Apple's product lineup has evolved quite a bit, with more options available today than at any point in the company's history. This overabundance of choice means finding the right device can be intimidating for the first-time buyer or aspiring professional. This guide is meant for anyone hoping to incorporate a Mac into their creative workflow and should help you break down and more easily identify which device might be right for you.
There are currently six categories that comprise the Mac universe: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Of course, within those categories exists a whole fleet of different models that vary based on different specs and features like display size or chipset. These base models can also be tailored even further, depending on your needs. We're going to take a look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of select models, with the creative professional in mind.
MacBook Pro, M4 Pro, and M4 Max
The MacBook Pro has been around even longer than the Air, and there's a reason that it's the company's best-selling Mac to date. The Pro is a great place to start for anyone who needs power and portability. As far as variations go, Apple streamlined their offerings, removing the 13-inch variant from the lineup completely. Leaving only the 14- and 16-inch versions as the only available models of this tier. A new edition to this family of MacBook Pros is the option to have Nano-textured glass which prevents glaring, essential for brightly lit rooms and outdoors.
First and foremost, the Pro is designed for creatives who absolutely need portability and aren't willing to compromise on power. The M4 Pro and M4 Max chipsets are significantly more powerful than the standard M4 chip, so if you're doing the computational equivalent of heavy lifting (editing 4K video or playing graphically intensive games, for example), these are designed with that kind of work in mind. Meanwhile, the baseline MacBook Pro with M4 chip acts as an entry-point into the world of Apple, giving great performance with a couple of additional options for upgrading.
A baseline MacBook Pro can be outfitted with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage while the M4 Pro and M4 Max offer scalable performance profiles filled with various options that you can pick and choose from. It is important that you weigh all of your options as there are numerous tiers of M4 Pro and M4 Max chips with various upgrade paths. If you’d like to go more in-depth with the chip, I’d suggest giving our initial announcement a read.
It is also important to note that the M3 family of chips are still viable options. With the introduction of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s approach to AI capabilities, all models of the M3 MacBook Pros start at 16GB without any increase to the base price. And, if you are curious about the differences between the M3 and the M4 families, we have you covered.
MacBook Air, M3
One of Apple's oldest models, the original MacBook Air debuted in 2008, and has more or less been a staple since its inception. The MacBook Air is Apple's “light” notebook in pretty much every sense of the word. Physically, it's designed to be portable―the 15-inch version and 13-inch version weigh 3.3 pounds and 2.7 pounds, respectively. It's light, it's reliable, and, ever since the move to Apple Silicon, the MacBook Air is powerful enough to handle light workloads with ease, thanks to its M3 chipset.
The Air makes a great secondary device for creatives who already have a powerful setup, but we wouldn't recommend making it the primary device in your workflow unless you are running low-resource-demanding applications. Business professionals will find the Air to be a perfect companion when it comes to operating spreadsheets, documents, and more.
Mac mini, M4, and M4 Pro
The Mac mini was recently updated to its current M4-equipped iteration in October of 2024. There's a lot to love about the Mac mini including its redesigned footprint. Featuring a new compact size and great price to performance ratio makes it a fantastic general-purpose use computer at the entry level. Thanks to the availability of M4 Pro, it can also be a very capable machine for advanced tasks under the right conditions, making the Mac mini the perfect device for creative professionals looking for an entry point into Apple's ecosystem without breaking the bank.
There are three starting points for the Mac mini, with two being largely the same. The base model features a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and a 256GB SSD. You can configure the baseline model up to 32GB of memory and up to 2TB for your storage. The third-tier version starts with a 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 24GB of unified memory, and a 512GB SSD. With the addition of M4 Pro, you get a total of three Thunderbolt™ 5 ports for greater connectivity. The Mac mini with M4 Pro is an excellent choice for the creative professional who could benefit from the extra power needed to complete more demanding tasks.
