MacE book Air or MacE book Pro

Apple presently sells two laptop computer traces: the MacE book Pro (which presently is available in 13in, 14in and 16in display sizes) and the MacE book Air (which is both 13.3in or 13.6in relying on the era). The 14in and 16in MacE book Pro fashions had been up to date in October 2021, gaining the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip, whereas Apple introduced updates to the 13in MacE book Pro and the MacE book Air in June 2022, with the M2 chip arriving on that era. There’s additionally an older M1 MacE book Air mannequin nonetheless on sale that was launched in November 2020. That is plenty of Mac laptops with very totally different specs.

In this text we’re trying particularly at how the 2022 13in MacE book Pro compares to the 2022 MacE book Air: Both supply an M2 chip, related specs, and promote for related costs, so the choice of which mannequin to purchase warrants investigation.

If you have an interest to find out extra in regards to the 14in and 16in MacE book Pro chances are you’ll discover our Which MacE book article, wherein we look at your entire line up, useful. Alternatively our comparability of the 14in and 16in MacE book Pro may assist you decide about which mannequin to purchase. We even have the next critiques:

Despite the actual fact the 2022 MacE book Air and 13in MacE book Pro share the identical M2 chip, there are some very notable variations between the MacE book Air and Pro. In this text we evaluate design, CPU and GPU, battery life, RAM and storage, screens, and extra, together with the primary areas the place the MacBooks differ, the professionals and cons of every, and the components it’s essential contemplate when making a shopping for choice – together with the place to get the very best value.

We even have the next critiques:

Design

In some methods the design of the 2022 MacE book Air and MacE book Pro are extra alike than ever. The 2022 MacE book Air has misplaced its tapered design that made it immediately identifiable because the Air (and continues to be accessible for those who purchase the M1 model of the MacE book Air, which continues to be on sale). However, there’s quite a bit to set these two Macs aside.

Thanks to an intensive redesign the MacE book Air has plenty of options that the 13in MacE book Pro lacks. Most important is the truth that the 2022 MacE book Air has a bigger 13.6in display, whereas the 13in MacE book Pro nonetheless has a 13.3in show (the M1 MacE book Air additionally has a 13.3in show). We’ll discuss extra in regards to the display specs beneath.

Another notable distinction is that the 13in MacE book Pro is the one Mac laptop computer that options Apple’s Touch Bar strip.

There are quite a lot of different key variations dividing these laptops, we’ll run via the burden and dimensions and different distinctive design components beneath. 

Weight

As you’d anticipate from the title, the MacE book Air is lighter than the MacE book Pro, however solely simply. When it launched in 2008 the MacE book Air was the lightest laptop computer accessible. Over the years the burden of the MacE book Pro has additionally declined, so the distinction is quite a bit lower than it was. The 2022 MacE book Air weighs solely barely lower than the 13in MacE book Pro at 2.7 kilos (1.24kg) in comparison with 3 kilos (1.4kg). Incidentally, the M1 MacE book Air that’s nonetheless on sale weighs 2.8 kilos (1.29kg).

Dimensions

It’s not solely the burden you’ll have to take care of although. The quantity of area your laptop computer takes up in your bag or in your desk may also think about your choice.

Following its redesign the 2022 MacE book Air is definitely very barely bigger than the 13in MacE book Pro. The width is similar 11.97in (30.41cm) however the depth is now 8.46in (21.5cm) quite than8.36in (21.24cm). That change is what permits Apple to accommodate a bigger show. The measurements of the M1 MacE book Air are the identical because the 13in MacE book Pro.

The 2022 MacE book Air is barely narrower than the MacE book Pro, at 0.44in (1.13cm) in comparison with 0.61in (1.56cm). It not advantages from the tapered design of its predecessor although: the M1 MacE book Air measures simply 0.16in (0.41cm) at its narrowest level, extending to 0.63in (1.61cm).

Here’s all that at a look:

• 2022 MacE book Air: 30.41cm x 21.5cm x 1.13cm, 1.29kg
• 13in MacE book Pro: 30.41cm x 21.24cm x 1.56cm, 1.4kg
• 2020 MacE book Air: 30.41cm x 21.24cm x 1.61cm – 0.41cm, 1.29kg

Colors

Another distinction between these MacBooks is the color selections. The 2022 MacE book Air is available in some model new colours: Midnight (black), Starlight (gold), Space Grey and Silver.

The MacE book Pro affords solely the silver and area gray choices. The previous MacE book Air got here in silver, area gray and gold. The new ‘Starlight’ gold shade is paler, extra of a champagne shade.

