There are generally two groups of people who shop for MacBooks: people who want to buy an Apple laptop, and people who need one for school, work, or some other reason.If you want a MacBook for all the things it can do, such as editing photos and writing code and recording music and hoarding a few dozen tabs, we recommend the M5 MacBook Air. It’s fantastic for multitasking, and its M5 processor makes it faster, quieter, and more energy-efficient than nearly any other laptop available.If you need to buy a MacBook and are looking for something basic, or if you’re shopping for someone who wants the Apple experience, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money, buy the MacBook Neo. While every other laptop manufacturer is raising prices, Apple has made a machine that costs only $600 but is surprisingly capable enough to go online, handle schoolwork, and play a good number of games (36 of the 50 games we tried in our tests). The Air is the better laptop, as it can do more for most people, and the Neo has some considerable drawbacks, including limited RAM and storage. But in a year where the costs of electronics are continuing to rise with no end in sight, the Neo is a strong option for people who don’t need tons of processing power.And if you need more processing power — or just an HDMI port — then the Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro, 2026) is your best bet. The MacBook Pro isn’t faster than the Air or Neo for most daily tasks, but you’ll notice its processing power when working with photos, videos, 3D renders, or other intensive tasks.