What apple computer is the best

Best Apple computers in 2021 for any computing needs

It’s an age-old question: Windows, or macOS? Over the years, both operating systems have been developed and refined. But there’s one thing that still puts macOS over Windows for many people: Deep integration with the Apple ecosystem. That’s not to mention the great design and easy-to-use interface. That begs the question — what are the best Apple computers in 2021?

There are a number of things to consider before buying a computer. Perhaps the first is to think about whether you want a desktop computer, or a laptop computer. If you want to take your computer on-the-go, that decision is easy — you want a MacBook. If, however, you really only plan on using your computer on a desk at home, a desktop might be better for you.

There are other considerations to make too. For example, you’ll want to think about what kinds of ports you want, and how many you need. In recent years, port selection has been dwindling — so you might want to consider a dock or dongles along with your new computer.

With Apple computers, recently, you’ve had to make another decision — whether or not you want a computer with Apple Silicon. Our advice? Buy one with Apple Silicon, especially if you get a laptop. M1-based Macs are more than powerful enough for most, offer excellent battery life, and will boast better Apple software support going forward.

Without further ado, here are the best Apple computers in 2021.

Best Apple computer overall: Apple MacBook Air

Pros: Powerful, highly portable, stunning design

Cons: Still a bit pricey, might soon get a refresh

The MacBook Air has gone through several refreshes, but the most recent model has to be one of the best. The laptop offers that classic Apple metal unibody design, plus it features Apple’s ultra-powerful M1 chip, a great keyboard, and more.

The keyboard may be a bit of a sore point for anyone who has bought an Apple laptop over the past three or four years. But that on the most recent MacBook Air is actually great. Apple has done away with the butterfly keyboard from the last-generation MacBook Air, in favor of a design with more travel and a more tactile feel.

Of course, perhaps more important than the keyboard is the performance. The MacBook Air comes with Apple’s M1 chip, which has shown to be an incredibly high-performing chip that can handle pretty much anything you’ll throw at it in day-to-day use. The base model comes with 8GB of RAM, but you can upgrade it to offer 16GB if you want to. That M1 chip also means that the laptop offers incredible battery life, and it should easily get you through a full day of even relatively heavy use. Around the edges, you’ll get two USB 4 ports and a headphone jack.

So what are the downsides to the MacBook Air? Well, the port selection may be a little limiting for some, and another USB 4 port or two would have been nice. Also, while we never really expected it to come with a touch display, a touch screen still would have been nice. Lastly, if you can afford to wait a little, it may be worth it considering rumors indicate a refresh is coming. Despite those things, this model of the MacBook Air is an incredible computer that the vast majority of users will love.

Best Apple desktop: Apple iMac

Pros: Fun design, excellent performance, great display

Cons: Expensive

The iMac recently got a major redesign, and it looks and performs excellently. The new iMac comes in a range of fun and colorful colors, plus it also offers Apple’s powerful M1 chip that should make it among the best Apple computers for most users.

The iMac’s design really looks like a big iPad Pro on a stand, thanks to how thin it is. This also helps ensure that it should look great in any kitchen, whether it’s in your home office, in the living room, or anywhere else. On the back, you’ll get four USB 4 ports, and if you upgrade models, you can get an extra two USB-C ports.

The display on the computer is pretty stunning too. You’ll get a 24-inch display with a 4.5K resolution, and it’s very sharp and detailed. Sure, it’s not quite as large as the 27-inch iMac’s display, but at this point, you’re better off either dealing with the smaller display or waiting until the 27-inch model gets an update.

So what are the downsides to consider? Well, the computer is a little expensive, coming in at $1,299 for the base model. Also, you’re pretty much stuck with the model you buy — you can’t really upgrade the computer after the fact. Despite those things, however, the iMac is the all-in-one for most Apple fans.

Best budget Mac: Apple Mac Mini

Pros: Powerful, inexpensive, classic design

Cons: Due for an update

The Mac Mini has long been a great way to get Apple’s macOS operating system at an affordable price. The most recent model offers the company’s M1 chip, with the aluminum unibody design you know and love. Oh, and it’s pretty inexpensive, coming in at only $699.

