One of the most common activities that many of us use our Macs for is editing photos. Those could be photos taken on an iPhone and edited in the Photos app or photos taken on a camera and edited in another app like Lightroom. For basic edits carried out in the Photos app, any MacBook will do the job comfortably. For more demanding tasks, such as editing very high-resolution RAW photos in a professional editing app and some basic video editing, there are a few things to take into account when choosing a MacBook. In this article, we’ll explain which is the best MacBook for photo and video editing.
Which MacBook is best for photo and video editing: how to choose your Mac
The MacBook you choose for photos and video editing will be determined by how you edit them and the type of content you edit. It may also be determined to a certain extent by where you edit photos and videos. For example, if you edit them at a desk, then the weight of the MacBook you choose won’t be an issue. However, if you edit in the field and need to carry the MacBook everywhere you go, then the weight and size become more of a consideration. Here are a few things to consider.
Size and weight
If you need to carry your MacBook around with all your photography gear, this is going to be an issue. None of the MacBooks Apple sells are overly heavy, but there is a noticeable difference between, say, a 13in MacBook Air and a 16in MacBook Pro. It’s also worth noting that the most powerful MacBooks are also the biggest, in their default configurations at least. So, if you want the power of a 16in MacBook Pro without the extra size and weight, it’s worth considering going for a 14in Pro and choosing the M4 Pro or even M4 Max rather than the standard M5. Despite the fact that they are a generation older, the Pro and Max are more powerful than the standard M5.
Whichever MacBook you choose, it’s essential that you keep it running smoothly and speedily. That means keeping it free from junk and clutter, scanning for malware, updating applications regularly, and carrying out regular maintenance. All of that can take time and effort, and you’d probably much rather use that time to edit photos. Well, you can. Because CleanMyMac’s Smart Care feature can take care of all the junk and clutter, application updates, malware scanning, and maintenance tasks for you.
- Get your free CleanMyMac trial — check out how it works for 7 days for free.
- Choose Smart Care in the sidebar.
- Click Scan.
- When it’s finished, click Run to carry out all its recommendations or Review to see what it’s found.
Screen
The MacBook’s screen is more important for editing photos than any other task except, perhaps, video editing. You need the screen to be color accurate and to work well in bright daylight. When choosing which MacBook to buy for photo editing, there are two things to consider: the size and the option of paying a bit more for the nano-texture display option available with the MacBook Pros. That display reduces glare and reflections noticeably compared with the normal display on a MacBook Pro or Air.
Expansion
If you use a standalone camera for photography, rather than the camera in your phone, you’ll need some way of getting the images from the camera to the MacBook. You could connect the camera to your Mac with a cable, but you may need an adapter for that, depending on the type of connection the camera uses. The best solution is usually to take the memory card from the camera and slot it into your Mac. And that’s where both the 14in and 16in MacBook Pro have an advantage because they have SD card slots and so are compatible with the most common type of memory card. If you choose a MacBook Air, you will also need an external card reader. That’s not a huge expense, but it is one extra thing to carry around and not convenient if you edit photos in the field or on the road.
Performance
Is performance an issue when it comes to choosing which MacBook to buy for photo and video editing? Possibly. Again, it comes down to the kind of photographs you plan to edit and how you’re going to edit them. If all your photos are shot on an iPhone and you are going to edit them in Photos, then performance isn’t an issue. Even the basic 13in MacBook Air will handle that without a problem. If, however, you plan to edit very high-resolution images shot on a digital camera and you want to batch process them in RAW format, then you might need a bit more oomph than the 13in MacBook Air can provide. If you’re a professional photographer, you should certainly be looking at a MacBook Pro, although the M5 14in Pro should be fine. If you have the budget, you might want to add more RAM. The other factor to consider when it comes to raw power is AI. If any of the editing tools you use make extensive use of AI, the more powerful the chip you can afford, the better.
Upgrades
Choosing which MacBook to buy for photo editing is only the first step – albeit the most important one. You also need to decide which, if any, configure-to-order upgrades you’re going to add. Remember that the way MacBooks are built these days means that if you want to add more RAM or additional internal storage, you need to do it when you order.
Now that Apple has finally moved 16 GB as its base memory configuration, the recommendation to upgrade isn’t as clear-cut as it once was. Nevertheless, whichever MacBook you choose, if you have the budget, spending it on more RAM will never be wasted. Adding more storage isn’t as clear-cut because you can always add external storage later. However, if you edit away from your desk a lot and shoot in RAW format, then upping the SSD capacity may serve you well. Finally, if you choose a MacBook Pro, the nano-texture display option is relatively inexpensive as an upgrade and will make a noticeable difference to glare and reflections.