Keyboard

All these MacBooks include Apple’s Magic Keyboard, which has a scissor-switch design to exchange the problematic butterfly keyboard mechanism that featured in earlier fashions from round 2016 to 2018.

Touch Bar

Both Apple laptops include Touch ID and the Force Touch trackpad, however solely the 13in MacE book Pro options the Touch Bar. The Touch Bar function has confirmed to be unpopular with some professionals, for whom the 14in and 16in MacE book Pro fashions are designed, so Apple eliminated it from the remainder of the road up. This multi-touch strip replaces the F keys, and may present totally different contextual controls relying on the appliance open. If the Touch Bar appeals to you – and a few individuals do discover it helpful – the 13in MacE book Pro is the one Mac laptop computer to supply it (at the least for now). Read about what you are able to do with the Touch Bar.

Foundry

Screen

The 2022 MacE book Air has a brand new show that’s bigger, brighter and higher than that of the M2 MacE book Pro, and a leap from the show on the earlier era MacE book Air.

The new MacE book Air affords a 13.6in Liquid Retina show, quite than a plain previous Retina show. This basically means the newer show has a greater distinction ratio and may help extra colours – which could matter to you if that’s the sort of work you do. However, in that case you could be higher off with the 14in and 16in MacE book Pro fashions, which provide far superior Liquid Retina XDR shows with an excessive dynamic vary, as much as 1,000 nits commonplace brightness or 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and 1,000,000:1 distinction ratio for deeper blacks and extra vivid colors. Those costlier MacE book Pro choices additionally convey ProMovement to the Mac. ProMovement affords a refresh fee of 120Hz, which implies it could refresh pictures 120 instances a second, however it could additionally range the refresh fee to a lot lower than that when it isn’t required (which is extra energy environment friendly and means it could save battery life.)

The 2022 MacE book Air now affords the identical 500nits brightness because the 13in MacE book Pro, which is superior to the 2020 MacE book Air’s 400nits. This would assist for those who had been more likely to be utilizing your laptop computer exterior in vivid daylight.

Due partly to the truth that the 2022 MacE book Air display is barely taller, with a diagonal measurement of 13.6in quite than 13.3in, the MacE book Air show now affords extra pixels, however not drastically extra pixels.

• MacE book Pro M2, 2022: 2,560 x 1,600 pixels
• MacE book Air M2, 2022: 2,560 x 1,664 pixels
• MacE book Air M1, 2020: 2,560 x 1,600 pixels

Specs

Apple has now up to date all Mac laptops to run by itself system on chip. First the M1 arrived in November 2020, then the M1 Pro and M1 Max in October 2021, and now the M2 has arrived on the 2022 MacE book Air and 13in MacE book Pro. The M2 is a more recent chip than the M1 Pro and M1 Max, however these chips are nonetheless superior to the M2.

If you assume you want one thing extra {powerful} it’s essential have a look at the 14in or 16in MacE book Pro with the choice of M1 Pro or M1 Max, or watch for the M2 sequence to develop. If you need to discover out extra in regards to the M1 sequence of chips learn our M1-series chip information. We have extra in regards to the M2 right here: Apple’s M2 chip: Everything it’s essential know.

Here’s how the fashions break down:

MacE book Air, M1 (2020) MSRP $999/£999

8-core CPU with 4 carry out­ance cores and 4 effectivity cores
7-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (as much as 16GB)
256GB SSD

MacE book Air, M2 (2022)MSRP $1,199/£1,249

8-core CPU with 4 carry out­ance cores and 4 effectivity cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (as much as 24GB)
256GB SSD

MacE book Air, M2 (2022)MSRPRRP $1,499/£1,549

8-core CPU with 4 carry out­ance cores and 4 effectivity cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (as much as 24GB)
512GB SSD

13in MacE book Pro, M2 (2022)MSRP $1,299/£1,349

8-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (as much as 24GB)
256GB SSD

13in MacE book Pro, M2 (2022)MSRP $1,499/£1,549

8-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Memory (as much as 24GB)
512GB SSD

You’ll discover that there’s a MacE book Air and a MacE book Pro mannequin which have an identical specs and the identical value ($1,499/£1,549). You may due to this fact anticipate the benchmarks to be related for these two fashions, however we anticipate different components to decelerate the MacE book Air considerably. For instance, the extra compact and fan-less MacE book Air will probably be much less in a position to handle warmth, and due to this fact could also be throttled considerably for those who had been to essentially push it.

