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MacBook Air vs Pro: Which should you buy?

MacBook Air vs Pro: Which should you lot purchase?

MacBook Air vs Pro - Apple Silicon
(Prototype credit: Apple)

The MacBook Air vs Pro comparison is what you need if yous're trying to pick the best Apple laptop for yous. Right now both of these Apple laptops are better than ever cheers to Apple silicon and the Magic Keyboard.

The choice is at present more complicated with multiple models in the lineup. There'due south the MacBook Air M1 and the entry-level MacBook Pro M1 only too the newer $1,999 MacBook Pro 14-inch, which offers M1 Pro/M1 Max chips that are more powerful than the M1 in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, a larger mini-LED display, more ports and a sharper 1080p webcam.

There's also a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with all of the same upgrades plus a larger, sharper display and longer battery life.

Apple's reaping the rewards of ditching Intel's processors for its ain Apple tree silicon and the results are staggering, ensuring all of these laptops accept a spot in our best laptop list. Equally nosotros've seen in our MacBook Air with M1 review and MacBook Pro with M1 review, upgrading these MacBooks with Apple silicon has given them surprising speed and crazy battery life.

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Here'southward everything yous need to know to find the all-time MacBook for y'all when choosing betwixt the MacBook Air vs Pro. For more, exist sure to check out our Apple MacBook Pro fourteen-inch review and our MacBook Pro (sixteen-inch) review. And see our guide to MacBooks in 2022 to see what could exist coming from the new MacBook Air and entry-level MacBook Pro.

MacBook Air vs Pro: Specs

MacBook Air xiii-inch MacBook Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro
Starting toll $999 $1299 $1,999 $2499
Screen 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) fourteen.2 inches (3024 x 1964) min-LED xvi.2 inches (3456 x 2234) min-LED
Battery life 14:41 of spider web browsing (M1, tested) | Upwardly to 18 hours of video playback (M1, claimed) | nine:31 (Intel, tested) 16:32 of web browsing (M1, tested) | Up to 20 hours (Apple M1, claimed) | 10:21 (Intel, tested) 17 hours of video playback (rated) 21 hours video playback (rated)
Processor Apple tree M1 (8-core) Apple M1 (8-core) Apple tree M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-core) Apple tree M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-core)
Graphics Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated 8-core GPU Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated 8-core GPU sixteen-core or 32-core 16-cadre or 32-cadre
Storage 256GB to 2TB 256GB to 4TB 512GB to 8TB 512GB to 8TB
Memory 8GB, 16GB 8GB, 16GB, 32GB 16GG, 32GB 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Ports 2 Thunderbolt 2 Thuderbolt three Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe 3 Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Carte du jour, MagSafe
Touch Bar No Aye No No
Security Impact ID Bear on ID Touch ID Touch ID
Sound Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support, 3-mic assortment half-dozen-speaker array, Dolby Atmos back up 6-speaker array, Dolby Atmos support
Dimensions 12 x viii.4 x 0.six inches 12 x eight.four ten 0.half dozen inches 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches 14.01 x 9.77 10 0.66 inches
Weight ii.eight pounds 3.0 pounds three.5 pounds 4.seven to iv.viii pounds

MacBook Air vs Pro: Design

MacBook Air vs Pro: Design

(Prototype credit: Future)

The M1 MacBook Air and Pro share machined aluminum shells, come in silver and Space Gray, and all have the lilliputian lip at the front of the base, for hands opening the screen. The Air has a tapered-wedge design, as it e'er has.

The new MacBook Pros evangelize slim bezels and ditch the Touch Bar in favor of a defended function row (we say good riddance). In that location's a notch at the peak for the 1080p webcam, but it's non too distracting. The MacBook Air 2022 could also take thinner bezels and a notch for the camera, based on the latest renders.

MacBook Pro 14-inch bezel with notch

(Image credit: Apple via YouTube)

While the MacBook Air's tear-drib (it'southward more similar a wedge than a rectangle) design is iconic, my favorite distinct feature about the Air is its gold color selection, which just looks so much more than attractive than the low-cal and dark silverish options.

When it comes to portability, the 2.8-pound MacBook Air is still the lightest followed by the three-pound xiii-inch MacBook Pro. But the 14-inch MacBook Pro is still fairly portable at 3.v pounds. The sixteen-inch goes to 4.7 pounds.

Unfortunately, the new MacBook Pros are limited to Silver and Space Gray.

Winner: MacBook Air for portability, new MacBook Pros for slimmer bezels

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Ports

MacBook Pro 14-inch at Apple event

The new MacBook Pros offer the most ports, including HDMI and SD Bill of fare slot. (Image credit: Apple effect via YouTube)

If you desire plenty of ports, the MacBook Air is not the best selection. It offers merely 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports. The M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro likewise has only two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports

The new 14-inch and sixteen-inch MacBook Pros deliver the nigh ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port and SD Menu slot. Plus, at that place's MagSafe charging.

Winner: New MacBook Pros

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Display

MacBook Air vs Pro: Display

(Image credit: Time to come)

The Retina displays in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are both sharp and colorful, and while it's close, in that location's a reason to go Pro: brightness.

Based on our lab exam results, the MacBook Air (M1) maxes out at 365.eight nits of brightness, while the M1 MacBook Pro (13-inch: 434.8 nits) got fifty-fifty brighter.

On colour output, though, they're more like. The Air (M1) netted a 114.iii% sRGB rating from our colorimeter, which slightly beats the 110.vi% rating we got from the M1 13-inch Pro.

The new MacBook Pros take display quality to the adjacent level with their Liquid Retina XDR displays. They're rated for 1,000 nits of brightness and offer mini-LED technology for superior colors and contrast. Plus, yous get a 120Hz ProMotion display for smoother performance.