The best MacBooks for photo editing (and video editing, too)
Here are the MacBooks that Apple currently sells and their pluses and minuses when it comes to photo editing. We’ve listed that base configurations, but each one can be upgraded with more RAM and storage. In the case of the MacBook Pros, you can also choose to upgrade the chip to a Pro or Max version and the screen to a nano-texture display. At the time of writing, there is no Pro or Max version of the M5 chip, so the upgrade from the standard M5 in the 14in Pro is the M4 Pro or M4 Max. The 16in Pro only comes in M4 Pro and M4 Max versions.
MacBook Air 13in
This is the least expensive MacBook that Apple sells. It’s also the smallest and lightest, which may be an important consideration if you carry it with you a lot.
✅ Good for: Hobby photographers and videographers on a budget who travel a lot
❌ Not so good for: Anyone who needs a large screen and lots of power for batch editing high-res RAW images
MacBook Air 15in
The other MacBook Air in Apple’s lineup offers a larger screen but not much else compared with the 13in model. That said, it’s only a little bit more expensive. If the larger screen is important to you, it’s worth the upgrade. Otherwise, you could spend the $200 difference between the two models on a couple more GPU cores or 8 GB more memory.
✅ Good for: Photographers and videographers on a budget who need a decent-sized screen
❌ Not so good for: Pros who need the raw power available in either of the MacBook Pros
MacBook Pro 14in
In some ways, Apple’s entry-level MacBook Pro is an odd machine. It’s $400 more expensive than the 15in Air in their base configurations, but has a smaller screen. That, however, doesn’t tell the full story. The screen might be physically smaller, but it has more pixels than the Air and it’s a mini LED screen that is at least twice as bright as the Air’s Liquid Retina display. It also features Apple’s ProMotion technology for smoother video and animation. And it has better battery life. The 14in Pro has the latest, at the time of writing, Apple Silicon — the M5 in its base model — but the Pro and Max versions are still M4.
✅ Good for: Anyone who needs a great screen, particularly outdoors, as well as good performance and battery life
❌ Not so good for: Those with a limited budget who edit mostly indoors and don’t need all those GPU cycles
MacBook Pro 16in
Take a deep breath. If you want the largest possible screen and the most pixels on your MacBook, you’ll need to find another $900 over the base configuration of the 14in MacBook Pro. That’s because, currently, the 16in version is only available in M4 Pro or M4 Max versions. Large screen aside, those two models are overkill for even most professional photographers and videographers. And when you take into account the extra size and weight (it’s 1.3 pounds heavier than the 14in Pro), you would probably be better off spending that $900 on upgrading the 14in model with a nano-texture display, M4 Pro chip, and more RAM or storage.
✅ Good for: Photographers and videographers who absolutely must have the largest possible screen
❌ Not so good for: Your bank account and luggage allowance
OK, but which one should I buy?
If you have the budget, there is a sweet spot where you get a really good, powerful MacBook that’s not too heavy, has a brilliant screen and can handle pretty much everything you can throw at it. We’re talking about the
14in MacBook Pro. It’s not outlandishly expensive, has plenty of oomph, and comes with a lovely screen. If you have the budget to go beyond the base configuration, consider the nano-texture screen and more RAM. You might also want to bump up the storage from the standard 512 GB. Perhaps it would be the best MacBook Pro for photo editing and video editing, too.
If your budget can’t stretch to the 14in Pro, the 15in Air is still an excellent buy, especially now that the base RAM is 16 GB.
Frequently asked questions
What else should I budget for?
If you’re spending a thousand dollars or more on a MacBook, you should definitely invest in a good sturdy sleeve or case to keep it safe and a bag to carry it in. If you choose a MacBook Air, you might also want to pick up an SD card reader if you shoot with a camera rather than your phone.
Should I back up photos separately, even if I use iCloud Photo?
Yes! If you shoot outdoors and are not connected to the internet, your photos won’t back up to iCloud. An external, bus-powered storage device will allow you to copy your images manually and keep them safe.
What software should I use?
If you shoot RAW format photos on a digital camera and need to process lots of them, Adobe’s Lightroom is the best option, with Capture One a good alternative. If you’re more interested in photo manipulation and creating montages, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements are excellent choices. Affinity Photo, now available as part of Affinity Studio, and Pixelmator Pro are also good options. And, if you shoot only on your iPhone, Apple’s Photos will do a good job.
