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BestMacBook for StudentsiMore2020
Sep 29, 2017 The iPad Pro and its second generation have made Apple’s tablets more powerful than they have ever been in the history of iOS. With the release of iOS 11, the iPad is more capable than ever to serve as a primary computing device for many people. College students are some of the best suited primary iPad Pro users, and the following are some of the best apps to help those students flourish in. Jan 27, 2018 7 Useful Mac Apps For College Students If you're a college student and you're using a Mac, these 7 applications will make your life a lot easier. Feb 19, 2017 Published on Feb 19, 2017 These are 15 Must-Have Apps for iMac and Macbook lineups that you should consider owning if you are a Mac user because these apps will. Mar 14, 2017 10 Apps Every College Student Should Use! Best Apps For College - Duration: 13:58. Mac Guru 37,822 views. Best Mac Apps 2017: Must-Have Apps for MacOS! - Duration: 19:46. Highly recommended Best college students apps. IStudiez pro – Homework, Schedule, and Grades. The premium app is full featured as of students need and ease of use (Now app is available for Apple watch). Useful for all aged College, School, and Graduate students. This app is helping millions of students over 30 countries since last 7 years.
Whether you're still in high school or racing across your college campus, a laptop is an essential piece of equipment for every student. Apple makes some of the best laptops around with its MacBook lineup. Whether it's a powerful MacBook Pro, or a light and portable MacBook Air, Apple's laptops will power you through any task you'll meet. For most students, the 2020 MacBook Air is the best choice. It has enough power to face most any academic challenge you come up against, while still offering up to 12 hours of battery life.
Best Overall: MacBook Air (2020)
Most students looking for a new MacBook should pick up the MacBook Air. It's less expensive than other MacBooks, as well as lighter. And though it might not be as powerful as the MacBook Pro, it offers enough power for the average student to get through their daily scholastic workload, especially when outfitted with the optional quad-core Intel Core i7 processor.
The 2020 MacBook Air should also have enough battery to take you from class to class. Like previous versions, the latest iteration of the MacBook Air features up to 12 hours of battery life. This version also features an improved, scissor switch-based Magic Keyboard, just like the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The MacBook Pro is probably overkill for most students. Sure, some will be able to take advantage of its more powerful processors available to it. Still, if most of what you're doing is writing papers, putting together presentations, or doing research on the web, you probably don't need the level of power a MacBook Pro offers.
Pros:
- Great balance of price and power
- Light and portable
- Scissor switch keyboard is back
- Touch ID
- Up to 12 hours of battery life
Best Overall
MacBook Air (2020)
Sweet spot of power, portability, and price.
Lightweight, yet with enough power to get you through most academic tasks, the MacBook Air is the perfect student computer.
Source: iMore
Because the 2019 MacBook Air uses the same processor as the 2018 model, you can save a good deal of money by going with the 2017 model of MacBook Pro. No Retina display, no Touch ID, but it's still a fairly capable machine, even if the processor is a few years old at this point.
You should also have enough battery life to get through your daily workload. Like the more recent models, the 2017 MacBook Air is rated for up to 12 hours of battery life.
While I'd still recommend the newest MacBook Air for most people, the 2017 model is still a solid alternative if you're looking to save some money. It's not flashy, and it won't win any awards for speed, but it'll still be a dependable device throughout your academic life.
Pros:
- Relatively cheap
- Still a solid performer
- USB-A ports
- SD card slot
- Excellent battery life
Best Value
MacBook Air (2017)
A capable computer for the money.
The 2017 revision of the MacBook Air is still a capable machine that will get you through most of your tasks without hassle.
![For For](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126346642/113412743.jpg)
Source: Rene Ritchie / iMore
The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the computer to get if you need the most power that you can afford in a portable package. You can configure it with several options, whether you need that eight-core processor, 64GB of RAM, or 8TB of storage.
But even at its base configuration, a six-core Intel Core i7 with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, it'll still handle any task a student can set to it besides the most computationally intense workflows. If you want a no-doubt-about-it machine, get this MacBook Pro.
Pros:
- Latest Intel processors
- Configurable up to 8TB of storage
- Myriad of expansion options
- Bigger display
Cons:
- Bigger than other options
- More expensive
- May be overkill for most
Best for Power Users
16-inch MacBook Pro (2019)
Most bang for your buck.
The 2016 MacBook Pro will perform great at any task you set it and should last you well after your academic career is over.
Best Power Alternative: 13-inch MacBook Pro (2019)
Though this model won't reach the heights of the 16-inch model, for those students that need or want more power than the MacBook Air can offer while sacrificing as little portability as possible, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is a good choice.
It's missing some advantages of the 16-inch model, namely the bigger screen, large storage options, and discrete GPU. However, it's powered by recent Intel quad-core Core i5 processors, so you'll still have enough power for fairly demanding tasks, such as photo and video editing, graphic design, and mobile music production.
