Here are the best Apple laptops for law students
Unlike laptop for IT students, the best laptop for law students isn’t necessarily the most expensive or the most technologically advanced. The best MacBook for law school will vary depending on how much time is spent lugging the laptop around campus, and how long it needs to go on a single charge. Other important factors to consider include screen size, and the types of ports and inputs it offers. We won’t ignore value either as some of Apple’s laptops can get expensive and unfortunately, none of them will pay your tuition for you.
With the transition to Apple Silicon now complete for Apple’s MacBook lineup the MacBook Air and MacBook Pros are all outstanding when it comes to performance and battery life with either M1 or M2 chipsets inside. The major differences come in the design and the top-end performance, which will only matter to a handful of law students who want extra power.
How did we choose the best MacBooks for law students?
To choose among the best MacBooks for law students, we started with extensive personal experience: All the MacBooks here have been road-tested and reviewed in some way. Then, we added in-depth research by cross-referencing third-party reviews with specs sheets, first-party benchmarks and user experiences. Rest assured, we know the ins and outs of all these machines, so you can choose the perfect one for you.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the best Macbooks for law students and find the most suitable for you.
1. MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
The best MacBook for most law students
Specifications
CPU: M1 GPU: M1 (integrated) RAM: 8GB/16GB sSize: 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches Display: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixel Weight: 2.8 pounds Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
Why it’s the best MacBook for law students
The MacBook Air M1 remains the best MacBook for most law students. For the majority of students the upgrades found in the more recent Air aren’t necessary and the M1 maintains that sub-$1,000 starting price with discounts bringing it to $899 or less.
The performance still outclasses every comparably priced thin-and-light Windows laptop and it manages to deliver 14 hours and 41 minutes of battery life in our testing. For any typical computing tasks, the MacBook Air M1 is more than equal to the challenge and will outlast its successor on a single charge.
So why buy the MacBook Air instead of the Pro? While the Pro has better-sustained performance, the MacBook Air is cheaper and is pin-drop silent because it doesn’t have a fan. And, of course, Apple’s least expensive 13.3-inch model is the most portable, coming in at only 0.6 inches thick and 2.8 pounds.
As long as you don’t mind the older design, the MacBook Air M1 remains one of the best laptop deals even when it’s not discounted and should draw strong consideration from any law student considering a new MacBook.
Pros
- Breathtaking performance
- Excellent battery life
- Slim unibody aluminum chassis
- Great speakers and Magic keyboard
Cons
- Limited ports
2. MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
The best MacBook for law students who want the latest hardware
Specifications
CPU: M2 GPU: M2 (Integrated) RAM: 8GB/16GB/24GB Size: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches Display: 13.6-inches, 2560 x 1600 pixels Weight: 2.7 pounds Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
Why it’s the best MacBook for law students
While most law students will be happy with the MacBook Air M1, there’s no denying the appeal of the new design and chip inside the Air M2. The notch in the display takes a minute to get used to, but the rest of the changes are welcome with the addition of MagSafe charging freeing up those two Thunderbolt 4 ports for other purposes.
The M2 offers you a reasonable performance bump, bringing it roughly on par with the M1 Pro and it still delivered 14 hours and 6 minutes in our battery life test. The fact that it does all this while staying whisper quiet and cool without fans remains astounding.
The list of upgrades also includes a brighter display, a quad-speaker array and a new 1080p webcam. That first will be particularly welcome to law students that are using the Air M2 in lecture halls, coffee shops or a corner of the library with less than optimal lighting conditions.
The biggest consideration with the Air M2 is the price if you need to upgrade much from the $1,199 base model. As I mentioned, the Air M1 is Apple’s trick for keeping the $999 price point, so you are paying a premium for the M2 model. If you find yourself cresting the $1,499 mark for your configuration then you may want to consider the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, which can regularly be found for $1,799.
Pros
- Elegant redesign
- Great performance
- Bright, colorful display
- Comfortable keyboard
- Amazing battery life
Cons
- SSD somewhat slower than M1 Air
3. MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021)
The best MacBook for law students who want more power
Specifications
CPU: Apple M1 Pro/Apple M1 Max GPU: Apple M1 Pro (Integrated) RAM: 16GB/32GB/64GB Size: 14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches Display: 16-inch, 3072 x 1920-resolution Weight: 4.3 pounds Storage: 512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8GB
Why it’s the best MacBook for law students
The MacBook Pro 14 combines a little bit of old with a whole lot of new for a tantalizing product that MacBook fans were waiting years for. The performance is going to be more than the law student needs, but for those who want powerful machine, this is the right choice for you.
The MacBook Pro 14 is lightweight and sleek while still offering a full HDMI and an SDXC card reader. And the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips can handily defeat most of the Intel and AMD competition. Add to this the more than 14 hours of battery life, quick charging, a gorgeous display, a robust quad-speaker array and it’s easy to see how this laptop will win over a lot of law students.
Waiting for the other shoe to drop? It’s the price. While you can now find the base model for around $1,799, for well-specced models you will quickly cross $2,500 and can land north of $3,000 in a hurry for M1 Max configurations. Ultimately it’s a worthwhile investment for law students that need this level of performance, but at least consider your options carefully before the price creeps up on you.
If you are willing to spend even more you can opt for the larger-screened 16-inch MacBook Pro starting at $2,499 With the exception of the display size and the battery, there is no difference in the hardware options between the two. If battery life is your biggest concern the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro will outlast anything in its class with remotely similar performance. For those that need every last bit of processing power they can get their hands on the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max is basically unbeatable right now.
Pros
- Sleek, beautiful design
- A ton of ports
- Outstanding performance
- Stellar battery life
- Stunning screen
Cons
- Expensive entry point
- No USB-A port
4. MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022)
The best MacBook for law students who need endless battery-life
Specifications
CPU: Apple M2 (8-core) GPU: Apple M2 GPU (10-core)RAM: 8GB/16GB/24GB sSize: 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches Display: 13.3 inches, 2560 x 1600 pixel Weight: 3.1 pounds Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB
Why it’s the best MacBook for law students
The MacBook Pro M2 is an excellent laptop that is a bit overshadowed by its siblings. The internal upgrade with the M2 gave it a more significant performance boost than many expected, which keeps it well ahead of the Windows 11 competition at this price point and well beyond.
The design, while admittedly a bit dated, it’s hard to get too mad at the classic look. While the redesigned Air and larger MacBook Pros may look sleeker, you could have the last laugh when their owners are looking for an outlet to charge while you have hours to go as the Pro lasted for an almost unbelievable 18 hours and 20 minutes on our battery test. That was enough to land it atop our list of laptops with the best battery life, a feature that is sure to come in handy at some point in your law career.
The M2 does more than improve speeds and endurance. With a yet again improved image processing unit, the webcam (sadly, still 720p) is better than before and since it runs on Apple’s ARM-based architecture, iPad and iPhone apps are available on Mac. Yep, you can run all your favorite iOS games and apps on your laptop.
Everything else about the MacBook Pro should feel familiar. This is the same design Apple has used for years and the Magic Keyboard is a pleasure to type on (and reliable, too!). We’re disappointed to see the TouchBar back, but it does have its fans and the notch-less screen will absolutely be a welcome sight for some buyers.
Pros
- Stellar overall and gaming performance
- Excellent battery life
- Lightning-fast SSD
- Great webcam
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons
- Stagnant design
- Limited ports