Best MacBooks (2026): Neo, Air, or Pro?

Apple has completely reset the MacBook lineup. There's the introduction of the budget-friendly MacBook Neo, which is the biggest change. But Apple has also quietly adjusted pricing and configurations across the M5 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro too, creating a $500 gap between the three models in the lineup. More options means you should be able find a MacBook that matches your needs and budget. It also means more confusion, potentially.

But I've tested MacBooks for over a decade, including all the latest models. Here's how to easily figure out which is best for you. Don't see anything you like? Be sure to check out the rest of our computer buying guides, like the Best Laptops, the Best Cheap Laptops, and the Best Windows Laptops for more.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

Yes. Every MacBook has been refreshed as of March 2026, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the new MacBook Neo. You're getting the latest and greatest from Apple right now, meaning you'll be getting the maximum amount of years out of it, including ongoing software support from Apple.

However, because they're brand new, pricing on these models are high as they'll ever be. We're seeing small discounts, such as the $50 sale on the M5 MacBook Air right now. You might be considering waiting until the next big sale, but we may not see prices drop that much this year. Due to the tremendous increase in demand for memory in AI data centers, a serious memory shortage is building and will affect laptop prices starting in 2026 and beyond. Companies like HP and Lenovo have already made official statements about how this will be addressed in 2026. Apple responded by resetting its lineup, but we'll have to wait and see if the discounts this year dip as low as they did in 2025.

There's one major MacBook rumored to launch later this year that will be a major moment. There have been reports about it for years, sporting an OLED display, a touchscreen-optimized interface, M6 chip, and a thinner chassis. While this was once seen as a new MacBook Pro, the latest report from Bloomberg talks about an alternative high-end machine, possibly known as a MacBook Ultra. It sounds like this would be a way for Apple to offer a more expensive MacBook that isn't purely performance-driven.

A Breakdown of Each M-Series Chip

All of Apple’s processors are scattered throughout different MacBook models, and you can find older models at specific third-party retailers online, either completely new or refurbished. If you do stumble upon its older chips (which came out four years ago), you might be wondering how they compare to other options. We break down the differences between each one.

M5 Series

M5: The M5 chips are the latest options from Intel, having started in late 2025 on the launch of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro. The base M5 still has up to a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, although there's also a lower-tier 9-core CPU that's available in the iPad Pro. The M5 is around 10 to 15 percent faster in CPU performance, but also takes a significant step up in GPU, AI workloads, and even storage speed. Like Apple's mobile chips, the M5 is now available on the MacBook Air as well.

M5 Pro: Available exclusively on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros right now, the M5 Pro comes with up to an 18-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. The base configuration starts with only a 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, though. Like in previous generations, the “Pro” chip gets all the same benefits in the M5 architecture, but adds more cores and improved memory bandwidth. The biggest advantage is in GPU and on-device AI performance. This time around, however, both the M5 Pro and M5 Max also debuted something called “Fusion Architecture,” a new version of UltraFusion (which previously only used on the Ultra chips) that combines two dies together across a super-fast interconnect.

M5 Max: The M5 Max is the M5 Pro—only more GPU power. You get the option for up to 40 GPU cores, which turns puts the MacBook Pro on the level of high-end gaming laptops in terms of graphics performance. Add in the neural accelerators that are now built into each GPU core, and you've got one of the most powerful AI laptops on the market. In terms of Apple rankings, it's only bested in GPU performance by the M3 Ultra, which is currently only available in the Mac Studio.

M4 Series

M4: The M4 originally launched in 2024. It has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Apple claims it delivers 1.8 times faster CPU performance and 2.2 times faster GPU performance than the M1. Meanwhile, the neural engine is over three times faster than the original and twice as fast as the M3. It also starts with 16 GB of unified memory, which will help power Apple Intelligence (the company's suite of artificial intelligence features) a lot more smoothly. It's available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro (2024), iMac (2024), and MacBook Air (13-inch and 15-inch, 2025).

M4 Pro: The M4 Pro has a 14-core CPU (which Apple claims is up to 1.9 times faster than the M1 Pro) and up to a 20-core GPU, with up to 64 GB of unified memory. Built on a second-generation 3-nanometer process, it also supports enhanced GPU features like mesh shading and ray tracing—the latter of which is now twice as fast as on M3 chips. You'll find it on the 2024 MacBook Pro (14-inch and 16-inch) and Mac Mini (2024).

M4 Max: This chip has a 16-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU with support for up to 128 GB of unified memory. Apple says the CPU is up to 2.2 times faster than the M1 Max, while the GPU is up to 1.9 times faster. As with the M4 Pro, it packs support for mesh shading and ray tracing. The M4 Max is available as an option on the 2024 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and you can also get it as an option in the current Mac Studio.

M3 Series

M3: The M3 was available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro (late 2023), 13-inch MacBook Air (2024), 15-inch MacBook Air (2024), and 24-inch iMac (2023). It packs an 8-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU with 24 GB of unified memory. When compared to the M1, Apple claimed CPU performance was up to 35 percent faster, and GPU performance was up to 65 percent faster. The company said the CPU and GPU are both 20 percent faster than the M2. As with the M1 and M2, it was great for basic tasks like word processing, sending emails, using spreadsheets, and light gaming. With the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, you also had support for two external displays (one display with up to 6K resolution at 60 Hz and another with up to 5K resolution at 60 Hz).

M3 Pro: With a 12-core CPU and an 18-core GPU, Apple claimed the M3 Pro's GPU is only up to 10 percent faster than the M2 Pro—making this a marginal upgrade from its predecessor. Compared to the M1 Pro, however, the M2 Pro had up to 40 percent faster in GPU performance and 20 percent faster in CPU performance. It was available on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2023. It was the ideal in-between for those who need a chip that's more powerful than the M3 but wouldn't utilize the full power of the M3 Max.

M3 Max: This was the next step up from the M2 Max and the most powerful of the three chips (but still not as powerful as the M2 Ultra). It had a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and up to 128 GB of unified memory. According to Apple, the CPU performance was up to 80 percent faster than the M1 Max and up to 50 percent faster than the M2 Max. As for GPU performance, it was said to be up to 50 percent faster than the M1 Max and 20 percent faster than the M2 Max. The M3 Max was available on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro (late 2023).

M3 Ultra: While the M3 lineup was introduced in 2023, Apple announced an M3 Ultra in 2025. Confusingly, it remains the most powerful chip in the M-series lineup—even better than the latest M4 Max and M5. It has an up to 32-core CPU (with 24 performance cores) and a GPU with up to 80 cores. Apple claims it's up to 2.5 times faster than the M1 Ultra. It also