The talk of comparing Apple’s popular laptops, the MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro, has been around for some time and has been growing rapidly. Now, Apple’s recent capabilities and upgrades, such as the new Magic Keyboard – which replaces the controversial Butterfly keyboards – make the company’s 13-inch laptops better than ever in terms of quality and functionality.
In addition, Apple‘s decision not to use Intel processors and start using its own proprietary processors has had surprising results, leading to the company’s latest laptops, including the MacBook Air (2020, equipped with the M1 processor). ) And the MacBook Pro 13 (2020, powered by an M1 processor) are both on the list of the best laptops on the market today. From what we have seen so far from laptops equipped with Apple’s M1 processor, we can safely say that the future of the company’s laptops will be very bright due to their speed and high battery life.
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; Designing
The new MacBook Pro and Apple MacBook Air both use the company’s M1 chip, and both have a remarkably similar appearance. The MacBook Air and Pro both have shaved aluminum shells, are available in silver and gray, and have a small edge on the front of the base that helps the device’s screen open easily. From this point of view, it can be said that the general design of the two mentioned models is very similar; However, smaller specifications and finer details may make a subtle difference to you.
Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is significantly larger than the other two models mentioned, But its size does not mean its exterior design is weaker; Because Apple gives its users a larger screen (as much as 15 inches) by reducing the margins around the screen. On the other hand, in both the MacBook Air and the 13-inch Pro, we see slightly larger margins.
When it comes to the overall dimensions and size of these three laptops, we see more similarities than differences. The 16-inch MacBook Pro may have a larger screen, but just 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) thick, just like the 13-inch Pro and Air. Also, this model naturally weighs more due to its larger size. The 13 and 16-inch Air and Pro models weigh 1.2 kg, 1.3 kg and 1.9 kg, respectively.
Winner: Equal
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; Number of ports
If the number of ports on the device has always been one of your constant problems, it is better not to buy MacBook Air. This laptop only gives you two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which may be normal for every day and short use, but in the long run you will probably have trouble using it. In addition to the MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro powered by Apple’s M1 processor also has only two USB-C ports (although Intel models – still sold by Apple – have four USB ports). Of course, it should be noted that the MacBook Pro model, which has 4 ports, is priced at $ 500 more than the model, which is equipped with only 2 ports.
On the other hand, we have a 16-inch MacBook Pro that has four standard USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports located on either side of the laptop.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro has four standards USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports – located on either side of the laptop. The MacBook Air and the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, which hold their ports on the left, can be annoying and cause a lot of cable management tasks. Also, the fact that both the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro port are located on one side of the device is a bit annoying and makes it difficult for the user to manage the space around them.
Winner: 16-inch MacBook Pro (equipped with Intel processor)
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; screen
We have another very close competition in this field. The Retina displays on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are both very colorful, and although we see many similarities in each of these three models, there is one main reason that convinces you to choose the Pro model: Brightness.
Good to know: The screen (Retina) is a kind of liquid screen that is produced exclusively by Apple Engineering and other companies. The makers of this display state that the pixel density of this display is so high that the human eye is not able to detect pixels at normal viewing distances. Apple has used this display in its products such as iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air (from 2018 onwards).
According to the results of the screen test of these three devices, the MacBook Air (M1) has a maximum brightness of 365.8 nits. This is while the 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1), 434 nits, and the 16-inch model have a maximum brightness of 429 nits. Apple, meanwhile, has announced that the Intel Pro processor is 100 nits brighter than the MacBook Air.
Winner: 13-inch MacBook Pro (equipped with Intel processor)
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; Function
Apple’s claims that we’ve seen the much better and improved performance on the MacBook Air and Pro (based on the M1) are well-established. In the Geekbench 5 benchmarks, the new MacBook Air (with 16GB of RAM and M1 processor) scored 5962 and the new MacBook Pro (with 16GB of RAM and M1 processor) scored approximately the same score of 5925.
In the test of converting a 4K movie to 1080 using a video editing program (Handbrake), the MacBook Pro M1 clocked 7 minutes and 44 seconds, beating its other two rivals, the MacBook Air (9 minutes and 15 seconds) and the Mac Defeat the 16-inch Book Pro (8 minutes).
Also in the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, the Pro M1 SSD drives were faster than the other two devices with a read speed of 2824 MB / s. Apple’s MacBook Air M1 and the company’s 16-inch MacBook Pro recorded speeds of 2692 and 2540 MB / s, respectively.
Winner: 13-inch MacBook Pro
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; Battery life
Battery life is another area that has made Apple’s decision to use M1 processors “successful.” The results obtained from browsing and using these three devices with a brightness of 150 nits were as follows:
- MacBook Air (M1 processor): 14 hours and 41 minutes
- MacBook Pro (M1 processor): 16 hours and 32 minutes
- 16-inch MacBook Pro: 10 hours and 55 minutes
As you can see, two MacBooks equipped with Apple’s proprietary M1 processor have succeeded by a relatively significant margin, which shows that Apple’s efforts to develop M1 processors in recent years have not been in vain.
Winner: 13-inch MacBook Pro
MacBook Air Vs MacBook Pro; Price
Now that most of the features of these three models have been addressed, it should be noted that all the relatively better features and capabilities of the M1 MacBooks have made them even more expensive.
Apple spent many years without a new laptop for less than $ 1,000, but that eventually changed. Yes, the price of the new MacBook Air is only a dollar less than a thousand dollars, but Apple’s decision to reduce the price of the Air Model by $ 100 was accompanied by a doubling of its default storage space (256 GB); The same thing we saw in the 13-inch version of the Pro model. The 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro has at least 256GB of internal storage, despite being priced at $ 1299.
Another issue that makes buying a MacBook Air seem even cheaper is that you have to spend an extra $ 500 to get a 13-inch MacBook Pro with 10th generation CPUs; The amount that does not make this 13-inch laptop very affordable, considering the specifications and capabilities offered in other models, including the MacBook Air.
Winner: MacBook Air
There are many reasons to choose the MacBook Pro over the MacBook Air. Better (faster) performance and longer battery life The MacBook Pro are two of the most obvious reasons why one would prefer this laptop to the Apple Air model. Even when it comes to the number of USB ports, the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Pro (Intel) are superior to the MacBook Air. One thing that makes many turn to the MacBook Air despite these advantages is the much higher price of the Pro models. If your budget is not enough to buy one of the two models of Apple laptops, MacBook Air is the best option for you.
