We're entering the biggest shopping and gift-giving season of the year and that means it's also one of the biggest Apple shopping and gifting seasons of the year. There are going to be a lot of iPhones, a lot of iPads, and a lot of Macs on a lot of lists. With great shopping, however, comes great responsibility. Should you get the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus? The iPad mini 3 or iPad Air 2? The MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? The Mac mini, iMac, or Mac Pro? There's a lot to consider, but we're going to walk you through all of it and help you pick the absolute best Apple products for the holidays!
iPhone gifts
The iPhone is the phone everyone wants. Whether it's the incredibly affordable, pop-art inspired iPhone 5c, the 4-inch iPhone 5s, or the big and bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, they'll make you the absolute hit of any gift-giving season.
iPhone 5c
Pros: 4-inch Retina display. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p videos. Available in white, pink, green, blue, and yellow. Runs iOS, can play audio and video, read ebooks, and runs over a million App Store apps and games.
Cons: No Touch ID. 2-year old chipset. 8GB only.
Bottom-line: 8GB of storage and the lack of future-proofing makes it impossible to recommend, even at free-on-contract.
More: iPhone 5c review
- $0 on contract and up - Buy now
iPhone 5s
Pros: 4-inch Retina display. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p videos. 16GB and 64GB options. Available in space gray/black, silver/white, or gold/white. 64-bit Apple A7 chipset with Apple M7 coprocessor and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Runs iOS, can play audio and video, read ebooks, and runs over one million App Store apps and games.
Cons: 1-year old chipset. No Apple Pay.
Bottom line: If you prefer a smaller screen, or really need to save $100.
More info: iPhone 5s review, iPhone 5s buyers guide
- $199 on contract and up - Buy now
iPhone 6
Pros: 4.7-inch Retina display. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p 60fps videos. 16, 64, and 128GB options. Apple Pay. Available in space gray, silver, and gold. Runs iOS, can play audio and video, read ebooks, and runs over a million App Store apps and games.
Cons: None.
Bottom-line: The go-to iPhone for almost everyone.
More: iPhone 6 review
- $199 on contract and up - Buy now
iPhone 6 Plus
Pros: 5.5-inch 1080p Retina display. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p 60fps videos. 16, 64, and 128GB options. Apple Pay. Available in space gray, silver, and gold. Runs iOS, can play audio and video, read ebooks, and runs over a million App Store apps and games.
Cons: Might be too large for some.
Bottom-line: As much tiny-tablet as big phone, the iPhone 6 Plus can be the best of both.
More: iPhone 6 Plus review
- $299 on contract and up - Buy now
iPad gifts
iPads are the personal computer made even more personal. With a large multitouch screen, hundreds of thousands of apps, and options for both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, they may not be as powerful as Macs, but they can be even more empowering.
iPad mini
Pros: 7.9-inch standard display. Shoots 5mp photos and takes 1080p videos. Available in space gray and silver. Plays audio and video, reads ebooks. Runs iOS, all App Store apps, including over half-a-million tablet-specific iPad apps. Fits in purses, large jacket pockets. Cellular/LTE available.
Cons: 2-year old chipset, no Touch ID or Apple Pay. 16GB only.
Bottom line: 16GB and the lack of future-proofing makes it hard to recommend, but if you want a tablet and absolute don't have another $50, the iPad mini is still an option.
More: iPad mini review
- Starting at $249 - Buy now
iPad mini 2
Pros: 7.9-inch Retina display. Shoots 5mp photos and takes 1080p videos. 16 and 32GB options. Available in space gray and silver. Plays audio and video, reads ebooks. Runs iOS, all App Store apps, including over half-a-million tablet-specific iPad apps. Fits in purses, large jacket pockets. Cellular/LTE available.
Cons: 1-year old chipset, no Touch ID or Apple Pay.
Bottom line: If you don't care about Touch ID or Apple Pay, the iPad Mini 2 is the same great tablet at a lower price.
More: iPad mini 2 review
- Starting at $299 - Buy now
iPad mini 3
Pros: 7.9-inch Retina display. Shoots 5mp photos and takes 1080p videos. 16 and 32GB options. Touch ID and Apple Pay. Available in space gray, silver, and gold. Plays audio and video, reads ebooks. Runs iOS, all App Store apps, including over half-a-million tablet-specific iPad apps. Fits in purses, large jacket pockets. Cellular/LTE available.
Cons: 1-year old chipset. No laminated display.
Bottom line: If portability matters to you most, get the iPad mini 3.
