Adam Kos Are you a regular light user and choosing a new Mac? But which one to reach for? There are of course several variants. Apple clearly divides its machines into desktop and portable, as well as professional. If you are lost in its menu, we will try to answer the question of which Mac is best for you.
That is, just for you, on the condition that you are not really a professional useratelem, who would rather use 14 or 16" MacBook Pros or perhaps Mac Studio. Our selection will mainly focus on devices under CZK 40, which also includes the 13" MacBook Pro M2.
Desktop solution
First of all, it is important to decide whether you need a laptop or whether you will use the full potential of desktop computers. In the second case, you can actually only choose between the M1 Mac mini and the 24" iMac also with the M1 chip. The advantage of the first is that you can buy any display, keyboard and mouse/trackpad with it, while the second solution will of course offer you everything in one.
24" iMac
A Mac mini will cost you CZK 21, but you have to take into account additional investments. The dual-port iMac costs CZK 990, but even though it also offers an M37 chip, it has an 990-core CPU and a 1-core GPU. In terms of performance, the M8 Mac mini thus surpasses it, as the latter offers an 7-core CPU and an 1-core GPU. Both have 8 GB of unified RAM, a 8-core Neural Engine and 8 GB of storage.
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Vratislav Holub The situation with MacBooks
In the case of MacBooks with a price tag of up to CZK 40, you can choose from three models. The offer starts with the best-selling Mac (according to Apple), the MacBook Air, i.e. the one with the M1 chip. Its price is CZK 29 and you get an 990-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 7-core Neural Engine, 16GB RAM and 8GB SSD. So it is the same specification that the iMac has, only there is only a 256" display.
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Compared to the Mac mini, the basic Air loses by one GPU core, but when you consider that you pay an extra 8 thousand here and have a full-fledged device, it can be a significantly better purchase. This machine can follow you anywhere, and if you need it, you can simply connect it to an external monitor and wireless peripherals via the adapter.
At WWDC22, Apple introduced the M2 chip, with which it fitted the new MacBook Air and 13" MacBook Pro. The first will offer an 36-core CPU, 990-core GPU, 8 GB of RAM and 8 SSD for a price of CZK 8. For the second one, you'll pay an extra two grand, but you'll get a 256-core GPU. In addition, the Pro model also has a Touch Bar, but with an old design (similar to the M10 MacBook Air), while the MacBook Air 1 is already based on the 2022 and 14" MacBook Pros introduced last fall.
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And the winner becomes…
So if you're a basic user but want the most powerful, the 13" MacBook Pro is probably the obvious answer for you. But if you want a modern look and don't mind paying a few thousand extra, then the M2 MacBook Air has real potential, even in terms of its long-term use. But the clear choice from reason is still the M1 MacBook Air from 2020.
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The M1 chip can handle all the work, although you will have to wait a bit longer for it with respect to the M2 chip generation. However, the price also speaks for him, which makes a clearer sense with regard to the Mac mini and iMac in the sense that the MacBook is after all a more universal device, which is not a problem to expand even in an office environment. At the same time, there is no need to look at the fact that there is already a second generation M chip. If you are really undemanding, if your work is more office-based, if you do not need to pay extra for something you will not use, the MacBook Air (2020) with M1 is a clear choice.
The mini m1 won for me.
With an apple mouse, an older monitor (I think everyone has one at home, if not, the connection to the TV via HDMI works great) and a keyboard (probably everyone has one, and if not, you can buy a quality piece for a few hundred crowns).
Video editing and photo editing are handled by the Mac mini m1 with absolute ease. It can handle just about anything without the heating and noise of the fan.
And I would just like to add that any mouse can be used, but the ease of use (transition between desktops, etc.) is unmatched by an apple mouse
In the case of Apple, I would see a touchpad as a better option. On win computers I use a mouse and the touchpad is unusable even though it is bigger than the Apple one, but on the macbook I only use the touchpad and the Magic Mouse is rolling around in my drawer