Pros:
- Balances portability and power
- More portable than 16-inch model
- Option for up to four Thunderbolt 3 ports
Cons:
- No discrete GPU
- Limited to quad-core processors
- Limited storage choices
Best Power Alternative
13-inch MacBook Pro (2019)
A big step up from a MacBook Air.
This is the MacBook you should get if you need a step up in power from the MacBook Air.
Bottom line
Whether you need a computer for high school or college, the most recent MacBook Air is the right choice for most students. Whether you're writing papers, putting together a Powerpoint or Keynote presentation, or even editing some images for a photography class, the MacBook Air will be a reliable performer in your academic pursuits.
It doesn't have the power of something like the 16-inch MacBook Pro, nor even the 13-inch MacBook Pro. But it's still a capable machine at a solid price. The Retina display is beautiful and vibrant, and the built-in Touch ID sensor makes everything from authorizing operating system tasks to paying for things online with Apple Pay more convenient and secure.
The MacBook Air, for a long time, was the best Mac for most people, including students. Thanks to recent revisions, it occupies that space again, offering a light, portable package with enough power and battery life to get you through an entire day of school.
Quicken For Mac 2017
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Joseph Keller is a senior writer at iMore. An Apple user for more than a decade and a half, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Rene Ritchie has been covering the personal technology industry for a decade. An outspoken analyst and critic, he writes at iMore.com/vector, podcasts at applepodcasts.com/vector, and you can find his show at youtube.com/vector. Follow him @reneritchie on Twitter and Instagram
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Hubba HubbaMake sure you have all the ports you need for your Mac with a USB-C hub
The MacBook Pro (Late 2016 and newer) sports at least two, and up to four Thunderbolt 3 ports, but that's all. What to do if you need other ports? Get a hub!
What makes a Mac great? The awesome apps you can use on it. Here are the best Mac apps of 2017! (in alphabetical order)
1Password: Easy-to-use and secure password manager for all your passwords.
Alfred: Boost your productivity with hotkeys and keywords. Search your Mac and the web effortlessly and control your Mac using customized actions.
Amphetamine: Keep your Mac awake. Simple.
AppCleaner: Automatically uninstall Mac apps along with all the junk files that usually get left behind.
AstroPad: Turn your iPad into a graphics tablet for Mac.
![2017 2017](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126346642/628201010.jpg)
BackBlaze: Backing up your Mac is extremely important. BackBlaze offers a simple and secure way to back up all your files at a low cost.
Beamer: Stream videos on your Mac to your Apple TV or Chromecast.
BetterTouchTool: Configure many gestures for your Magic Mouse, Macbook Trackpad and Magic Trackpad and also mouse gestures for normal mice.
Boom 2: System-wide volume booster and equalizer for Mac.
CarbonCopyCloner: Create bootable backups of your Mac.
CheatSheet: Provides the list of keyboard shortcuts for whatever app you have open.
Chrome: Google’s free and fast web browser.
CleanMyMac: Clean and optimize your Mac’s storage drive to free up space.
CopyClip: Clipboard manager for your Mac that stores all that you have copied or cut in the past.
Downie: Easily download Internet videos from over 1,100 different sites.
DaisyDisk: Helps you recover disk space by finding and removing large useless files.
Dropbox: Free cloud storage solution up to 2GB (iCloud alternative)
Duet Display: Turn your iPad into a 2nd monitor for your Mac.
Duplicate File Finder: Quickly finds duplicate files on your Mac to reduce clutter and remove unnecessary files.
Apple Mac Pro Desktop 2017
Evernote: Cloud-synced notebook and notes to store everything you need to remember.
Flux: Makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
GIMP: Open source photo editor. Photoshop alternative.
Google Drive: Free online data storage and online office suite from Google.
Handbrake: Video converter and DVD ripping app.
Hazel: Automated organization app for your Mac.
Helium: Always keeps a media file playing in the foreground over any other app that’s open.
HitFilm Express: Free and powerful video editor. iMovie or FCPX alternative.
ImageOptim: Free image compressor to reduce file size for photos.
LibreOffice: Open-source office suite for Mac. Microsoft Office alternative.
Onyx: System maintenance tool for your Mac.
Parallels: Easiest way to virtually run Windows inside your Mac.
Plex: Free media server for when you want to watch your movies from anywhere.
ScreenFlow: Best screen recording software and video editing software for Macs.
SmartConverter: Simple video and audio file converting app.
Spectacle: Resize Windows with quick keyboard shortcuts.
Spotify: Popular music streaming and online radio app.
Stamp: Migrate your playlists from various different music streaming services.
College Apps For Mac 2017 Free
SublimeText: Intuitive text editor for programmers and coders.
TeamViewer: Remotely connect and control your Mac or other authorized computers from anywhere.
Time Machine Editor: Allows you to customize Time Machine backup intervals and other settings.
Transmission: Lightweight and easy-to-use torrent client.
Unarchiver: Open any zipped file.
VirtualBox: Run Windows and other operating systems virtually on your Mac.
2017 Mac Pro
VLC: Best overall media player that plays nearly any audio/video file.