We are continuing our series on how to choose and buy computer hardware for photography needs and today we will be providing suggestions on what Apple laptops are worth looking into. First, we will do a quick overview of the Apple line of MacBooks, then we will provide our top recommendations for doing post-processing work. This article has been written in collaboration with our team members who use Apple’s MacBook products exclusively and extensively for their photography work.
Apple makes a total of three different lines of laptops. First, there is a regular 12″ MacBook, then there is a lightweight MacBook Air line with both 11″ and 13″ display size offerings and finally, there is a MacBook Pro line, which also comes in two sizes: 13″ and 15″. For someone who is shopping for a solid Apple laptop for photography needs, all these choices might be overwhelming and confusing, so if you are wondering about which one to pick, below you will find a summary of each product line.
1) MacBook
One of the most basic Apple laptops is the 12″ MacBook. Although it comes with a pretty attractive price, a nice Retina display and can host up to 512 GB of fast flash storage, this is the model you want to avoid for post-processing work. Why? Because its processor is pretty under-powered and its RAM is limited to 8 GB.
The best CPU you can choose on a 12″ Macbook is the 1.2 Ghz Dual-Core Intel Core M, which is good enough for basic browsing and office applications, but will surely suffer when using both Photoshop and Lightroom. For these reasons, we recommend that you skip the 12″ MacBook.
2) MacBook Air 11-Inch and 13-Inch
Next we have the MacBook Air line of laptops in both 11″ and 13″ sizes. These are extremely lightweight machines and they also might look attractive at first. As you know, when something is this lightweight, there have to be compromises somewhere and that’s the problem with the MacBook Air line – they are pretty underpowered machines overall. The CPU capabilities are fairly good and you can get up to 2.2 Ghz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, but RAM on all MacBook Air models is limited to 8 GB, similar to the regular MacBooks. Both Photoshop and Lightroom will function, but you will need to arm yourself with some patience, especially when working with large, high-resolution RAW images and opening multiple applications at once.
If lighter weight is more important for you than performance, I would suggest investing in the 2.2 Ghz Intel i7 CPU and 8 GB of RAM. Anything less won’t cut it for post-processing software. I would also get the 512 GB flash model, although you will have to shell out another $300 for that…
3) MacBook Pro 13-Inch
The MacBook Pro is a whole different beast. The Pro line is what everyone wants, since these machines are much more powerful for heavier post-processing workloads. The MacBook Pro 13″ is a nice and compact machine – it can host fairly good CPUs up to 3.1 Ghz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of PCIe-based flash storage. Both Photoshop and Lightroom will run fine on these specs.
However, the 13″ has one limitation – it does not have a dedicated GPU and cannot host one. With a lot of applications moving towards GPU acceleration for better speed and now both Photoshop and Lightroom being able to take advantage of it, if you are planning to make the MacBook Pro your primary machine, I would suggest considering the bigger 15″ model.
But if you are after small size and lighter weight, here are the theee configurations we would recommend:
- Apple 13.3″ MacBook Pro Retina with 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i5, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB PCIe Storage – $1,897
- Apple 13.3″ MacBook Pro Retina with 3.1 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB PCIe Storage – $2,089
- Apple 13.3″ MacBook Pro Retina with 3.1 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB PCIe Storage – $2,549
4) MacBook Pro 15-Inch
Now let’s talk about the Mercedes-Benz of Apple laptops, the MacBook Pro 15″. I had a chance to play with these machines a few times in the past and they are truly superb. The 15″ Retina screen is great for photography work and you don’t have to strain your eyes, because the screen is nice and big. You can beef up the MacBook Pro 15″ with a very powerful 2.8 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of fast PCIe flash storage.
In addition to the built-in Intel Iris Pro Graphics, the higher-end MacBook Pro 15″ models come with a dedicated AMD Radeon R9 M370X video card, which is powerful enough to not only run post-processing software, but also render 4K videos in Premiere Pro, or even play graphics-intensive games. In short, this thing is a powerhouse!