The base model of the Mac Mini comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it can be upgraded to offer 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage. Safe to say, the computer should be more than powerful enough for all but the most powerful users.

On the back, the port selection can be limiting, but it’s not terrible. You’ll get two USB 4 ports, two USB 3 ports, an ethernet port, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack.

It’s important to note that the Mac Mini is rumored for an update in the near future, which may give it a new design and an even more powerful chip. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens, but if you can wait, it may be worth doing so. Still, the current-generation model offers a lot for the money, making it a great choice for those who need a desktop computer now. Note, you’ll need to buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse separately.

Best high-performance MacBook: Apple MacBook Pro

Pros: Great design, excellent display, high performance

Cons: Expensive

The new MacBook Pro series is arguably the perfect laptop for Apple fans. The laptop may have a notch and may be relatively expensive, but if you want a little more oomph than the MacBook Air can offer, then the MacBook Pro is absolutely worth checking out. The MacBook Pro is available in 14-inch and 16-inch variants.

At the heart of the MacBook Pro are the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, which range from offering an 8-core CPU and 14-core GPU, to offering a 10-core CPU and a 32-core GPU. That’s coupled with up to 64GB of RAM, if you get the M1 Max. Basically, this is the high-performing MacBook Pro you’ve been waiting for. It performs incredibly well. Storage options on the MacBook Pro range from 512GB to a massive 8TB.

The display on the MacBook Pro is stunning, too. It’s a Mini-LED display like that on the iPad Pro, meaning that it’ll offer deep black levels and bright, vibrant colors. It really looks awesome, so it’s a great choice for those who want to edit images and video.

Apple has even brought ports back to the MacBook Pro. The laptop offers three Thunderbolt 4 ports, along with a headphone jack, a HDMI port, and an SD card slot. There’s even MagSafe for charging. And, generally speaking, the laptop offers a great design — it has a notch, but you’ll forget about it right away, and the new black bed for the keyboard looks great.

So what are the downsides? Well, the MacBook Pro is pretty expensive, starting at $2,000 for the base model. But if you need that extra performance it may well be worth buying.

Best high-performance Apple computer: Apple Mac Pro

Pros: Extremely powerful, great design, upgradeable

Cons: Unobtainably expensive

If you’re looking for the highest-performing computer from Apple, the Mac Pro is still the way to go. Sure, it doesn’t yet come with Apple’s own processors, but you will get Intel’s incredible Xeon chips, coupled with anywhere from 32GB to 1.5TB of RAM, and up to 8TB of storage. This computer is also compatible with AMD’s Radeon graphics cards, with up to two Radion Pro W6800X Duo chips on offer.

The computer has other things going for it too. It’s got a modular, upgradeable design in a classic stainless steel body. In other words, if you’re buying a machine for a professional creative environment, and want to be able to upgrade the computer down the line, this is the way to go.

Ok, so this is probably not one of the best Apple computers for the vast majority of people. Why? Well, it starts at $6,000. No, I didn’t add an extra zero. That’s perhaps the biggest downside to this computer, besides the fact that it hasn’t yet gotten that Apple Silicon magic just yet. When it does, we assume Apple won’t just add an M1 to it though. It’ll get a highly specialized chip or chips.

Christian de Looper has been passionate about consumer technology since childhood, but didn’t know writing about it could be a career until he started looking for online work during college. He was born in Canberra, Australia, and has lived in France, Minnesota, and now sunny Santa Cruz, California, where he test drives cars and puts every gadget he can get his hands on to the test.

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Laptops offer portability, but if you need raw power and performance, there’s no beating a traditional desktop computer. Desktops don’t have the size or thermal constraints of a laptop, and don’t need to consider power consumption because they’re not running on battery power.

This makes them a significantly better choice for high-intensity work like 4K video editing, or resource intensive tasks like gaming. You can do these things on a laptop, but they’ll take longer and burn through battery life really quickly.

The trade off is that desktops aren’t portable, and require a lot more space. This won’t be a problem if you need a computer for your home office, but could get in the way if you’re used to working from public places, like your local coffee shop.

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If you haven’t used a desktop computer in a while, don’t worry, we’ve researched the best ones available right now.

