Configure your MacBook Pro 13-inch

Updated in May 2020, the 13-inch was the last MacBook to get rid of the butterfly switch keyboard that had caused a small percentage of users big problems.

There are still just two external ports, both on the left and both Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), one required for charging. Unless you don’t need any extra storage or accessories, you’ll probably want a hub. But a higher configuration, starting at £1,799, has two extra ports. This version now gets 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processors, with a higher 2GHz clock speed, while the cheaper models stick with the eighth-generation 1.4GHz Core i5 – a perfectly adequate mid-range choice. At £300, upgrading the lower model to a 1.7GHz Core i7 doesn’t make much sense; on the higher model, a 2.3GHz Core i7 adds £200.

A welcome change is that even the base configuration, at £1,299, now comes with a usable 256GB of storage. Memory still starts at 8GB, which these days could easily get tight, so we recommend paying the extra £100 – previously £200 – for 16GB, considering that you can’t upgrade it later.

Doubling the SSD capacity costs £200. The £1,799 configuration includes both of these upgrades as standard, but keep in mind that the 13-inch MBP has no option for a dedicated graphics card.

Starting in the same price bracket, you could consider recent (Touch Bar) refurbished 15-inch models, but note the possible keyboard issue. Relevant models less than four years old are still covered by Apple’s free repair programme: see bit.ly/appleksp.

Mini max

Higher configurations of the Mac mini are also viable as a mid-range system, as long as you don’t need a proper graphics card or fancy shelling out for something like the Blackmagic eGPU Pro (£1,199 from the Apple Store), which adds a Radeon RX Vega 56 in a box connected via Thunderbolt 3.