MacBook vs Laptop: Which is The Right One for you?

You suddenly meet Morpheus from the Matrix one day at a laptop store to buy your very first device. He then offers you 2 pills. One is red colored; if you take that one you will get to use a regular laptop with Windows and its huge backlog of community support. If you take the blue pill you will be introduced to the MacBook and the apple ecosystem. Now Morpheus has given you 15 minutes to decide. 

So which one do you choose? Well not to worry, you have come to the right place. Today in this blog we will discuss MacBook vs Laptop which is the right one for you. To make it easier for you to decide and make the comparison fair I will be comparing both of these devices at the same price point. 

However, I will be keeping a separate section at the end discussing the price, where I talk about the budget and which one fits the right price segment.

So let’s not waste further time and dive straight onto the discussion.

Build Quality & Design

Starting off with the build quality and design. MacBooks are well known for their premium build quality. They always feature an aluminium unibody which makes the design sleek, robust and very lightweight. Not only does it look premium it offers excellent portability making MacBooks resistant to wear and tear over time. Design wise MacBook is quite consistent with its minimalism and elegant design. They are often designed with clean lines which make them very aesthetic. 

On the other hand you have regular laptops. Laptops in this price range sometimes offer an aluminium body and sometimes offer plastic build. Both of these have their pros and cons. Usually if a laptop has high specs and aluminium body they often tend to be a bit on the heavier side. 

Whereas, plastic builds are always lightweight, offering portability with innovative designs. Don’t get me wrong, both aluminium and plastic builds look really good. In terms of design laptops come with a wide variety as mentioned. The build quality oftentimes impacts the design of the laptop.

As mentioned above MacBooks in general provide greater portability than most laptops in this price range however there are some laptops which are quite lightweight and provide good portability.

In summary for this section, with MacBooks you do not get that extra design features you get with normal laptops. MacBooks are always built with a focus on minimalism and aesthetics. Laptops on the other hand have a wide variety of design and lots of variables to choose from providing you with more choices.

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Internals

Now for the internals, the nitty gritty. When comparing the internal components of a MacBook and a similarly priced laptop, it’s clear that each has its own strengths, catering to different needs. These differences go beyond just specs, they shape how the devices perform and feel in everyday use.

MacBooks are renowned for their high-quality internals, designed with precision and efficiency in mind. Manufactured with Apple’s custom-designed chip, such as the M1 or M2 or the newly released M4. These chips integrate the CPU, GPU, and other components into a single system-on-a-chip (SoC). This integration allows MacBooks to deliver exceptional performance while managing power efficiently, resulting in an impressive battery life.

Storage in MacBooks comes in the form of high-speed solid-state drives (SSDs), which ensure fast boot times, quick file transfers, and snappy app launches. Another standout feature is the unified memory architecture, where RAM is built directly into the SoC. This design enables faster data access, making multitasking and demanding tasks like video editing smoother than ever. Added to that the stunning Retina display, is known for its vibrant colors and sharp details.

On the other hand, you have laptops. In this price range, more often than not you will get laptops with a dedicated GPU or a really high end processor from Intel or AMD to boost your productivity. The dedicated GPU is very helpful for those working with AI or 3D as most dedicated GPUs will be from NVIDIA. NVIDIA GPUs are well known for its CUDA cores and Tensor cores which are super important for the tasks mentioned.

Furthermore, they also come with a dedicated SSD often times the size being 512GB to 1TB and you get more than enough RAM with it. So depending on your needs there will always be specs available to you that fill your needs with a laptop.

In summary, MacBooks excel with their seamless integration, efficient performance, and polished user experience. Laptops, however, provide more variety and flexibility, appealing to users who prioritize customization or specific features. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some laptops that are out there that completely beat out the MacBook by a mile by having a dedicated GPU with the laptop. Plus, the biggest downside of a MacBook is that you won’t be able to game with that specs which we will further discuss in the next section.

Software & OS

Now that we have talked about the specs, let’s talk about the section where you will spend the most amount of time: the operating system (OS). For MacBooks, they are run by Apple’s macOS which is known for its sleek design, intuitive user interface and seamless integration among Apple products. 

MacOS

Now if you already have devices from Apple that you regularly use then it is going to be a no brainer to get a MacBook just to experience the ecosystem. This ecosystem makes it very easy to share files, connect with multiple devices and keep track of them.

However if you’re transitioning to the MacOS from Windows you will definitely face a lot of issues at first. Getting used to the macOS will take a bit of time as everything works differently there. For example when I first began using a MacBook I found out that the top-corner “X” does not close windows, it simply minimizes them. You would need to use Command + Q or right-click on the window icon to close out of it completely. This was extremely frustrating as if you used windows previously it would feel like a complete new world.