What Are the Best Desktop Computers?

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best desktop computer alternative for you; below are the most important ones, which we considered while we were researching this list.

Operating System: The desktops in this guide either run Windows 10, the latest version of Microsoft’s OS, or MacOS, which runs exclusively on Apple hardware.

All-In-One Vs. Tower: Desktop computers come in two styles: All-in-ones, which means the computer’s components are built into a screen, or towers, which need to be connected to a monitor separately. Our guide features a mix of both.

Processor: All of our recommendations have a modern Intel or AMD processor, and are capable of running almost any task you throw at them without slowdown.

RAM: The desktop computers in our guide have at least 8GB (gigabytes) of RAM (memory). Having more RAM can help apps run more smoothly, and allow you to use more of them simultaneously without slowdown.

Storage: We’re recommending desktop computer with between 256GB and 2 TB (terabytes) of storage. You won’t run into trouble with a smaller SSD (solid state drive) if you stream most of your media, but you’ll need a larger one if you like to keep large video files or projects on your machine.

Upgradability: One of the biggest benefits to using a desktop over a laptop is the ability to upgrade it over time. This feature is only available on tower style desktops.

Inputs: A computer’s inputs (known more commonly as ports), are what allow you to connect accessories to your machine. Each of our picks has a different assortment of ports, which you should strongly consider depending on how you intend to use your machine. All of them support WiFi and Bluetooth, though, so you have a range of wireless connectivity options, too.

1. BEST OVERALL: Dell XPS 8930 Tower Desktop

Dell’s XPS 8930’s mix of excellent tech specs and upgradability that have earned it the top place in our guide.

This desktop is a tower computer that runs Window 10 Pro, Microsoft’s most advanced operating system to date. It has an 8-core i7 processor that runs at 4.7GHz, 64GB of RAM, and four terabytes of storage (2TB SSD + 2TB Hard Drive). These features make XPS 8930 the most powerful desktop computer we’re recommending by a long shot.

The most important components to look at are the ample amount of RAM and storage. You should have no problem running a handful of resource intensive apps simultaneously without any lag, and never worry about running out of disk space. The high amount of internal storage is especially useful if you like to keep a large media library on your computer rather than streaming it from the cloud.

The only place the XPS8930 falters is graphics performance. The machine relies on Intel’s integrated graphics instead of coming with an external card, which means you can’t use it for gaming or video production work. On the plus side, you can easily fix this problem by popping a graphics card into one of its five PCI-E slots. We recommend NVIDIA’s Geforce RTX 2070 if you need some serious graphical power.

Having five slots means you can make numerous upgrades to this machine, tailoring it to your specific needs. The XPS8930 is a great desktop out of the box, but you can definitely push it further over time.

On the ports side, Dell has outfitted its desktop really well. There are three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, a microphone input, a headphone jack, and an SD Card reader on the front of the machine for easy access. Around the back you’ll find six more USB-A ports, another USB-C port, one Ethernet port, an HDMI port, and a DisplayPort output. This desktop computer has enough inputs that you’ll never have to connect a hub; if you need more ports, you can always add them using a PCI-E card as necessary.

If you need a tower-style desktop computer that can handle anything you throw at it, and offers the ability to customize it as your needs change, Dell’s XPS 8930 is the best choice.

2. ENTRY LEVEL: HP Slim Desktop

If you need a tower-style desktop computer for casual use, HP’s Slim Desktop is the right choice.

It runs Windows 10, and has a respectable set of tech specs: a 2.4GHz AMD Athlon processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. You may run into storage issues if you have a large media library, but you’ll be fine if you prefer streaming videos and music instead.

If you’re really concerned about storage, HP says this computer has a slot for an additional hard drive, though we recommend using an SSD like Crucial’s MX500 because it’s a lot faster. HP says this computer has two PCIE slots, so you have a limited upgrade path if you’d like to improve this desktop computer over time.

HP’s Slim Desktop has four USB ports, an SD Card Slot and headphone jack on the front. HP doesn’t show the back of the machine, but says it has a pair of USB ports and an audio out jack.

