You want a MacBook to take to uni, but which one is right for you? Our guide will help you choose between the powerhouse MacBook Pro and the sleek MacBook Air…
Apple MacBook Air (11 or 13-inch)
In a nutshell: This super-slim, ultraportable MacBook is perfect for the student who wants a laptop to carry around campus, write essays, browse the web and watch movies – even at the same time.
Main benefits
Apple’s most affordable MacBook– will swallow up less of your student loan
Go from home to lectures to library and back again. It’s a thin and portable MacBook
Multi-tasking dream – write essays, compile spreadsheets, stream Spotify and browse Facebook all at the same time with a powerful Intel Core processor
Edit photos using Adobe programs like Photoshop or using Apple’s own iPhoto suite
Halls, lectures, library, cafes, pubs, trains, buses. You’re always on the move when you’re a student. Work in all of these places and more with a super-light, super-powerful MacBook.
Meet the Apple MacBook Air. It’s light. It’s thin. It’s rugged. It’s powerful. Sling it in your bag and carry it around all day and night. It’s 1.7cm thick and weighs a fraction more than a bag of sugar (1.08kg for the 11-inch model).
Thin doesn’t mean flimsy though. It’s tough too. Fashioned from a single piece of aluminium, it can handle life inside your rucksack or satchel.
What about battery life? There’s no point having a super-light laptop that flakes out by lunchtime. You’ll get up to 12 hours of battery power with the MacBook Air (13-inch), to keep you going from breakfast to dinner.
Working late? The backlit keyboard will keep you tapping away on your latest essay way beyond sundown. When the work is done reward yourself with an episode of House of Cards on Netflix – the screen is set up like a widescreen TV with its 16.9 aspect ratio.
Whatever you’re doing – whether work or play – it’s fast too. It wakes up quickly, and responds to your clicks and taps fast with flash storage.
It’s powerful as well as portable. You can write essays, run spreadsheets, stream Netflix and browse the web all at the same time – thanks to the impressive Intel Core i5 processor.
The Core i5 processor is also robust enough for laying down songs in GarageBand and editing movies in iMovie.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display (13 or 15-inch)
In a nutshell: The perfect MacBook for high-resolution video editing and 3D modelling thanks to its powerful processor and fast graphics processing. Also great for illustration, graphic design and photography with its large, high-quality screen.
Main benefits
Work in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop in close-up, super-sharp detail with the Retina screen. These programmes are sold seperately.
Edit high-resolution video in Final Cut Pro, or design 3D models for architecture in AutoCAD (programs sold separately do not come installed on a MacBook)
Demanding programs load and save fast thanks to the advanced flash storage
Graphics are smooth and fluid.
Want to run demanding design programs whether at home or in the uni library? The MacBook Pro condenses masses of power into a laptop portable enough to carry to and from lectures.
It comes with either the Intel Core i5 (13 inch) or Core i7 (15 inch) processor. Video production and architecture students are best suited to the i7. Graphic designers, illustrators and photography students will be fine with the Core i5 model.
Decoding video is simple, with the i7 making short work of rendering high-definition video. The video you edit will be super sharp – thanks to the Retina display.
Photography student? Edit photos pixel by pixel for precision work – the screen has 4 million pixels. See details you wouldn’t have noticed before. See video in super-sharp Full HD.
Photo and video editing is fast and responsive, and you can move fluidly around large photo libraries thanks to superfast flash storage. Less demanding stuff – writing essays, web browsing, Netflix streaming – is super speedy too.
Architecture students can add colours and texture to their 3D wire-frame designs without lag or delay.
Whatever Mac you choose to take to university with you we're here to help. Discover everything you need for your studies at Currys.
