Im an Apple expert, and Ill show you how to buy the best Mac for going back
to school

Date:
Wed, 05 Aug 2026 10:09:22 +0000

Description:
The best ways to save on a Mac for students, teachers and more.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter With back-to-school season in the air, you might be looking to stock up on a new Mac for college. But doing so can be a confusing affair, with many different models and configurations
to choose from, and you can waste a lot of time trying to work out whats best for your needs.

To skip all the bother, just give our guide a read. Weve put together everything you need to know, from which Mac is best for you to how to get those all-important student discounts. Youll be kitted out and ready to go before you know it. How to choose the right specs for your Mac (Image credit: Apple) When you buy a Mac, there are a few specifications you need to choose, including the chip, memory and storage. Youll also need to pick a color and, with some Macs, extra options like the display coating and power adapter. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: The first three factors chip, memory and storage are the most important, and the ones where theres the most to learn.

Well start with the chip, which determines how powerful your MacBook is. More powerful and more recent chips will generally be better, and the higher the chips number, the more recent the generation it belongs to. You may like How to pick the best Mac accessories for back-to-school season The best student laptops 2026 The best laptops 2026 tested, reviewed and rated

The chip usually comes in a few different tiers. Theres the baseline option, such as the M5, M4, M3 and so on, then Pro chips like the M5 Pro, M4 Pro and M3 Pro. Then there are Max chips, including the M5 Max and M4 Max. The most powerful level is the Ultra, and its limited to desktop Macs like the Mac Studio . The latest version there is the M3 Ultra.

Apple s chips combine CPU, GPU and memory onto a single system on a chip (SoC). The CPU and GPU will have their own core counts, and the more cores
you get, the better able the chip is to handle difficult workloads. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

So, which do you need? The baseline chips will be more than enough for essay writing and basic research. On the other hand, you might want a Pro or even Max chip if youre doing anything that involves complex apps, data processing or graphics work.

As for memory, this is built into the SoC, but you can increase or decrease
it separately from the chip selection when configuring your Mac (although its worth noting that some memory amounts require upgrading to a more powerful chip). More memory helps speed up multitasking and is also useful for demanding workloads.

The amount of storage you choose depends on how long you want to keep the
Mac, how much of a digital hoarder you are, and the type of things youll be storing. Run lots of large apps or work with high-resolution video files? Youll need lots of storage. What to read next Laptops from Apple, HP, Lenovo, and more are up to 40% off in the back-to-school sales here are the top 12 deals I'd buy Best laptop for engineering students of 2026 Apple's Mac and iPad prices just went up these Prime Day deals beat them

Here, its best to err on the side of caution, as its very difficult (although not impossible) to upgrade your storage once youve bought your Mac. While it can be done , its not for the faint of heart.

One alternative is to plug in an external storage drive to give yourself
extra space. This isnt optimal, though, as its one more thing to carry
around, and if it becomes accidentally disconnected, you could suffer data loss.

Make sure to regularly back up your Mac , either using an app like Time Machine or with a cloud service like Backblaze. How to get Apples student discount (Image credit: Apple) Apple has a special education store for students, teachers and more. Here, there are various savings available, depending on the product. For example, the MacBook Neo is priced at $599,
down from the regular $699 price (bringing it back to the price it had when
it launched, before Apples recent price rises ).

Apple says that student discounts are available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels. Youll need to verify your student status, which you can do online or at an Apple Store .

Student savings can be had on more than just Macs. In total, the discounts apply to: Mac iPad and select accessories Apple Watch Displays AppleCare+ for Mac AppleCare+ for iPad AppleCare+ for Display Apple says to look out for the mortarboard icon, which indicates a product bought through the education
store is discounted.