Here are the two configurations we recommend for photography needs:
- Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Retina with 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of PCIe Storage and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M – $1,799
- Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Retina with 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of PCIe Storage and AMD Radeon R9 M370X Video Card – $2,249
- Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Retina with 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 1 TB of PCIe Storage and AMD Radeon R9 M370X Video Card – $2,959
I will be honest with you, if I were buying a MacBook Pro for myself, it would be the first choice. Yes, this is the older Mid 2014 model, but with an instant savings of $500, it is a deal that is hard to resist. The next option is $450 more expensive for a newer model and AMD video card instead of NVIDIA. In fact, I prefer an NVIDIA video card, because Adobe’s support for NVIDIA is often better. If you use Premiere Pro, NVIDIA is definitely the way to go for GPU acceleration.
The high-end model is quite expensive at $2,959 and I don’t see as much value in that offering, but if budget is not an issue, by all means go for it – it is a beast of a machine!
By the way, don’t forget to grab this Samsung T1 1 TB SSD puppy. Trust me, you will need it!
5) Is Skylake Worth the Wait?
With Intel Skylake microarchitecture already out, Apple so far has only refreshed its iMac line, as explained in my previous How to Buy an iMac for Photography article. So you are probably wondering if the new Skylake MacBooks are worth the wait.
When comparing the Surface Pro 3 (which is based on the Haswell architecture, same as the current Apple MacBook line) to the new Surface Pro 4 based on Skylake, the performance difference in CPU benchmarks averaged between 15% to 19%, which is significant. Skylake CPUs have higher clock speeds and they have greater overall efficiency, which explains the performance difference. However, keep in mind that Surface Pro uses smaller dual core CPUs, similar to what we see on MacBook Air machines, so the performance differences between the bigger CPUs might be a bit different. Still, we should see between 5% and 10% improvement in CPU performance on higher-end MacBook Pro models, perhaps even higher. Where Skylake truly excels is better power usage and GPU speed for the built-in Intel graphics processor. So if you are after faster speed, longer battery life and better GPU performance (dedicated GPUs should also get an upgrade), Skylake might be worth the wait.
However, keep something in mind – once new products are announced, their prices are going to be super high when compared to the current offerings. So if you want the latest and greatest, you will have to pay a premium. I don’t anticipate seeing aggressive discounts as the ones listed above for a while – the first deals will probably show up in the 2016 November / December timeframe.
Hope this helps – please let me know if you have any questions!
P.S. B&H is currently offering free next day shipping for many products, including the above-mentioned Apple MacBooks!
One of the concerns with previous versions of MBP having dedicated GPU is the higher occurrences of failure which is usually (and not 100% solved) replaced by an entirely new logic board. So AppleCare is strongly recommended for this purpose as logic board replacements are very expensive.
But I foresee if the MBP is purely used for PS & LR, Adobe doesn’t really make use of the GPU at all (I stand corrected), so one can choose the model without dedicated GPU which is cheaper.
Lee, thank you for your feedback!
From what I remember, the NVIDIA card failures were on models sold from 2011 and 2013. The one I have linked in the article should be free of such issues – please correct me if I am wrong.
As for the GPU vs non-GPU models, I personally would not get a larger machine like the MacBook Pro without a dedicated GPU. While Adobe is providing limited GPU support for its software at the moment, a lot of other software out there can take advantage of a GPU and make things much faster. Once Adobe catches up, things will hopefully get even better.
Personally, I think the older MacBook Pro model with the NVIDIA GPU is a screaming deal!
Hi Nasim
Thank you – I was just about to buy a MacBook Pro and found this article very helpful. As usual no time is the right time to by a computer; I cannot wait for the Skylake processor to become available, but will ask Apple when we will see them in the UK??
As usual what costs $2900 in the US, is 1.5 times that in the UK -£2900
I do not think that I will buy one in the US, having just purchased a ceramic fan heater from the States, plugged it in to our 220v supply and it melted!! Alas I didn’t realise that most domestic products run at 110-120 v in the USA.
Kind regards
Martin
Not to worry about voltage incompatibility, all Apple power bricks are worldwide autovolt , its only the AC pins that you need to be worried about.
Lee was first :)
Martin, I expect Apple to update its MacBook line in Q1 of 2016. Anything later will be too late and Apple won’t wait that long. Hoping for a Mac Pro refresh in 2016 as well, as it is about time. Early in 2016, we should see some new Xeon CPUs for the Mac Pro…
As for buying from US, I guess you should have read the voltage specifications before plugging it in :) I’ve done it once back in 2000 when I brought a brand new Pioneer DVD player to Uzbekistan. Thought it would do both 110v and 220v and I was wrong…
Don’t be concerned about buying these laptops from US. Their adapters are designed to work in both 110v and 220v without issues!