This computer is a get pick if you spend most of your time streaming videos, browsing the web, and doing light work like word processing, creating spreadsheets, and putting together slideshows.

3. BEST MAC: Apple 27-Inch iMac

Apple’s 27-Inch 5K iMac is the company’s latest-and-greatest desktop, and our recommendation if you’re in the market for a Mac.

This desktop is an all-in-one computer that runs MacOS Catalina, the most recent version of Apple’s operating system. Apple says this machine will be compatible with MacOS Big Sur, its upcoming desktop operating system.

This is a well-rounded desktop computer, but its marquee feature is a high-resolution 5K display. This is my personal computer, and I’m constantly impressed at how sharp text, images, and videos look compared to any external display I’ve tested.

This machine has a six-core 3.1GHZ Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. It’s also got a 720P webcam and microphone built into the top of the screen, so you can video conference with it right out of the box.

Apple outfitted its desktop with an AMD Radeon Pro 5300 graphics card with 4GB of dedicated video memory. These specs are good enough that you should have no problem running image or video editing software without major issues.

The low baseline of storage may pose a problem, though, especially since you can’t upgrade the internal SSD. Apple’s solution to upgradability on its desktops is to plug adapters or accessories into its various ports. If you’d like to add more storage to this computer, I recommend Samsung’s T7 drive, which is fast and super portable.

Speaking of ports, the 27-Inch 5K iMac has four USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C compatible) ports, an SD Card reader, Ethernet port, and headphone jack. This assortment should allow you to connect all of your accessories to it at once without any adapters.

If you want a highly capable all-in-one desktop computer that runs MacOS, the 27-Inch 5K iMac is our go-to pick.

4. BEST FOR GAMING: Alienware Aurora R10

Alianware has been a mainstay in the gaming PC space for over a decade, and we recommend its Aurora R10 if you want to get more serious about computer gaming.

This tower computer runs Windows 10, and comes with some pretty beefy specs. It’s got a 16-core AMD Ryzen 7 3700X processor running at 3.6GHz, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 1TB Hard Drive. These specs are overkill for common tasks, but necessary to achieve and maintain a high frame-rate (a measure of graphical fidelity) while playing games.

On the graphics side, the Aurora R10 has an AMD Radeon RX5700 with 8GB of dedicated video memory. This card is powerful enough to play modern games at a high resolution, but you can upgrade it as new, more demanding titles get released.

Alianware says the Aurora R10 has a brand new cooling system that allows the computer to run at a lower temperature when its running at full power for extended periods of time. If a computer runs too hot, you run the risk of overheating it, and eventually damaging it.

The Aurora R10 has five PCIE slots (two are taken up, but can be replaced), so you have a lot of room for expansion as the computer gets older. Alianware was similarly generous when it comes to ports.

This desktop computer has three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, a microphone input, and a headphone jack on its front side. Around the back you’ll find 10 USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an Ethernet jack, one coaxial output, an optical output, three DisplayPorts, one HDMI port, and one DVI port.

If you’re getting into PC gaming, and don’t want to build your own computer, Alianware’s Aurora R10 has a lot to offer.

6. BEST MINI PC: Intel NUC NUC10i7FNH

Intel’s NUC 10i7FNH is an extremely small desktop computer that offers impressive performance and features for its size.

This mini-tower is only 2-inches tall and 4.6-inches wide, and runs Windows 10 Pro. It has a six-core Intel i7 processor running at 1.1GHZ, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The processor is a little underpowered if you want to run extremely power-hungry apps, but fine for everyday tasks. The computer’s ample memory and storage more than make up for this slight dip in processor performance.

The big trade off when choosing a computer this small is that there’s no way to upgrade it. What you see is what you get. You can upgrade it using external accessories, but won’t be able to get inside the machine.

Intel has made this easier by this by stuffing the NUC10i7FNH full of ports. It has three USB-A ports, two USB-C ports (one is a Thunderbolt 3 port), an Ethernet jack, and an HDMI output. This assortment of ports should allow you to connect the necessary accessories to make this machine work for your specific needs.

If the only thing keeping you back from getting a desktop computer is their size, and you don’t mind sacrificing some performance to get there, we highly recommend Intel’s NUC10i7FNH.

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