You get all the same perks as if you were to buy through Apples regular
store. You can pick components and colors, trade in an old device,
personalize your device with engraved monograms and emojis, pay in full or over time, and more. The three best Macs for back to school (Image credit: Apple) Here, weve picked three Macs that we recommend the most for students. All three are Apple laptops , which will be perfect for carrying to lectures and around campus. Note that if you dont have many lecture hours or are studying from home, you might want to consider the Mac mini , which starts at $699 in Apples education store. Its a brilliant computer with an affordable price tag, but as it requires an external display, its not ideal for lectures and seminars. Today's best Apple Mac mini (M4 2024) deals deal 599 View 799 View voucher gift Low Stock 999 View Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices MacBook Neo (Image credit: Future) The MacBook Neo is the perfect option for students on a budget. The default model comes with 256GB of storage, an Apple A18 Pro chip and 8GB of memory. It
costs $599 from Apples education store, marking a saving of $100 over the regular price.

If your school or college work mostly involves writing essays and researching online, the MacBook Neo is exactly what you need and will be able to handle everything you do. The only question is whether you should upgrade to 512GB
of storage doing so also adds a Touch ID button to the keyboard, which is a handy way to log in and verify purchases. Today's best Apple MacBook Neo
deals voucher gift 599.97 View 699 619.97 View voucher gift 699 View Show
more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices MacBook Air (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future) Stepping up, a solid mid-range option would be the 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 chip . You can choose between M5 chips featuring an eight-core GPU or a 10-core GPU, but wed stick to the former if you need more graphical power, the MacBook Pro will be a better option, which well come to later.

Next, you can choose between 16GB, 24GB and 32GB of memory. The option you choose here depends on your workloads, but generally 16GB will be enough for most students. Again, if you need more, go for the MacBook Pro.

As for storage, the entry-level M5 chip is locked to 512GB of storage. To get more, youll need to upgrade to the higher-end M5 chip, which ups the price. Consider how much storage you need before making this move if you have an existing computer, see how much youre using with that. Bear in mind that you cant change the internal storage after purchase, so if in doubt, opt for
more.

Finally, theres the matter of the charger. The M5 MacBook Air comes with a
40W charger that can handle loads up to 60W. If you want fast charging, which Apple says can power your laptop up to 50% in about 30 minutes, youll need
the 70W option. This adds $20 to the cost. Today's best Apple MacBook Air M5 (2026) deals voucher gift 1,299 1,213.97 View voucher gift 1,299 1,249 View 1,669.32 View Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices MacBook Pro (Image credit: Future) For the most demanding student workloads, youll want to look at the MacBook Pro . Our recommendation is to start with the 14-inch model with M5 Pro chip. Skip the nano-texture display for now its a nice addition, but unnecessary for students on a budget.

Do upgrade to the M5 Pro chip, however, or the M5 Max if you know youll be doing really heavy work that requires a lot of computing power. Unlike the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro has built-in fans that mean it has a far superior cooling system that is much better equipped for demanding jobs. With that at your disposal, you can pick a beefy chip if you need it.

With the M5 Pro, your choices for memory are 24GB or 48GB. The former should be enough for most, but if youre unsure, step up to the higher amount. While there are other options, including 36GB, 64GB and 128GB, these require swapping the M5 Pro for an M5 Max and paying a much higher price.

The configuration weve picked so far comes with 1TB of storage included,
which is enough for most people. That said, anyone working with large photos and videos, high-grade apps or machine-learning models will likely need more space.

Finally, theres the issue of the charger. The default option is 70W, which isnt enough for fast charging (the MacBook Pro uses much more power than the MacBook Air, where 70W is enough for fast charging). Seeing as the 96W
upgrade costs just $20 more and enables both fast charging (empty to 50% in about 30 minutes) and High Power Mode , we think its worth it. Today's best MacBook Pro deals voucher gift 2,084 1,817.97 View 2,499 View voucher gift 2,999 View Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the
best prices Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best MacBooks and Macs for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best MacBooks and Macs 1. Best MacBook overall: MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget MacBook: MacBook Neo 3. Best Mac: Mac mini (M4) 4. Best MacBook Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 5. Best Mac for professionals Mac Studio M4 Max



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