Your “How to buy…” articles are interesting and appreciated. The PC article was “How to BUILD” which I suspect most of your readers, myself included, cannot do.
How about an article on How To Order a PC? Or should I be finding a local (or far away?) custom computer builder?
You can try other online diy pc websites that will be better, or search for Linus techtips in YouTube.
Anthony,
I had a PC built for me using most of the items in the PC article. I used a less powerful chip and used the old video card, and drives. Cost built was $1,400. Solved many of my issues. A good test is running the Dxo Optics 10 prime function on a 36MB raw file. Very fast. My problems with the new On1 photo 10 also solved. I thought about a MAC, but the cost was too high. Also, I can upgrade the memory, chip etc. I truly thank Nasim for the article on the PC build. I believe his information and thought process was right. I also appreciate that alternative approaches (small build, MAC) were discussed. By the way, I went to a local store – Microcenter – which I have used for years. They have pre-built PCS, but I went in and said, “I want this board…, etc.”, and they put it all together.
I have bought refurbished from Apple on line twice, with Apple care, and so far, luckily, have not needed it. Every laptop being sold this way is carefully inspected, and if you can manage with last year’s model it’s an excellent choice, with good discounts. The available models change as they become available, and they are listed on their website.
Naxim, thanks for the timely article. I am strongly considering the purchase of a new MacBook Pro 15″ before the end of the year and will take your advice from the article about best options. Since my current MacBook Pro 15″ is almost 10 years old I will likely go with the high end model you recommend as I don’t purchase computers very often. Your articles are always very informative and helpful.
new skylake macbooks will cost almost same as current flagship hashwell
but once they will come out current hashwell prices will drop :)
so anyone who cant wait, no matter what price n power argument we have, he will buy
but those who can wait whether they have money for new stuff or tight on budget both will get good value for their money
i think instead of buying current gen Hashwell Macbook pro it is better to get late 2013 macbook pro
im sure people in states will get an excellent deal on this model
here is a comparison of both macbooks and u will notice one thing, apple has just upgraded touchpad, hard drive and put an amd gpu (R9 370x) which is honestly not even an upgrade :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LZQxKcI3dI&feature=youtu.be
Hi Nasim, excellent article about Apple laptops!! Thank you for the superb stuff you guys put out frequently!! We all know that Apple products carry a fat premium and some would even argue that the premium is justified for the quality experience it buys you. Would it be possible to do an absolute like for like comparison of current Windows machines against equivalent Apple machines and seen which is cheaper? Do you have this information on PL somewhere? Are Windows machines radically cheaper than Macs/iMacs? Thanks again and cheers.
u can check specs and build quality and reviews of Asus UX501
it has essentially everything that macbook pro 2015 has n even improves upon it with better gpu and and 4k resolution touch screen also
here is a link of a very gud review by Dave2D on youtube
at 1500-1600$ it gives a gud alternative
2nd option is a bit expensive Dell XPS 15 inifinity
u can do youtube search for its comparison also but ill post a video review link by same guy
Asus UX 501 review can check review of G501 similar spec machine with different color scheme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2vlynTXjqA
Dell XPS 15 Inifinity review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-8_OpUdEM
As an unbiased user, who sells and maintains Windows PCs, I want to make the point that as long as you are within Apple warranty(!), their service is 2nd to none. Tell me what other brand could I buy any product in the range, and use it (e.g. to test or to demo) and then return it within 14 days for a 100% refund with no questions asked and no need for justifying the return?
I have used this many times, e.g. if a new customer is trying to decide between 11″ or 13″ Macbook Air – I just buy both for him and then return one after 10 days of on site evaluation. Can’t do that with a hackintosh. Some of us are also unwilling to break the law and steal OS X and use it on an illegal hardware, even if it is possible. (I tried this myself to evaluate OS X and then when I liked it, I bought my Mac and dropped the hackintosh. I don’t mean to preach, you need to make up your own mind based on your code of ethics).
The price difference between top Windows equivalent h/w is narrowing too. Consider the Dell XPS pricing. (may be slightly cheaper, but not by a huge amount).
…….. But the killer is, it doesn’t have OSX.
ever heard of hackintosh? :)
im running Mac OS X El Capitan on my windows desktop
can easily do same thing on any windows laptop :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxSkQLHcjcE
;)
Really, one of the best photography blogs on the web Nasim. Also noteworthy is Ming Thein and F Stoppers.