More: iPad mini 3 review
- Starting at $399 - Buy now
iPad Air
Pros: 9.7-inch screen. Shoots 5mp photos and takes 1080p videos. 16GB and 32GB options. Available in space gray or silver. Plays audio and video, reads ebooks. Runs iOS, all App Store apps, including hundreds of thousands of tablet-specific iPad apps. Cellular/LTE available.
Cons: 1 year old chipset, no Touch ID or Apple Pay.
Bottom line: If you don't need Touch ID or Apple Pay, but do want a big screen, get the iPad Air.
More: iPad Air review.
- Starting at $399 - Buy now
iPad Air 2
Pros: 9.7-inch laminated screen. Shoots 8mp photos and takes 1080p videos. 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB options. Available in space gray, silver, or gold. Plays audio and video, reads ebooks. Runs iOS, all App Store apps, including hundreds of thousands of tablet-specific iPad apps. Cellular/LTE available.
Cons: None.
Bottom line: Incredible display and cutting edge power make this the iPad you want.
More: iPad Air 2 review
- Starting at $499 - Buy now
Mac gifts
Apple makes a wide range of traditional computers, from laptop to desktop, from entry-level to state-of-the-art. For anyone who wants or needs everything a keyboard and mouse driven machine has to offer, there's a great Mac gift waiting.
MacBook Air
Pros: 11 or 13-inch screen. Intel i5 or i7 processors. USB 3 and ThunderBolt ports. Up to Core i7. Up to 8GB or RAM. Up to 512GB of flash storage. Runs OS X and full desktop-class software. Weighs only 2.37 or 2.96lbs. 9 or 12 hours of battery life. Can be attached to 27-inch Thunderbolt display.
Cons: No Retina display, no optical drives, lack of high-powered graphics options hinders some types of software.
Bottom line: If you want something portable but still need to be able to run Office, Photoshop, Xcode, etc., get a MacBook Air. If you need maximum portability, get the 11-inch model. If you need more pixels, get the 13-inch model.
More: MacBook Air buyers guide
- Starting at $899 - Buy now
MacBook Pro
Pros: 13- or 15-inch Retina displays. Dual-core i5 or quad-core i7 processors. USB 3 and ThunderBolt 2 ports. Up to 16GB of RAM. Up to 1TB of flash storage. 9 to 8 hours of batter life. NVidia graphics option. Weighs only 3.46 or 4.46 lbs.
Cons: Less battery life. No optical drives.
Bottom line: If you want the state-of-the-art of laptops with the best displays in the business and power to match, get a MacBook Pro.
More: MacBook Pro buyers guide
- Starting at $1299 - Buy now
Mac Mini
Pros: Dual-core i5 or i7 processors. USB 3, Ethernet, HDMI, Thunderbolt 2, USB 3 ports. 2GB, 8GB, or 16GB of RAM. Up to 1TB of flash or Fusion drive.
Cons: Requires separate display. No internal expansion ports. No more quad-core option.
Bottom line: If you want a Mac for your server rack or home server closet, to add to an existing PC setup, or to use as a home theater, get a Mac mini.
More: Mac mini buyers guide
- $499 - Buy now
iMac
Pros: 21.5- and 27-inch displays. Quad-core i5 or quad-core i7 processors. 8GB to 32 GB of RAM. Conventional hard drive, flash storage or Fusion Drive options up to 3 TB. Multiple graphics options. Ethernet, UBS 3, and ThunderBolt 2 ports.
Cons: Only RAM can be internally upgraded.
Bottom line: If you want an incredibly powerful Mac wrapped in an incredibly elegant design, get an iMac. If you want desktop Retina, get a Retina 5K iMac.
More: iMac buyers guide
- Starting at $1099 - Buy now
Mac Pro
Pros: State-of-the-art computing. Up to 8-core Xeon E5 processor. Up to 64GB RAM. Up to dual AMD FirePro D700 graphics cards. Up to 1TB of flash storage. Up to three 4K displays, six Thunderbolt displays. 4x USB3, 6x Thunderbolt, 2x Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4 UHD ports. 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0.
Cons: No internal expansion. OpenCL/GPU focused.
Bottom line: If you need the Mac equivalent of Bugatti Veyron, you need a Mac Pro.
More: Mac Pro buyers guide
- Starting at $2999 - Buy now
Apple TV
Pros: Incredibly easy to setup. Incredibly inexpensive. Includes on-board channels for iTunes TV, Movies, Music, Netflix, and many more, as well as the ability to AirPlay content from iOS or OS X devices.
Cons: Streaming-only. Only works with on-board channels and AirPlay. Hasn't been updated since Spring 2012.
Bottom line: If all you want is the ability to stream content from Apple and their partners, and put what's on your Apple devices onto your big screen TV, all you need is an Apple TV
- $99 - Buy now
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