Winner: New MacBook Pros

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Keyboard and Touch on Bar

MacBook Air vs Pro: Keyboard

(Image credit: Future)

All of the MacBooks yous can buy offer Apple's Magic Keyboard, which deliver strong tactile performance and comfort.

The MacBook Air doesn't feature a Touch Bar, while the thirteen-inch MacBook Pro does, and this OLED bar frankly doesn't offer a lot of value. It'south perhaps telling that the 14-inch MacBook Pro and xvi-inch MacBook Pro ditch the Touch Bar for a dedicated function row of concrete keys.

Winners: Information technology's a draw

MacBook Air vs Pro: Performance

MacBook Air vs Pro: Performance

(Epitome credit: Futurity)

Apple tree's claims of amazingly improved performance in the M1-based MacBook Air and Pro have been proven out in testing. On the Geekbench 5 benchmarks, the new MacBook Air (M1, 16GB RAM) scored a 5,962 and the new Pro (M1, 16GB RAM) netted a pretty similar five,925.

They were both demolished past the new MacBook Pros, however. On the aforementioned Geekbench v benchmark test, the 14-inch M1 Pro-powered MacBook Pro scored 12,477 while its 16-inch analogue scored 12,683.

On the Handbrake video transcoding test converting a 4K video to 1080p, the M1 MacBook Pro had a time of vii:44, chirapsia the Air'southward 9:15 fourth dimension. The MacBook Pros won over both, with the MacBook Pro 14-inch having a time of 4:51 and the xvi-inch laptop transcoding in 4:48.

The SSDs on the M1 Pro (13-inch) is impressive, with BlackMagic Disk Speed Examination read rates of 2,824.9 MBps, chirapsia the 2,692 MBps from the M1 Air and the 16-inch Pro's 2,540 MBps speed. However (and it should be no surprise at this point), the new MacBook Pros trounced them all with 14-inch and 16-inch models scoring 5321 and 5314, respectively.

MacBook Air vs Pro: Apple Silicon MacBook Pro

(Prototype credit: Apple tree)

During the Sid Meier's Culture Half dozen: Gathering Storm test, the M1 MacBook Air notched 36.nine fps, slightly behind the M1 Pro's 38.2 fps. Rising of the Tomb Raider (at Very High settings at 1440 x 900 resolution) ran at 29 fps on both M1 laptops. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro achieved 46 fps on Civilization VI while the 16-inch M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro got as high every bit 47 fps. The new MacBook Pros have an obvious border hither due to their beefier chips.

Winner: MacBook Air for value, new MacBook Pros for sheer speed

MacBook Air vs Pro: Bombardment life

Battery life is the other identify where Apple's motion to its own M1 processors has delivered serious wins. The M1 MacBook Air lasted for fourteen hours and 41 minutes on our battery test (spider web surfing at 150 nits), while the M1 Pro (16:32) lasted even longer. Both times leave the xvi-inch MacBook Pro (10:55) in the grit.

However, the new MacBook Pros vanquish all of the above times. During our testing, the MacBook Pro 14-inch lasted for xiv:08 while the MacBook Pro xvi-inch endured for 15:31.

Winner: The new MacBook Pros.

MacBook Air vs Pro: Audio

While the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro offer great stereo sound (the latter has more dynamic range) — the new MacBook Pros are on another level.

That's considering the 14-inch and sixteen-inch MacBook Pro offering a six-speaker setup. And y'all now become more bass along with an octave lower sound for even more robust sound profile. Plus, the new MacBook Pros back up Dolby Atmos in speaker as opposed to just headphones.

Winner: New MacBook Pros

MacBook Air vs Pro: Value and price

MacBook Air vs Pro: Value and price

(Image credit: Future)

The MacBook Air is notwithstanding the value leader with its $999 starting price and it arguably gives you more than bang for your buck in terms of performance than the thirteen-inch MacBook Pro. Yes, the 13-inch Pro gives you longer battery life, but it may not be enough to justify the $ane,299 cost.

The MacBook Pro fourteen-inch represents a big jump in toll over the 13-inch, but yous go a lot for your $1,999. This includes a much faster M1 Pro chip, larger and superior 14-inch mini-LED display with 120Hz refresh rate, a shaper 1080p webcam and more ports. But you'll probable need to have a demanding workload to appreciate all of these benefits.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the ultimate Apple laptop for people who need the biggest brandish, and it's priced accordingly at $2,499. And you lot'll get a longer-lasting bombardment.

Winner: MacBook Air

MacBook Air vs Pro: What should you buy?

This is somewhat tricky since different users have unlike needs. At the run a risk of sounding platitude, at that place are MacBooks for everyone.

The MacBook Air is the best MacBook for most people, delivering awesome M1 performance and longer bombardment life in a adequately portable pattern.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro is nevertheless good, but it'southward outshined past the more premium 14-inch MacBook Pro and all of its upgrades. Simply nosotros're guessing at least some shoppers will call up twice about jumping from $1,299 to $1,999. The xvi-inch MacBook Pro is the ultimate splurge machine for power users for those who want the most screen existent estate they tin have at home and on the go.

If yous want pure horsepower or but desire the latest models available, the new fourteen- and xvi-inch MacBook Pros might be best for you. Of course, you'll need to decide (or justify) if their respective $one,999 and $2,499 starting prices are within your budget. But if money is not an object, these are the MacBooks to become.

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Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC Globe magazine. He currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide roofing all things calculating, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/macbook-air-vs-macbook-pro

Posted by: arnoldforthemight.blogspot.com

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