CPU

The 2022 MacE book Air and 13in MacE book Pro each run on Apple’s M2 chip. Like the M1 chip, which you’ll be able to nonetheless get within the entry-level MacE book Air, the M2 has eight CPU cores, 4 of that are high-performance cores and 4 are high-efficiency cores. This is a bonus of Apple’s chip design: when the high-efficiency processor cores are busy backing as much as iCloud or syncing photographs the high-performance cores will nonetheless be accessible for extra intensive operations. The M2 is superior to the M1 as a result of this time around the sooner efficiency cores are paired with a bigger cache, whereas the effectivity cores see even higher efficiency good points, in accordance with Apple. So it would seem like the CPU is similar, but it surely isn’t.

When we’ve got benchmarked the brand new Macs we’ll embrace the outcomes right here.

GPU

As you will notice from the specs above, one other key distinction between all of the Mac laptops on supply right here is the variety of graphics cores.

The entry-level MacE book Air doesn’t solely supply a less-powerful M1 chip, there are solely seven graphics cores in comparison with the eight or ten graphics cores within the M2 MacE book Air fashions.

The variety of GPU cores could be a key a part of the choice about which mannequin is greatest suited to your wants.If you assume you’re more likely to want that additional GPU core chances are you’ll assume that the best choice is to purchase the costlier Air. But the MacE book Pro, which affords a 10-core GPU possibility, could be a greater possibility, as we’ll clarify.

The cause why the MacE book Pro is a greater possibility for graphic intensive operations than the MacE book Air is that it additionally features a fan for cooling – because of this it is possible for you to to push it a bit additional. The MacE book Air will probably be completely effective for regular operations, however as a result of it lacks a fan chances are you’ll discover that issues decelerate to ensure that it to not overheat if you are pushing it.

Indeed, in our exams of the 2020 fashions the M1 MacE book Air fell behind the M1 MacE book Pro and the shortage of followers within the MacE book Air positively had an element to play.

Cinebench R23 (Single/Multi)

MacE book Air, M1 2020: 1496/6838
MacE book Pro, M1 2020: 1513/7778

When we’ve got benchmarked the brand new Macs we’ll embrace the outcomes right here.

RAM

All the M1 MacBooks – each Pro and Air – include 8GB of Unified Memory at their base configuration. The M2 chip brings an choice to improve to 24GB RAM at level of sale. The M1 is restricted to 16GB RAM.

You could also be pondering that 8GB RAM gained’t be sufficient in your wants, however you need to observe that this RAM – which Apple calls Unified Memory – is a part of the M2 (or M1) chip. As a end result it’s accessible to each the CPU and the GPU, which brings efficiency advantages meaning the 8GB RAM in these fashions isn’t actually corresponding to 8GB in an Intel-powered Mac.

If you’re involved although you’ll be able to replace your MacE book Air or 13in MacE book Pro to 16GB or 24GB RAM at level of sale – and we do suggest that you simply get 16GB for those who can afford to.

If you are feeling that you simply want greater than 24GB reminiscence then you will have to show to the M1 Pro (which ships with 16GB Unified Memory and is upgradable to 32GB), or the M1 Max (which ships additionally with 16GB Unified Memory, however is upgradable to 64GB). It is even attainable to get 128GB RAM however for that you’ll want the M1 Ultra within the Mac Studio.

Storage

The Air and 13in Pro each include 256GB of storage on the entry-level, with a further mannequin providing 512GB. You may also add a bigger SSD at level of sale, however the M1 MacE book Air and Pro fashions are capped at 2TB. 

Battery life

When it involves battery life nothing has modified because the M1 Macs, however these Macs are nonetheless miles forward of the previous Intel MacE book fashions. According to Apple, the M1 and M2 MacE book Air fashions supply 18 hours, whereas the 13in MacE book Pro affords a tremendous 20 hours. This makes the discontinued 2.0GHz 13in MacE book Pro’s 10 hours battery life look appalling.

In our personal testing of the M1 fashions, the MacE book Pro lasted a bit longer than the Air, however each had been extraordinarily environment friendly, with a new-40 p.c enhance over the earlier Intel fashions.

MacE book Pro, M1 2020: 17.9 hours
MacE book Air, M1 2020: 16.2 hours

These quantity are actually spectacular, though not essentially the most hours of battery life on supply from an Apple MacE book, which is 22 hours for the 2021 16in MacE book Pro.

Battery life is excessive due to the M1 chips and macOS’s superior energy administration, which intelligently allocates duties between the M1’s efficiency and effectivity cores. So every part is optimised. You may profit from macOS Monterey’s low energy mode which may prolong battery life even additional.

