Apple MacBook

Picking a MacBook comes down to how hard you push it. For study, email and streaming, MacBook Neo on the A18 Pro chip is the entry point with the full macOS experience and up to 16 hours of battery. If you want a thin, silent laptop that still handles photo editing and heavy multitasking, MacBook Air with M5 in 13 or 15-inch is the one most people should buy. When you edit video, compile code or run demanding apps all day, MacBook Pro with M5, M5 Pro or M5 Max in 14 or 16-inch adds the Liquid Retina XDR display and sustained performance. Compare the three families below.

Which MacBook is right for you

The three MacBook families are built for three kinds of user, and the fastest way to choose is to be honest about the heaviest thing you will do on it. If that is writing, browsing, lectures and streaming, MacBook Neo gives you the full macOS experience on the A18 Pro chip for the least outlay, with up to 16 hours of battery and fixed 8GB memory that suits lighter apps. If it is photo editing, big spreadsheets, music production or keeping twenty tabs and three apps open, MacBook Air with M5 is the one most people should buy. It has no fan, so it stays silent, and it comes in a 13-inch size for carrying and a 15-inch for a bigger screen. If it is video editing, software builds, 3D or anything that runs flat out for hours, MacBook Pro earns its place with active cooling, the Liquid Retina XDR display and the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

Air or Pro

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro overlap more than the names suggest. Both run the M5 chip at the entry point, both support external displays and both handle Apple Intelligence on the device. The Pro pulls ahead when a job runs long. Its cooling sustains full speed through an hour-long export where the Air slows to protect itself, its display is brighter with far deeper contrast for colour work, and its M5 Pro and M5 Max options bring more memory and bandwidth. Pay for the Pro if your work is sustained and visual. Buy the Air if your work comes in bursts.

Size and memory

Size is about where you use it. A 13 or 14-inch MacBook lives in a bag and on a lap. A 15 or 16-inch one is a laptop you mostly open on a desk. Memory is about what you keep open. 16GB covers study and office work, 24GB covers creative apps and heavy multitasking, and the 32GB to 48GB configurations on MacBook Pro are for editors and developers whose projects are measured in gigabytes. Storage is the easiest to decide. 512GB is enough if your library lives in iCloud, and 1TB or more if you keep video and photos on the machine.

Deals, desktops and accessories

MacBook models with a Red Hot Deal sit on the Apple MacBook deals page. If you would rather have a Mac that stays on the desk, iMac builds the screen in and Mac mini sits under a monitor you already own. A Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad for a docked setup is on the Apple accessories page. Every MacBook here is available online and in store at JB Hi-Fi.

^Discounts apply to previous ticketed / advertised price prior to the discount offer. As we negotiate, products will likely have been sold below ticketed / advertised price prior to the discount offer. Prices may differ at airport stores.