Which laptop should I get?

A MacBook Air sounds just about right.

The M series System On a Chip (SoC) architecture eliminates unnecessary elements that causes slow performance and noisy fans.

As a result, no components are replaceable.

You must choose the maximum amount of storage and memory you need (now and in the future) that you can afford (that’s what I did back in 2021) and I have no regrets.

The most difficult decision for me was the color.

In your case, you have 4 colors to choose from.

Smiliñ 😎 Brian

A MacBook Pro with a recent M4 or M5 will be more than capable of what you describe.

If you have specific heavy apps or tools needed, look up the recommended system configurations, and meet (or exceed) those.

You’ll want an external hard disk of probably three times the internal storage capacity as a Time Machine backup device too, or a NAS if you have the budget.

With that out of the way…

Information security covers a whole lot more than a laptop, from app design to system design to networking design to malware and breach remediation to penetration testing to the bottomless mire that is IoT, and a whole lot more. Some of that can happen with and on a laptop, but a whole lot won’t. Or will involve other gear.

Much of your work in information security can potentially be (or will be) happening on guests, too. Not directly on your own (production) gear. Oh no, definitely best not running anything iffy or nasty or gnarly directly on your own (production) gear.

If the guests are not hosted somewhere remote (OVH, Hetzner, AWS, digital oceans) then they’ll be running as guests on servers you’re maintaining. Maybe as containers using Docker. And even if you’re doing your own secure app design and such, you’ll usually be running networks.

If you’re not getting a head start on IT by running your own NAS services on some spare x86 box with TrueNAS, or one of various dedicated NAS boxes including Synology. Synology NAS boxes can also run DNS services, LDAP, and other common services that can and do need security. Running NAS on a Linux guest or box also gets you Kali and related tooling, as well as LDAP services and such. Another IT path here is Windows and Windows Server, as well as Azure, Entra, and the rest of that world.

For your own gear, the Serve The Home website has some suggestions on cheap used server-capable gear in their TinyMiniMicro series.

TL;DR your laptop will be a tool, one of many. And a whole lot will be happening elsewhere. Don’t get to wrapped up.

The MacBook Air (MBA) is the starter unit, but it does not sound like you are going to need a lot of computing power to merit getting a MacBook Pro.

I believe there may be different display sizes, so take note of that. Also remember that you can attach an extra display should you need to.

For things such as battery life I recommend you start looking at Identify your MacBook Air model - Apple Support for specifications.

In terms of life of usage, that is also pretty user dependent. Apple doesn't really have a definition other than Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support Another take on it is how long system updates are offered for different models and how rigidly you think you absolutely must be running the latest system. That will be the same for pretty much any model in a specific year line-up. In general Apple's OS versions typically support the past 5 years of models (e.g.: macOS Tahoe is compatible with these computers - Apple Support) but may be a bit longer for some of the more powerful machines.

Two considerations are Memory and Storage, neither of which can be changed after you buy a Mac computer. Memory relates to the number and type of programs you can run. Apple's base memory (16GB currently) is okay if you are not editing videos big-time or trying to have a ton of applications open at any one time. However, it really is the starting amount and in 5 years time I wouldn't be surprise if you keep your OS version up dated if you find you are running out of memory. I personally went with 24 GB when I bought my Mac. I keep many browser tabs open and I find that even with 24GB I routinely see I am using 16GB already.

Storage is how many files you can store on your computer. This turns in a long discussion on this topic alone. Unless you are very conservative and very good at data management I would tend to go more than the minimum. On the other hand, Apple's charge for upgrading is not cheap. What I ended up doing was using an external drive for most of my data (but I do use a desktop model which means I don't care about having a lot of hardware on my desk). This again is an individual decision and assessment.

Shopping advice is a tricky subject because it’s going to be a personal decision.

I would simply advise to pick a day of the week or weekend that works for you, then visit your local Apple Retail Store.

Once there, you can play around with them, compare the various sizes and colors and ask questions for the friendly sales staff to answer. 😁

One thing I noticed was that the keyboard backlight was disabled on the demo units; but trust me, the keyboard backlight looks great!

No one (especially a stranger on the Internet) can tell you what your needs would be.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

This web site may also interest you: Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple