Laptops existed at the time, but the battery life was terrible, and I was too poor to buy one anyway. Now, a laptop is essential college gear, and the MacBook Air is the best of the bunch. Amazon currently has the M3 MacBook Air models for $200 off. The 13-inch screen offers impeccable color and impressive resolution for its size. If you want more screen real estate for editing media or just keeping too many tabs open, the 15-inch MacBook Air is a great choice.