slightly larger than the outgoing 15" model. Internal specifications are nearly identical to the MacBook Pro 15” 2019, with its ninth-generation Intel Core i7 (6-core) and Core i9 (8-core) processors and AMD Radeon Pro GPU options. As a result, the MacBook Pro 16” is lightning fast, and more than capable of functioning as a mobile workstation for even the most demanding professionals. Finally, the MacBook Pro 16” offers an improved typing experience with the new scissor-style Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar, a physical escape key, and a Touch ID sensor for authentication.

Avg Price: $613

The fourth-generation MacBook Pro 15” received its final update in May 2019, prior to being replaced in November 2019 by its 16” fifth-generation successor. While similar in external appearance and overall feature set to its predecessor, the MacBook Pro 2019 15” boasts a number of improvements to performance and device longevity. Most notably, this model updates the processor to Intel’s ninth-generation Intel Core i7 (6-core) and Core i9 (8-core) processors. Additionally, the butterfly keyboard was updated with new materials to improve long term reliability. As with previous generations, the 2019 MacBook Pro features a large Force Touch trackpad, a high-resolution 15.4-inch True Tone Retina display, and a context-aware Touch Bar with Touch ID instead of traditional function and power keys.

Avg Price: $509

In May 2019, Apple introduced a somewhat minor update to the MacBook Pro 13-inch. The design remains the same as previous fourth-generation models, but adds faster 2.4 GHz/1.4 GHz Intel Coffee Lake CPUs. Everything else is the same as the previous year’s models, with the MacBook Pro 13-inch (2019) coming equipped with True Tone Retina display, third generation butterfly keyboard, Bluetooth 5.0, T2 Chip, Hey Siri, Force Touch trackpad, high-quality speakers and up to 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports. Although Apple dropped non-Touch Bar models the previous year, they did introduce a lower-end MacBook Pro 13-inch with 2 USB-C ports instead of 4, but still keeps the Touch Bar intact. Apple also promised to replace any faulty keyboards with butterfly switches (including previous year’s models) up to four years after sale date.

Avg Price: $464

The updated fourth-generation MacBook Pro 13-inch was released in July 2018 with updated Intel Coffee Lake quad-core processors, Iris 655 graphics, and more. A new True Tone display adjusts color temp based on ambient lighting, and newer third-generation butterfly keyboards have been tweaked to prevent dust and debris from causing malfunctions over time. Other hardware specs include Bluetooth 5.0, the T2 Chip, Hey Siri functionality, Retina display, large Force Touch trackpad, 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, and high quality speakers. This was also the year that Apple officially dropped the entry-level non-Touch Bar models from the MacBook Pro lineup, so all models now officially feature the OLED Touch Bar.

Avg Price: $588

Apple refreshed the fourth-generation MacBook Pro in July 2018 with an update that brought faster processors, updated graphics chips, and new keyboards. Performance was given a substantial boost, thanks to the new eighth-generation Intel Core i7 (Coffee Lake) hexacore processor and faster AMD Radeon Pro 555X or Radeon Pro 560X discrete graphics chips. This generation also received an update to the butterfly keyboard, aimed at preventing dust and debris from causing key failure over time. Finally, the 2018 MacBook Pro received yet another update in November 2018, giving power users the option to upgrade to the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 and Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics processors for graphics-intensive tasks.

Avg Price: $412

The 2018 MacBook Air release was a late-year release and took place in October. Apple kept the MacBook Air available in one size, the 13-inch model, however, the 2018 Air marked the start of the third-generation. This jump in generation meant a few changes such as a higher-resolution display and the introduction of the Apple T2 security chip. The display was 13.3-inches with a max resolution of 2560 x 1600. This release of the MacBook Air included a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of SSD storage, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, a 720p FaceTime HD camera, a Butterfly style keyboard and was running macOS 10.14 Mojave. Other hardware specs for this model year included Intel UHD Graphics 617, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 4379 mAh battery, and 2.75-pound weight.