Great blog, simple layout and tons of useful information.
My special interest is stage photography
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mahamantra1/23829556825/in/dateposted-public/
For stage photography I recommend one of the mirrorless cameras that have electronic shutter option and fast lenses. My personal choice is the Fuji X-T1 and any/all of the 56mm f1.2, 90mm f2 and the 50-140mm f2.8 lenses. The electronic shutter is completely silent!
by the way guys have a look at this list and also see which laptops are better than macbook pro retina for photoediting for better color accuracy and color gamut
i was under the impression that MBP had best screens as most professionals use it but its not that good :(
must see where Asus G501 comes in this comparison, much better color gamut i think than MBP 15
http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Notebook-Displays-As-Reviewed-By-Notebookcheck.120541.0.html
Hi Nasim. I’m a Mac guy all the way. My main workstation is a maxed out 27 inch iMac with Retina 5k display – it rocks.
I recently retired my Mac Book Pro for the new Mac Book with the 2.2 Ghz Dual-Core Intel processor. I use Lightroom and Photoshop along with several plug-ins/external editors and I am pleasantly surprised at how well it performs!! While I wouldn’t use it as my primary computer, it is more than up to the task as a travel laptop and for on-location use, including Lightroom Tethering. And it is not much bigger than my iPad.
Bill, I’m glad to hear you like the Mac Book works well for you. To me personally that form factor seems perfect for Lightroom use when travelling. Can you share a little bit more about your experience with it? Like what kind of raw files you process, how many can you touch up and export before and if any thermal throttling occurs? Also, I am still puzzled why Nasim keeps saying that 8GB is not enough for Lightroom, when it’s actually more than sufficient when it’s the only program running. What are your impressions on Lightroom’s memory usage on your MacBook (I assume it’s 8GB)? Ever approached 100% memory usage?
First, a correction. As Tonio observed, the upgraded 12″ Mac Book has a 1.3 Ghz Intel Core M Processor (I said it had a 2.2 Ghz in my earlier post – wishful thinking on my part).
I shoot a Nikon D7100 and capture 24mb RAW files. I touched up and exported 9 raw files and the Lightroom Memory Usage was around 900Mb.
I then imported a 90mb, 9 layer Photoshop file, did some edits in Lightroom, and then did a Photo/Edit In/Photoshop from Lightroom. After it was exported to Photoshop I added a layer, did some edits, and saved it back to Lightroom. Photoshop used about 3G and Lightroom was around 800Mb. The Mac Book was very responsive and handled all of the above very well.
Total Memory used by all Processes was 6.3Gb. I then repeated the above with a second file while keeping the first file open in Photoshop and the memory usage stayed the same.
The small screen did present some challenges while doing this and keeping Activity Monitor visible.
Hope this is of some help.
and not to forget, Macbook has best led display among all apple laptops variants …
http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Notebook-Displays-As-Reviewed-By-Notebookcheck.120541.0.html
Macbook 12
96% sRGB n 60+ AdobeRGB … vs
Macbook pro 15 2015
90% sRGB n 58% AdobeRGB
an ideal companion for tethering with ur camera in field :)
Thank you very much, Bill! That’s what I suspected – that 8GB RAM wouldn’t be a bottleneck on a laptop of this class – I see very well every day that they are not a bottleneck on a desktop machine, where I work with the even bigger raw files from D810.
I think I will pick up a 12” MacBook soon, probably on the next refresh. I hope that with a little more CPU power from Skylake it will become an even more useful ultraportable tool for photography.
As for the iPad Pro as an alternative – I think it’s too soon to expect software support to be on par with a true Intel based machine. Maybe in 3-4 years. Besides, sometimes I feel that a touchscreen is not exactly a desired feature in some software products.
Quick note: the 12″ Macbook comes in a 1.3GHz config (> 1.2GHz). Still nothing to write home about.
If you want an ultraportable Apple device with a ludicrously good screen to work on photographs you might be better off with the iPad Pro (obviously it doesn’t run the desktop version of Photoshop) — it’s even smaller than the Macbook (or Macbook Air) and has a very fast GPU (twice as fast as a typical Windows laptop). Right now the RAW workflow situation is a bit lacking but I’d be shocked if we don’t see a flood of support within the coming months.