However there’s a cause why you won’t need to select the 14in or 16in MacE book Pro. Those fashions function a notch. The notch is a function acquainted from the iPhone the place the notch conceals the Face ID and digital camera elements. In that case the notch is a part of the display. Here the ‘notch’ is definitely the FaceTime digital camera elements overlapping the show, so it’s a bit totally different. If the notch makes you recoil you can be happy to study that there isn’t any notch on the 13in MacE book Pro or MacE book Air (at the least for now).

Ports & Peripherals

Over the years it’s felt like Apple has been on a mission eradicating ports from Macs with the intention to make them slimmer and slimmer. This has been an obstacle for a lot of, though usually for those who want extra or totally different ports you’ll be able to simply plug in an adapter or a dock (learn:
Best USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac).

So the truth that Apple’s MacE book Air and MacE book Pro supply solely two USB 4 ports that additionally help Thunderbolt 3 is limiting, however not unimaginable to work with.

If you do really feel that you simply want extra ports the 14in MacE book Pro and 16in MacE book Pro have quite a lot of ports accessible together with three Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) ports, an HDMI port and a SDXC card slot. (If you’re questioning what the distinction between USB-C and USB 4 is, USB 4 ought to be capable of supply 40Gb/s, which is what Thunderbolt 3 already affords. USB-C affords 10 to 20Gb/s.)

All Mac laptops supply a 3.5mm headphone jack. 

Price

Regardless of the options, the choice of whether or not to purchase the MacE book Air or MacE book Pro may come down to cost. You could be on the lookout for the most cost effective possibility – wherein case the $999/£999 M1 MacE book Air is the clear winner – otherwise you could be comfortable to pay a bit extra to get higher worth for cash.

We suggest getting the very best machine you’ll be able to afford on the time of buy because you gained’t be capable of improve down the road. But if it’s essential select, we’d improve the RAM earlier than the storage.

We’ll run via the pricing for the totally different fashions beneath, together with a few of the newest affords on new MacBooks – since you don’t essentially must pay Apple’s value. We additionally suggest checking the Apple Refurbished Store to see for those who may decide up a reduced MacE book.

MacE book Air costs

The
MacE book Air is accessible in two default configurations:

• M1 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and seven‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $999/£999.
• M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and eight‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,199/£1,249.
• M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,549.

Buy straight from Apple, or look beneath for the very best costs proper now:

M2 MacE book Air, 8-core GPU (MSRP: $1,199/£1,249)

When the M2 MacE book Air goes on sale you will notice costs beneath.

M2 MacE book Air, 10-core GPU (MSRP: $1,499/£1,549)

M1 MacE book Air, 7-core GPU (MSRP: $999/£999)

$988.47

Free

$999.00

Free

$999.99

Free

For offers on much more MacE book Air take a look at our greatest MacE book Air offers article for reductions accessible elsewhere.

13in MacE book Pro costs

There are two 13in configurations of the MacE book Pro bought by Apple:

• M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and eight‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299/£1,349
• M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,549

You’ll discover that the costlier Air is similar value because the costlier 13in MacE book Pro. Both share the identical specs. The distinction is within the design.

Buy straight from Apple, or look beneath for the very best costs proper now:

M2 MacE book Pro, 10-core GPU, 256GB SSD (MSRP: $1,299/£1,349)

When the M2 MacE book Pro goes on sale you will notice costs beneath.

M2 MacE book Pro, 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD (MSRP: $1,499/£1,549):

When the M2 MacE book Pro goes on sale you will notice costs beneath.

We additionally suggest that you simply check out our spherical up of the very best MacE book Pro offers proper now.

Our shopping for recommendation

The MacE book Air and 13in MacE book Pro are each nice MacBooks. Really the choice must be primarily based in your finances. If a low value is an important to you then the M1 MacE book Air is the best choice, however you simply have to weigh up whether or not getting twice as a lot storage is extra worthwhile to you than the MacE book Pro’s higher battery life, additional graphics core and fan. If you don’t do the sort of work that requires plenty of graphics processing the 7-core MacE book Air may very well be enough.

If it’s a alternative between the M2 MacE book Air and M2 MacE book Pro, the brand new design and higher display of the M2 MacE book Air do edge it forward a bit. The M2 MacE book Pro has little going for it apart from the Touch Bar and the truth that it has higher cooling than the MacE book Air, so if it’s essential use your Mac for intensive work the Pro could be higher for you.

But if you really want the last word in energy then you definately actually must be trying on the 14in MacE book Pro and the 16in MacE book Pro, which provide extra graphics cores and help extra RAM. They additionally supply a bunch of ports that  will profit many.

Decided to get a MacE book, Pro or Air? Check out the
greatest equipment for MacBooks.

Still unsure? We additionally have a look at
how the MacE book Air compares to the iMac and the way the
MacE book Air and Mac mini evaluate individually.