The Best Mac for College Students (And Most of Us, Really)

Hey there!

Hope you’re doing well, staying cool, and having a great week! Coming up in this edition:

• The Best Mac for College Students (And Most of Us, Really)

• Basic AF: Grading Our Apple Gear

• Summer of Betas, Apple Watch Series 10 Rumors and More in The News Feed

 🎒 THE BEST MAC FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS (AND MOST OF US, REALLY)

What’s the best Mac for college? I’ve been seeing that question asked frequently on Threads over the last few weeks and thought I’d share some thoughts.

A bit of a backgrounder. For the last 14 years, I've worked in IT in higher education. During that time, my team has deployed more than 20,000 MacBooks and iPads to our students. This fall my son will be added to the tally when he starts school, and if he wasn’t getting a school-provided MacBook Air, this is exactly what I’d get him.

🥇 MY TOP PICK: MACBOOK AIR M3

For most students, the MacBook Air M3 is a fantastic computer for college. It's a great performer, reasonably priced, and its lightweight design makes it perfect for moving around campus without being burdensome. And with battery life lasting up to 18 hours, you can go an entire day without needing to charge.

The MacBook Air is available in two display sizes, 13.6" and 15.3", and four colors: Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver. Prices start at $999 for the M3 model in the Apple Education Store, and Apple's current Back to School promo will get you a solid $150 back as an Apple Gift Card.

Here's my recommended configuration and I’ll break down my reasoning below:

• MacBook Air M3 13.6” display

• 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

• 24GB Unified Memory

• 512GB SSD Storage

• 70W charger

• AppleCare+ Plan

Cost on Apple’s EDU store: $1579

BREAKING DOWN THE DETAILS

13.6" Display

This display is big enough for most users and will save you about $200 over the 15.3" model. It's a nice compromise between size and cost. If you prefer the larger screen and it fits your budget, go ahead and upsize!

8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

The M3 chip that powers the MacBook Air is a system-on-a-chip (SOC) design. In simple terms, this means the CPU/GPU and unified memory are built into the SOC. As a result, there's no way to upgrade the components later, so it's wise to get as much processing power as you can afford now.

24GB Unified Memory

The base model only includes 8GB, and that's not enough, particularly with the advances coming with Apple Intelligence. We want this computer to perform at a high level for the entire time you're at college, so I recommend 24GB of unified memory, which is the maximum available for the MacBook Air. You’ll have plenty of memory for web sites, applications, and new things in the future.

512GB SSD Storage

The MacBook Air's base storage option is 256GB which may be okay for most people. But remember how I said earlier there’s no way to upgrade components later? Now’s the time to get extra storage. It will give you room for everyday things and plenty of overhead.

70 Watt Charger

It doesn't cost any additional and provides fast charging, up to 50% in 30 minutes. You'll love this when you only have a few minutes to charge the battery before running off to class!

AppleCare+

I highly recommend AppleCare+ for college students. Start with the 3-year plan to save a few bucks, and you can extend it at the end of the plan. Accidents happen. We see cracked displays and spilled drinks on a regular basis at my school. With AppleCare+, your out-of-pocket costs will be capped at either $99 or $299 per incident, depending on the issue. Without AppleCare+, you could be looking at repair costs of up to $1000, if not more.

NEED TO SPEND LESS?

Everyone's situation is unique. If my recommended configuration stretches your budget more than you're comfortable with, don't stress! Let's look at some ways to bring down the cost. Here are some adjustments you can make:

• Reduce storage from 512GB to 256GB (saves $200).

• Drop unified memory from 24GB to 16GB (saves $180).

• Consider the same configuration but with the M2 chip and you can save around another $80.

• Take a look at Apple’s Refurbished store. The items in it are previously owned, but are certified by Apple and have a one-year warranty that can be extended through AppleCare.

Don't hesitate to reach out if I can help answer other questions. And please share this with anyone you know who's looking to pick up a Mac for school. 

What about the iPad? I’ll cover that in the next newsletter!

🎙️ BASIC AF SHOW: GRADING OUR APPLE GEAR

In our new episode, Jeff and I have some fun sharing candid reviews of every Apple product we currently own. You’ll get our honest opinions on HomePods, AirPods, Beats, Apple Vision Pro, iPhones, Apple Watch, iPads, and Macs. 

Listen and follow the show in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the other podcast apps, as well as on YouTube and YouTube Music.

We’ve also moved the show to a new website. Each episode has a unique page with show notes, links, and transcripts. There’s also a blog where we’ll be posting even more content and a great page showcasing the wonderful guests we’ve had on the show.

Look for the mic icon in the lower right of the page to send us your questions and comments as a voicemail! It’s the same URL as before:

https://www.basicafshow.com.

Take a look and let me know what you think!

SUMMER OF BETAS CONTINUES

While we haven’t hit Public Beta season just yet, the summer of beta releases is well underway. This week, Apple released the third betas of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, visionOS 2, watchOS 11, and tvOS 18. iOS 18 Beta 3 includes Dark Mode icons and a sweet Flashlight interface, among other new things.

APPLE WATCH RUMORS

It looks like the Apple Watch Series 10 will be thinner and have a display slightly larger than the current Apple Watch Ultra. 

MAC GROWING

Estimates from Canalys, a global technology market analyst firm, show the Mac growing at 6%, beating the PC market as a whole, which the firm estimates saw growth of 3.4%. The industry hopes AI advances, such as Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs and Apple's Apple Intelligence, will drive sales over the next several years. Meanwhile, IDC estimates 21% growth in Q2 2024.

SCHEMES, SCAMS, AND YOU

In episode 38 of Basic AF, we discussed common scams and how to protect yourself against them. I highly recommend listening to that one if you still need to. Along the same lines, Apple has published a support article on how to protect your Apple ID and devices. It's pretty good, so have a look.

TOUCHSCREEN HOMEPOD ON THE WAY?

Rumors are heating up about a touchscreen HomePod. Last week, MacRumors discovered code references to a new "HomeAccessory17,1" device. Now, 9to5Mac has found a new touchscreen-ready interface in the latest tvOS18 beta.