3 Best Laptops for GarageBand in 2024
From this article, you will know what are, in our opinion, the best laptops for GarageBand you can buy and use in 2024.
GarageBand is a popular music production software developed by Apple for macOS and iOS. Many people use it to help them compose their music and other kinds of audio products.
To work in GarageBand, you can use a laptop. As a laptop is portable and can have the computational power necessary to run GarageBand smoothly, it is probably the most preferred device to use for many people too when it comes to running GarageBand.
If you want to use a laptop to work in GarageBand but don’t have a laptop yet for that purpose, you might be interested in buying a new laptop. However, it can be confusing to pick the right laptop to work in GarageBand with many laptop models and specification choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has compiled a list of the best laptops for GarageBand that you can make as your laptop-buying reference.
Want to know more about our recommended laptops and the reasons we recommend them? Let’s get on the list right away.
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Image | View on Amazon | Product |
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Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 | ||
Apple MacBook Pro M3 14 | ||
Apple MacBook Air M2 |
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What are the Best Laptops for GarageBand?
Now, let’s take a deeper look at the laptops that make it to our list of excellent laptops to use GarageBand with. These laptops are all MacBooks as a MacBook seems to be the best type of laptop to use when it comes to GarageBand and music production as an activity.1. Apple MacBook Pro M3 16
Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 is the first laptop we think can be excellent to use for GarageBand-related activities. Powered by the Apple silicon chip, this MacBook can offer a splendid performance to help you produce your best music with the software.The Apple silicon chip that this MacBook has is an Apple M3 Pro chip. It is a high-quality processor that is fast and should run GarageBand without much problem. As for the RAM capacity, there is 18GB available for you to use which should be enough for the memory space you need for your music creation activities.
This MacBook has quite a large screen thanks to its 16.2-inch size. This means more viewports so you can see more of GarageBand and other windows you may need to open during your work process. When you need to use its battery, this MacBook can last up to 22 hours of usage capacity with its battery to make you able to use it for 1-2 days on a single charge.
Despite its seemingly bulky design, it is still sleek so you should be able to put it in your bag when you want to bring it around without much problem. All in all, this Apple MacBook Pro M3 16 can be the ideal laptop for you to work in GarageBand productively.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 16.2 inches, 3456 x 2234 pixels
- Processor: Apple M3 Pro with 12 cores and a speed of 4.05 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 18GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 22 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running GarageBand
- Larger viewports
- Sleek design
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports and one HDMI port
- Long-lasting battery
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- Heavier than many other MacBook models
- No USB-A ports
- Notched display
2. Apple MacBook Pro M3 14
Apple MacBook Pro M3 14 is the next laptop you may want to take a look at during your laptop-buying process. Smaller than our previous MacBook model, this MacBook still packs a punch in terms of performance thanks to its Apple M3 Pro chip.With the chip, you shouldn’t be worried about its capabilities to run GarageBand for you. This MacBook should be able to do that smoothly. There is also 18GB RAM whenever you need this MacBook to multitask or work on rather complex music in GarageBand.
Although not as long as the 16-inch model, this MacBook still has an excellent battery life with up to 18 hours of normal usage capacity. You should be able to work anywhere and anytime you want thanks to that. The speakers of this MacBook are also nice with the six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio that can help you produce your best music.
When you need to connect to external monitors to enhance your work productivity, there are three Thunderbolt 4 ports and one HDMI port ready for you to use on the sides of this MacBook. Overall, this Apple MacBook Pro M3 14 can be a suitable laptop to accompany you in your music-creating sessions with GarageBand.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 14.2 inches, 3024 x 1964 pixels
- Processor: Apple M3 Pro with 11 cores and a speed of 4.05 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 18GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 18 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running GarageBand
- Sleek and quite lightweight
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports and one HDMI port
- Long-lasting battery
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- No USB-A ports
- Notched display
3. Apple MacBook Air M2
Apple MacBook Air M2 is another laptop that can be just what you need to support your activities in GarageBand. If you prefer portability rather than power and viewports, then this MacBook Air model can be the ideal one for you.This MacBook’s thickness is only 0.44 inches and weighs only 2.7 pounds. Bringing it around to work in GarageBand much more flexibly should be easy for you to do. There is a long-lasting battery too so you can create music on the go if you want without too much problem.
As for the performance of this MacBook to run GarageBand for you, you don’t have to worry. After all, it is still powered by an Apple silicon chip with the Apple M2 chip on its side. When you need memory space, there is 16GB RAM capacity in this MacBook to provide that adequately for you.
Additionally, this MacBook is fanless so it shouldn’t produce disturbing noises when you use it to work in public places. All in all, this Apple Macbook Air M2 can be a good laptop choice to support what you want to do in GarageBand.
Key Features
- Screen Size, Resolution: 13.6 inches, 2560 x 1664 pixels
- Processor: Apple M2 with 8 cores and a speed of 3.5 GHz
- RAM Capacity: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery Life (Estimation): up to 18 hours of usage capacity
Pros
- Excellent performance in running GarageBand
- Sleek and lightweight
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports
- Long-lasting battery
- No fan noises as this MacBook is fanless
- Excellent display and sound quality
- Excellent webcam and microphones
- Comfortable keyboard to type on
Cons
- No USB-A, HDMI ports, and SD card reader slots
- Notched display
What are the Things We Should Consider When We Want to Buy a Laptop to Use GarageBand with?
Here are the things we think you should consider when you want to buy a laptop to help you work in GarageBand.- Operating System (OS). GarageBand seems to only run on macOS and iOS. Thus, if you want to use GarageBand optimally without any virtual machine, you should buy a MacBook instead of a Windows laptop or a Chromebook
- Processor. The laptop you buy should have a good processor so it can run GarageBand smoothly. We recommend a laptop with an Apple silicon chip as its processor for this
- RAM capacity. The laptop you buy should also have an adequate RAM capacity so it can provide the memory space needed for your music creation activities in GarageBand. We recommend a laptop with at least 16GB RAM for this
- Storage. You may need to store some files related to your activities in GarageBand internally on your laptop so you can access them much more easily later. Thus, the laptop you buy should have adequate storage space to accommodate those files. We recommend a laptop with at least 512GB SSD storage space for this
Wrap Up
When you want to buy a laptop, you may want one that can help you work in GarageBand optimally, However, it might be confusing to pick the right laptop from many laptop choices out there. This is why Compute Expert has created a list of the best laptops for GarageBand to help you.To summarize, here are three laptops we recommend to use GarageBand with.
We hope our list can help you buy the best laptop to support your music creation activities in GarageBand!
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