Choosing the best laptops for music production is an overwhelming task for many artists or producers who want a perfect blend of creativity and technology.
While it’s true that desktop PCs are the best options for music production, portable laptops are becoming more popular for editing and mixing music, thanks to advancements in internals, speed, and cooling solutions.
Laptops for music production mean we are talking about something powerful enough to tackle the edits, images, and changes to make your audio without causing any overheating or lags to interrupt your workflow. These laptops enable you to record, mix, and fine-tune your tracks to meet studio-perfection standards.
While music production doesn’t necessitate absolute top-of-the-line hardware and software capabilities, a current-gen processor chip alongside discrete graphics with at least 16GB of RAM handles the job smoothly. What else? A screen size of 14 and a decent resolution are suitable for viewing timelines, toolbars and other editing tools. In addition, laptops for music should be compatible with external equipment, including audio sequences and interfaces.
To help you in your decision-making, we have carefully tested and reviewed several Apple laptops. Here is the list of our favourite Apple laptops for music production. Let’s find out which one is right for your needs and budget!
Apple MacBook Pro (2023) M2
- Apple 10 core Processor
- 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964 Max. Resolution
- 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
- Mac OS
- USB | Thunderbolt 4
- Space Grey Colour
- 1 Year Warranty
The MacBook Pro M2 secures first in our list of “best laptops for music production in 2024”. You may not see many Apple laptops in the gaming sphere, but they are the preferred choice for music production and editing. The MacBook’s lightweight profile, brilliant design, and smooth performance make it the best bet for music producers, and the brand-new MacBook Pro 14-inch M2 is no exception.
This exceptionally well-built Apple MacBook has ample processing power for even the most intensive music production tasks. Although this MacBook model follows the same design as the previous iterations, it is also well known for its excellent user experience, thanks to its sharper display, spacious keyboard, and elegant touchpad. The port selection is undoubtedly another impressive thing to discuss with this laptop.
The MacBook Pro supports the latest M2 chips, efficiently delivering faster performance to run any DAW (digital audio workstation), no matter how many plugins you throw their way. It has 32GB of unified RAM and 512GB of storage, making your workflow even more seamless and buttery.
You’ll get a high-output 3.5mm headphone jack for hard-to-drive cans. The cooling fans on this laptop will never get loud, so you don’t have to worry about noise interruptions.
The major drawback of the MacBook Pro is its unnecessary high-end graphics chips that you don’t need in music production. However, this laptop is appropriate for music production and provides good value for editing videos and images and playing games with the Liquid Retina XDR display. HDR content looks stunning with vivid, realistic details. The laptop has thinner borders than the previous models, so you’ll get more screen space to enjoy your content.
Apple MacBook Air (2022) M2
- Apple Octa-Core Processor
- 13.6 in Quad HD Display, IPS, 2560 x 1664 Max. Resolution
- 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
- Mac OS
- USB | Thunderbolt 4
- Midnight Colour
- 1 Year Warranty
The Apple MacBook Air 2 is another stand-out laptop for artists and music producers seeking a blend of performance and portability in a single package. If you look at the internals, you’ll see the M2 chip, which makes this laptop capable of handling various music production tasks. The M2 chips excel, especially in the demanding music production software and large sample libraries.
Regarding price, the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is cheaper than the MacBook Pro 14 listed above and even many Windows-based laptops. However, it still has a stylish, thinner form factor and many innovative features.
Secondly, the 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display offers a crisp and vibrant workspace ideal for music editing software interfaces. Though the screen doesn’t feature ProMotion technology, the brightness and colour accuracy are enough for audio production work. Under the hood, the increased screen size also provides an ample viewing area for precisely making edits. The gorgeous 13.6″ liquid retina display treats your eyes well and has a much thinner border, enhancing content visibility.
If we compare the MacBook Air2 with the MacBook Pro, both pose a major difference, but Air 2 shines competitively in any application, and the more pricey MacBook Pro can. This laptop also conquers day-to-day use and creative tasks, although it’s worth an eye on temperatures when throwing demanding workloads at it.
The most impressive feature? The MacBook Air M2 has an exceptional battery life that lasts up to 18 hours on a single charge. This makes an excellent bet for music producers and creative artists on the go. You will appreciate its various charging options, ensuring you can quickly power up and return to work.
Another advantage is that the MacBook Air 2 has no fans. This means there will be no external noises, especially when recording via microphones. As for audio, you will get a quad-speaker system with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.
The MacBook Air 2 might not satisfy our connectivity needs with its USB C and Thunderbolt ports, so you’ll probably have to rely on a docking station.
Apple MacBook Pro M2
- Apple 12-Core Processor
- 16.2 in Full HD Display, IPS, 3456 x 2234 Max. Resolution
- 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
- Apple GPU Graphics
- Mac OS
- USB | Thunderbolt 4 | USB-C
- Silver Colour
- 1 Year Warranty
The Apple MacBook Pro M2 is a compelling laptop for artists, supporting the latest Apple hardware to tackle all kinds of tasks—music production included. Not everyone appreciates editing on macOS, but this is the best laptop for the job if you do. It’s pretty expensive; you get top-notch build quality and an exceptional battery life that no other laptop can match.
Let’s come to the performance. This powerful laptop features an Apple 12-core CPU that gives it the kind of performance only found in AMD or Intel powerhouses—and it’s up to 50% faster than the M1 Max from the last generation. As for graphics, they are up to mark for intensive music applications.
