Choosing between the Apple MacBook Air and Pro can be difficult, as both are excellent laptops, and both are better than ever thanks to Apple chips. Comparing laptops is difficult but important because you need to know exactly what each laptop does when deciding which one is right for you.
When choosing between MacBook Air and Pro, here’s everything you need to know to find the best MacBook for you.
MacBook Air vs Pro: Design
The M1 MacBook Air and Pro share a machined aluminum casing, come in silver and space gray, and both have a small lip on the front of the base to easily open the screen. The Air, as always, has a tapered wedge shape.
The new MacBook Pro offers slim bezels and ditches the Touch Bar in favor of a dedicated feature row. The 1080p webcam has a notch at the top, but it’s not a distraction. The design of the M2 MacBook Air 2022 is more similar to the 2021 MacBook Pro, ditching the tapered design. It also has thinner bezels and a notch for the camera. The design of the M2 MacBook Pro is identical to its M1 predecessor.
In terms of portability, the 2.7-pound MacBook Air 2022 is the lightest, followed by the 3-pound 13-inch MacBook Pro. But at 3.5 pounds, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is still fairly portable. Unfortunately, the new MacBook Pro is limited to silver and space gray.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Ports
If you want a lot of ports, the MacBook Air isn’t the best choice. It only offers two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro also has only two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports. M2 powered machines share the same number of ports.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros offer the most ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, and SD card slot. Plus, there’s MagSafe charging.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Display
The Retina displays in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are sharp and colorful, and while they’re so close, there’s a reason to choose the Pro: Brightness.
The MacBook Air (M1) has a maximum brightness of 365.8 nits, while the M1 MacBook Pro (13-inch: 434.8 nits) is even brighter. The standard brightness of the M2 MacBook Pro is 474.6 nits, while the standard brightness of the MacBook Air 2022 is 489 nits.
In terms of color output, though, the M1 laptops are more similar. The Air (M1) earned an sRGB rating of 114.3% from our colorimeter, slightly higher than the 110.6% rating we got from the M1 13-inch Pro.
MacBook Air vs Pro: Performance
In the Handbrake video transcoding test, which converts 4K video to 1080p, the M1 MacBook Pro’s time of 7:44 beats the Air’s 9:15. The 2021 MacBook Pro beats both, with the 14-inch MacBook Pro transcoding time At 4 minutes 51 seconds, the 16-inch laptop’s transcoding time was 4 minutes and 48 seconds. The M2 MacBook Pro transcoded the video at 6:51 with impressive results. The MacBook Air 2022 was slightly behind, with a time of 7:52.
The SSD on the M1 Pro (13-inch) was impressive, with a BlackMagic Disk Speed Test read rate of 2,824.9 MBps, beating the M1 Air’s 2,692 MBps and the 16-inch Pro’s 2,540 MBps. However (should be unsurprising at this point), the new MacBook Pro beat the 14-inch and 16-inch models with scores of 5,321 and 5,314, respectively. The M2-powered MacBook Pro’s score of 2,794 sits between the old and new M1 chips.
MacBook Air vs Pro: Battery Life
Battery life is another area where Apple turned to its own M1 processor for a big win. The M1 MacBook Air lasted 14 hours and 41 minutes on the battery test, while the M1 Pro (16:32) lasted longer. Left the 16-inch MacBook Pro (10:55) in the dust both times.
MacBook Air and Pro: Audio
While the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro offer excellent stereo sound (the latter has more dynamic range), the new MacBook Pro is on another level.
That’s because the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros offer a six-speaker setup. Now you get more bass as well as lower octaves for a more powerful audio profile. Additionally, the new MacBook Pro supports Dolby Atmos in the speakers, not just the headphones.
MacBook Air vs Pro: Value and Price
The MacBook Air with the M1 remains the value leader, starting at $999, and it’s arguably a better deal than the 13-inch MacBook Pro in terms of performance. Both the new and old 13-inch Pros have better battery life, but that’s probably not enough to justify the $1,299 price.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro costs a lot more than the 13-inch, but at $1,999 you get a lot. That includes a faster M1 Pro chip, a bigger, better 14-inch mini-LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a more sculpted 1080p webcam, and more ports. However, you may have to take on a heavy workload to experience all these benefits.
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