Mac Studio, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra
Taking its design cues from the Mac mini, the Mac Studio is powerful but barely takes up more real estate than its little brother. It was also just updated as recently as June 2023, when Apple finally brought M2 Pro and M2 Ultra to the Mac Studio. The Studio is designed for the user building a dedicated home workstation, meaning portability is certainly not the priority for those looking to make this their primary device. It's a workhorse device, first and foremost, meant for users who need processing power in the upper echelons of Apple's current offerings. The base M1 Max model comes with a 10-core CPU, a 24-core GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine, 32GB of memory, and 512GB of storage, and the Ultra-equipped one packs a 20-core CPU, a 48-core GPU, a 32-core Neural Engine, 64GB of memory, and 1TB of storage. Ports-wise you're looking at four or six Thunderbolt™ 4 ports, and two USB-A or USB-C ports, depending on whether you're purchasing the M2 Max or M2 Ultra version.
All versions feature one HDMI port, a 10Gb Ethernet Port and an SDXC slot on the front. Pound-for-pound, it's also the most computer you can buy from Apple per dollar spent, representing a tremendous value proposition. However, it's not exactly cheap either―the M2 Max-equipped version starts at $1,999.00, and the M2 Ultra version starts at a hefty $3,999.00. If you're the kind of creative looking to build that no-nonsense home editing rig that can get it done, the Mac Studio is a great place to start.
Mac Pro, M2 Ultra
If you're a user who needs power rivaling or beyond the Mac Studio, but its port selection isn't quite up to par, the Mac Pro might be for you. Its biggest strength, on top of its tremendous specs, is the fact that you can configure it further by installing additional cards in its seven PCI Express expansion slots. It's also the only one of Apple's offerings that possesses the flexibility of expansion options. Make no mistake: this is Apple's most powerful option for creatives and it was last updated in June 2023 with a second-generation M2 Ultra chipset. The Mac Pro is configurable with up to a 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, 32‑core Neural Engine, 192GB of unified memory and 8TB of storage, if need be. The ports available on the Mac Pro also beat any of Apple's other offerings, with eight Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB-C ports), three USB-A ports, two HDMI ports, and a Dual 10Gb Ethernet port on top of the already mentioned expansion slots. Pricing for the Mac Pro starts at $6,999.00 for the stand-alone version with feet, or $7,499.00 for the rack-mountable version.
iMac, M4
This year Apple streamlined its iMac lineup with the new 24” iMac with M4 chip. Building off of all the fan-favorite features of the last M3 iMac, the M4 variant offers greater computational power while retaining a clear view. With two different M4 chips, you can choose between an 8-core CPU with 8-core GPU or a 10-core CPU with 10-core GPU, the latter providing you with greater performance to handle a wide range of tasks. Not only does the display offer bright and vivid imagery, but it also now has the option to include the Nano-texture glass if you opt for the 10-core M4 version. Additionally, you get the option to have either 16GB or 32GB of unified memory and up to 2TB of SSD storage with that 10-core model. Naturally, the iMac with M4 comes in a variety of colors including blue, green, orange, pink, purple, silver, and yellow. It also includes a matching Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse adorned with matching colors.
We also like: iPad Pro, M4
That's right, we're not ruling out the iPad Pro here. Not only is it a great device for digital artists in its own right, it's also a fantastic companion device for any creatives looking for a supplementary device for their main rigs. Thanks to M4, the iPad Pro is pretty capable of handling light workloads with ease. Fully kitted out with an Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, the iPad Pro becomes a powerful alternative to a MacBook in its own right. Sure, iPadOS isn't as robust as macOS but every iteration is only making that gap smaller. It's a great alternative for the Air in this sense, but it's not without its own set of quirks. For starters, most iPad-specific versions of Adobe's suite of apps are going to utilize touch controls, which may be a deal-breaker for some. It's definitely worth checking out the iPad Pro if you're the type of creative who wants something light and powerful enough to handle smaller-scale projects. There's a reason that the iPad Pro is a staple for digital artists. In fact, we like it so much, we just recommended it as one of the best tablets for creatives.
Is there anything you swear by that didn't make the list? Let us know in the Comments section, below, if you have any recommendations that you think are essential for making the most out of your Mac device!
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