As a bonus, the iPad Pro (with pencil) can serve as a display tablet (and it kicks the ass of any Wacom Cintiq or similar; having played with one in an Apple Store I am simply waiting for the pencils to be in stock).
Budget is always a limitation for me. I want a D4s but realize that a D750 does a great job. It’s almost always once you invest in a system of lenses difficult to change. I love the Sigma art twins 35 & 50, although the50 needed +10 calibration. I would like an 810 but my 800e still produces special images with a very 3 dimensional quality. Photography is a very individual and subjective artform. Fortunately we are all different and unique in the way we interpret the world
I don’t know who deleted my comments ! ? :)
I read the post and I decided to buy a WINDOWS PC !
Would a Mac Pro 13.3 with 256 GB of storage and an external hard drive be a workable more economical option?
Nice write-up comparing the models, although I note it was based almost entirely on assessments of the specs rather than real world usage! As commentators have already noted, even the lowly MacBook does wel! With its recent upgrade to an M3, it should do even better, but let’s await real world reports!
There are always trade-offs… Retina display staingate, heavier weight of 15″, keyboard change for MacBook, MBP and MB heat vs. cool MBAs, battery life (much longer on 13″ MBA), etc. Not to mention the HUGE price jump for the pro models, especially the 15″.
For many regular home-family type photographers, especially those who don’t use high end photo editing programs, more built in drive storage could be more important than high end processors and 16gb RAM. And, higher end CPUs generate more heat…and reduce battery life.
If one goes back only a few years, one can find all sorts of articles extolling the virtues of the now supposedly “lowly” and outdated MacBook Airs… Even though there may be better gear out there, we know, just as with cameras, that the oldie but goodies were good for good reasons. Before one gets too caught up in having to having the latest, greatest, fastest, highest resolution computers, keep in mind that your “forefathers” (of just 3-5 years ago) did quite well, with much less!
Oh, one last thought. With updates just around the corner, if one can hold off just a couple of months, we’ll have a much better idea of the value, new features, etc. Plus, previous models go on sale.
Your best place to check all this is with MacRumors Buying Guide. All laptop models, except for the just upgraded MacBook, are shown with a bright red warning– DON’T BUY! (Even the desktops are in the same boat; well, one is a caution.)
Note: Contrary to what was asserted here, Apple typically brings in new models, with upgrades and new features, for the *same* price. So, it’s even more important to wait, if you can!
Hi!
I currently have (had, hard drive has water damage, almost $800. to fix & it would be like new-per Apple Store!)
MacPro.
I’m comparing new MacBook Pro and came upon your article. I main reason I went with Mac years ago is because I LOVE taking & editing photos. (Not at your level)
You suggested this one, & here is the response I received when I went to it:
Here are the two configurations we recommend for photography needs:
Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Retina with 2.5 Ghz Intel Core i7, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of PCIe Storage and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M – $1,799
IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, really?
Just for the record (APPLE!) I’m SO unhappy that you no longer support iPhoto! The new “photo” app is rediculous!! Hardly any editing features.
Next recommendation?
I’m really getting deep into photography & starting to win some contests. I have been using Adobe products on a PC but a camera club told me I HAD to get a MAC for photography. Your info was very helpful. Thanks
Nasim this is a very good article, I am hardly into editing world till now and looking for a pro kind editing in future. I have 3 questions to ask
can any one suggest me,
1) How important is that to have a 16GB RAM than 8GB RAM?
2) the suffering I need to face with the display size while using Photoshop if I compromise to 13 inch retina than that of a 15 inch retina?
3)Is that so imp to have a GPU along with a 15 inch version?
Though I am thinking after all about my money, I dont want to limit my self with budget if there is really such a need for high configuration of macbook pro.
Let me make an other point not to confuse you but how about considering an 21inch 4k 3.1Ghz version imac (which has only 8gbRAM variant again) on an over all compromise if display size n money stands as a big deal(as Iam not sure of my equipment portability right now)
please get me rid of this confusion and suggest me what exactly is the real world requirement for a pro photographer.
Thank you for your article
Is the 15 inches 2013 late, 2,6 gh 1 terabyte also a good optiom,as in January 2017?
Nasim,
I’d love to see an update of this article for the new 2016 touch bar i7 MacBook Pros. I’d especially like your opinion on whether such a machine, with a dock such as the OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock could function as a desktop replacement.
Cheers