The 16.2″ Liquid Retina XDR display on MacBook Pro has a 3456 x 2234 resolution, 1000 cd/m² of sustained brightness, 1600 cd/m² of peak brightness, P3 colour gamut support, and 120Hz refresh rate. Not only this, ProMotion technology allows this MacBook to adjust the refresh rate with the motion of your onscreen content. This helps preserve battery life while delivering smooth and detailed visuals.
The most impressive thing about the MacBook Pro is its battery life, which can last up to 22 hours on a single charge. It is one of the longest-lasting batteries of any laptop, let alone a potent one like this.
The combination of 16GB RAM with 1TB SSD means there is almost no task that this laptop can’t handle. The MacBook Pro M2 is well-regarded for its long battery life, which is ideal for musicians who need to work on the go. Some popular Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Logic Pro X (included with the MacBook Pro), Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Pro Tools are compatible with macOS, making MacBook Pro M2 a consideration.
Apple MacBook Pro (2021) M1 Max
- Apple Processor
- 16.2 in, 3456 x 2234 Max. Resolution
- 64 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD
- Mac OS
- HDMI
- Silver Colour
- 1 Year Warranty
The MacBook Pro M1 has the power, although it has an M1 chip compared to the M2s you’ll find in virtually every Mac. This is the first Apple laptop manufactured as a serious contender in its Pro range. Its lightweight design and slim form factor make it a formidable machine, especially if you are an on-the-go professional.
The MacBook Pro 2021 sets a new benchmark for performance in Apple notebooks. Its elegant Liquid Retina XDR display improves the appearance of whatever you do on it, and the high-quality 1080p webcam guarantees you look amazing while video calling friends and coworkers.
The Apple M1 chip and 64GB RAM offer enough power to handle music production without too many issues. In terms of battery life, the MacBook Pro will give you up to 11 of endurance even on heavy workloads. You don’t have to worry if you’ve left the charger at home. Even when unplugged, you can count on the same efficient performance.
Thanks to the HDMI and Thunderbolt 4, it is easy for you to quickly transfer files from your laptop to a monitor or any other peripheral.
How do you choose an Apple laptop for music production?
As you may know, there is an Apple laptop for every task and occasion. While the range might be confusing, there is some logic to it, obviously there is. Once you succeed in choosing some critical factors, you will probably find an incredible Mac for your music production and editing. So, let’s look at one of those important factors:
A Laptop or Desktop Model?
Start your buying process by deciding whether you need a portable MacBook or a desktop-sized model. Once you have made this choice, you will cut down the chunky range of Apple laptops and narrow your options. So, which should you go for, a desktop or a laptop, for music production? The answer is always nuanced: “It depends”.
If you want the best possible portability and mobility, the latest M range of chips built into most models gives you the best bang for your buck. However, you might have to sacrifice screen size and power specs for these MacBooks.
On the desktop side, the iMac is a well-priced and well-specified device, and its design is a dream all-in-one computer solution. Given the considerable power offered by the top-tier Mac models such as the Pro and Studio, it’s enticing to gravitate towards them. The rationale is that investing in newer models like these will ensure future-proofing as a music producer—whatever your future requirements may be; these models will fulfil them. However, for ample memory, ports, power and storage for music production, you must spend a lot, as even the base model starts from £1,999/£2,199.
What are Apple Silicon Processors?
The introduction of Apple Silicon processors in late 2020 marked a watershed moment for the brand. It all started with the M1 CPU, and today, you see the portfolio with M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra, all of which provide abundant power in most creative laptops. These newer chips have gradually replaced the original M1 family (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra), which is now only found in the 2021 Air and iMac computers.
The number of cores in these processors varies depending on CPU and GPU (graphics) processing capabilities. The more cores there are, the more powerful the processor. For example, the current M2 processors start at an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, while the top-tier M2 Ultra claims up to 76 cores.
While there is no thumb rule for the core count in music production tasks, the M range laptop will tackle most of your applications without any trouble.
What about Memory and Storage?
More capacity usually means higher expenses when it comes to memory and storage. For music production, at least 16GB of RAM is recommended, which is currently standard in the base versions of most Macs. As for storage, 512GB SSD is excellent. We recommend paying extravagant sums to boost onboard storage. Instead, try investing in a fast external SSD drive for your music demands, which is usually a more affordable option.
Which Connectivity Ports do you need?
Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C connectivity ports are standard in most Mac models, with the Air and smaller Pro models having just two or three and larger Pro models with up to 8 ports. Select the ports as per your music editing requirements.
Bottom Line
Apple laptops or MacBooks are great computer options that will do everything you throw in their way. MacBooks have become the favourites of many creative artists and music producers thanks to their unique operating system, high processing power, and various configurations.
Macs and music production go hand in hand. However, we are not saying that PCs won’t run perfectly demanding software for music production; Apple offers more diverse solutions to many musicians in terms of speed, ease of use, build, and style, which they need to put great tunes together.
In this guide, we have gathered some of the best laptops for artists and music production with our first-hand knowledge of a wide range of laptops, opinions from our fellow tech writers, and feedback from our valuable customers. Rest assured that these are the best music production laptops in 2024. If you want to explore more options, visit the Laptop Outlet!