The window management is also very weird on the MacBook. You can work in two windows side by side, but you will need a third-party toolbar app if you want to do any other tasks.  Also, if you have two windows of the same application running, you can’t use Command + Tab between them. You need to right-click on the icon and carefully click on the window you want.

It is the same for seeing how many instances of an app you have open. You only see a small black dot below the icon, but you won’t see that you have four Safari windows open. 

Windows

On the other hand you have Windows, a versatile platform which is very flexible that caters to a wide array of consumers. Even in schools you were most likely taught about the Windows operating system. The biggest advantage of Windows OS is you can play any games with it as most games are developed for Windows. 

Windows has support for DirectX and also a vast game library. You also get a lot of customization options, allowing users to tweak the system to perfection. However, one major con of Windows is that it is not always stable as updates sometimes might be filled with bugs or there might be occasional crashes. But don’t worry about that as with more users of an OS comes more support so you can always be sure to find a solution for the problem you are facing.

Linux

One other OS you can use in other laptops aside from the MacBook is Linux. This is an open source operating system. This means everything from security to customisation will be in the palm of your hands. You will literally be allocated specific cores to work on some other specific tasks, that’s the range of Linux. 

The security of Linux is also top notch, sometimes even better than macOS. However, similar to macOS, getting used to the UI of Linux is a bit difficult and lack of support for popular games and software might become a con. However for coders or engineers or just tech enthusiasts, Linux is their go to.

In short, each operating system has their own advantages and disadvantages. With the macOS you get a polished OS with seamless integration with Apple products adding to the convenience of this device. With windows you get the largest community support with it and lots of customisation and with Linux you get further customisation, security but lack of general users.

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Battery

This section greatly affects the portability of a device. In general the more battery backup you have the more time you will be spending less connected and more on the go working. Starting with the MacBooks, specifically those with the M4 chip, they are known for their excellent battery life. 

This chip is specifically designed to be as efficient as possible which allows users to get through a full day of work without needing to charge. This is very helpful for students or people who need to work or research on the go. Usually, MacBooks with the M4 chip offer 14 to 22 hours of battery backup depending on the model and use scenarios.

Laptops as explained before is a whole different case as different companies have different battery backup. Usually in this price range you do get good battery backup. It is oftentimes comparable to the MacBook as well. However there are times with a good battery there are trade offs like lower screen resolution or higher battery capacity for a cheaper processor or a high end processor for a smaller battery.

Now for battery management the clear winner here will have to be macOS as it is quite efficient in managing its battery thanks to the SoC chip which makes it quite efficient. Moreover the OS in itself helps it increase battery backup by optimizing background tasks and apps usage. The batteries of MacBooks also tend to degrade less often than laptops.There is still a chance for other laptops to win in terms of battery management if you customize it yourself but that’s just another hassle which macOS takes care of.

All in all, both laptops and MacBooks are capable of providing you with great battery backup. For macOS it will be factory optimized but for other laptops you might need to tweak it yourself a bit.

Price

We are finally at the last section, the price. MacBooks generally tend to be in the higher price segment. They are very expensive and are specifically designed for specific use cases as you read from above. Depending on the specs you need, it’s going to cost you more than an arm and leg when you are getting a MacBook. That price is not for show. You get the ecosystem, great performance, stunning displays and an aesthetic design.

With laptops however you get tons of flexibility and that is with both pricing and specs. More often than not you will find specs similar or if not better than the MacBook at a cheaper price. And if you have a lower budget? Laptops have you covered in that section as well,  if you want something that is cheap and is needed for just daily email reading or small tasks you can definitely go for a laptop.

Ultimately, it’s going to be completely dependent on the use case scenario on which one to adjust or fix your budget accordingly. If you want greater flexibility, customization and great performance at a lower price, go for laptops. If you want a seamless experience with premium build quality and great performance or just want to enter the Apple ecosystem you can get the MacBook.

Conclusion

Whew! We have finally arrived at the finish line. So today we discussed MacBooks and laptops. Hopefully reading this blog has helped you make a decision on which pill to take from Morpheus. But just in case I will give you a short summarization here. If you have the budget and want to enter the Apple ecosystem and want to experience a seamless UI with great performance, go for the blue pill. 

If you want to experience extreme customisation, great flexibility, innovative designs you can go for the red pill. Choosing the red pill will provide you with flexibility with the pricing as well. Furthermore with the blue pill you will not be able to get any gaming support which you get with the red pill. So yeah depending on your use case you have to select your pill.

Now if you don’t want to be offered pills with time limits you can visit Vertech where you can try both laptops and MacBooks to find out which is the right fit for you. Vertech has a wide collection of laptops and MacBooks so you will definitely find something that is catered to you.

That was it for today. Hopefully I was able to help you guys in selecting the pill. We will meet again at another blog someday. Till next time.