The Apple MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro buying decision is difficult because both are fantastic laptops that are better than ever thanks to the latest Apple silicon. Comparing the devices is tough but important because you need to know exactly what each is capable of when deciding which one is right for you.
The choice is complicated because there are now multiple great models available in the lineup. Though they were released in 2020 and are a bit long in the tooth now, the MacBook Air M1 and the entry-level MacBook Pro M1 still deliver decent performance and battery life thanks to Apple's inaugural M1 chip.
There's also the slightly newer MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 and MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021, both of which offer M1 Pro/M1 Max chips that are more powerful than the M1, a larger, brighter mini-LED display, more ports and a sharper 1080p webcam housed in a notch which extends down from the top bezel of the screen.
Plus, updated models have been released with the power of the newer Apple M2 chip. These include the M2-powered MacBook Pro 13-inch and MacBook Air 2022, as well as the new MacBook Pro 14-inch 2023 and MacBook Pro 16-inch 2023. These laptops appear nearly identical to their predecessors, but the upgraded M2 chips under the hood give them a bit more speed.
That remarkable speed and power efficiency is what grants the latest MacBooks their place on our best laptop list. As we've seen in our MacBook Air with M1 review and MacBook Pro with M1 review, equipping these MacBooks with Apple silicon has given them surprising speed and crazy battery life. And as we've seen in our Apple M2 benchmark tests, the latest processor is even more powerful than the regular M1.
Here's everything you need to know to find the best MacBook for you when choosing between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
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(opens in new tab)MacBook Air vs Pro: Specs
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air (2020) | 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) | 14-inch MacBook Pro | 16-inch MacBook Pro | 13-inch MacBook Pro (2022) | MacBook Air M2 | 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023) | 16-inch MacBook Pro (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $999 | $1299 | $1,999 | $2499 | $1,299 | $1,199 | $1,999 | $2,499 |
| Screen | 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) | 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) | 14.2 inches (3024 x 1964) min-LED | 16.2 inches (3456 x 2234) min-LED | 13.3 inches (2560 x 1600) | 13.6 inches (2560 x 1664) | 14.2 inches (3024 x 1964) min-LED | 16.2 inches (3456 x 2234) min-LED |
| Battery life | 14:41 of web browsing (M1, tested) | Up to 18 hours of video playback (M1, claimed) | 9:31 (Intel, tested) | 16:32 of web browsing (M1, tested) | Up to 20 hours (Apple M1, claimed) | 10:21 (Intel, tested) | 14:08 (tested) | 15:31 (tested) | 18:20 (tested) | 14:06 (tested)a | 14:06 (tested) | 18:56 (tested) |
| Processor | Apple M1 (8-core) | Apple M1 (8-core) | Apple M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-core) | Apple M1 Pro, M1 Max (10-core) | Apple M2 (8-core) | Apple M2 (8-core) | Apple M2 Pro, M2 Max | Apple M2 Pro, M2 Max |
| Graphics | Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated 8-core GPU | Integrated 7-core M1 GPU | Integrated 8-core GPU | 16-core or 32-core | 16-core or 32-core | Integrated 8-core M2 CPU | Integrated 10-core GPU | Integrated 8-core M2 CPU | Integrated 8-core GPU | M2 Pro/Max Up to 12-core CPU | Up to 38-core GPU | M2 Pro/Max Up to 12-core CPU | Up to 38-core GPU |
| Storage | 256GB to 2TB | 256GB to 4TB | 512GB to 8TB | 512GB to 8TB | 256GB to 2TB | 256GB to 2TB | 512GB to 8TB | 512GB to 8TB |
| Memory | 8GB, 16GB | 8GB, 16GB, 32GB | 16GG, 32GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | 8GB to 24GB | 8GB to 24GB | 16GB to 96GB | 16GB to 96GB |
| Ports | 2 Thunderbolt | 2 Thunderbolt | 3 Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe | 3 Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe | 2 Thunderbolt/USB4, headphone jack | 2 Thunderbolt / 1 USB-4, 1 headphone | 3 Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe | 3 Thunderbolt, HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe |
| Touch Bar | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Security | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| Audio | Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support | Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support, 3-mic array | 6-speaker array, Dolby Atmos support | 6-speaker array, Dolby Atmos support | Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support, 3-mic array | Four-speaker sound system, patial audio and Dolby Atmos support | 6-speaker array, Dolby Atmos support | 6-speaker array, Dolby Atmos support |
| Dimensions | 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches | 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches | 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches | 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches | 11.94 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches | 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches | 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches | 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 2.8 pounds | 3.0 pounds | 3.5 pounds | 4.7 to 4.8 pounds | 3.0 pounds | 2.7 pounds | 3.5 pounds | 4.7 to 4.8 pounds |
MacBook Air vs Pro: Design
The M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch Pro share machined aluminum shells, come in silver and Space Gray, and all have the little lip at the front of the base, for easily opening the screen. The Air has a tapered-wedge design, as it always has.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros sport a different design than their 13-inch sibling, delivering slim bezels and ditching the Touch Bar in favor of a dedicated function row (we say good riddance). There's that notch at the top to house the 1080p webcam, but it's not too distracting.
The M2 MacBook Air 2022 has a design that's more akin to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, ditching the tapered design. It also has thinner bezels and a notch for the camera.
However, the M2 MacBook Pro has the exact same design as its M1-powered predecessor. So if you want the most power available in a MacBook without a notch, the latest 13-inch Pro is for you!
While the M1 MacBook Air's tear-drop (it's more like a wedge than a rectangle) design is iconic, one of our favorite distinct features of the Air is its gold color option, which just looks so much more attractive than the light and dark silver options.
When it comes to portability, the 2.7-pound MacBook Air 2022 is the lightest followed by the 3-pound 13-inch MacBook Pro. But the 14-inch MacBook Pro is still fairly portable at 3.5 pounds. The 16-inch goes up to 4.8 pounds, depending on configuration.
Unfortunately, the new MacBook Pros are limited to Silver and Space Gray.
Winner: MacBook Air for portability, MacBook Pros for slimmer bezels
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Ports
If you want plenty of ports, the MacBook Air is not the best choice. It offers only two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro also has only two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports. The M2-powered machines share the same number of ports.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros deliver the most ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port and SD Card slot. Plus, there's MagSafe charging.
Winner: MacBook Pros
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Display
The Retina displays in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro are both sharp and colorful, and while it's close, there's a reason to go Pro: brightness.
Based on our lab test results, the MacBook Air (M1) maxes out at 365.8 nits of brightness, while the M1 MacBook Pro (13-inch: 434.8 nits) got even brighter. The M2 MacBook Pro achieved 474.6 nits of standard brightness while the MacBook Air 2022 achieved 489 nits, per our testing.
On color output, though, the M1 laptops are more similar. The Air (M1) netted a 114.3% sRGB rating from our colorimeter, which slightly beats the 110.6% rating we got from the M1 13-inch Pro.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros take display quality to the next 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, you get a 120Hz ProMotion display for smoother performance.
Winner: MacBook Pros
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Keyboard and Touch Bar
All of the MacBooks you can buy offer Apple's Magic Keyboard, which delivers strong tactile performance and comfort.
The MacBook Air doesn't feature a Touch Bar, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro does, and this OLED bar frankly doesn't offer a lot of value. It's perhaps telling that the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro ditch the Touch Bar for a dedicated function row of physical keys.
Winners: It's a draw
MacBook Air vs Pro: Performance
Apple's claims of amazingly improved performance in the M1-powered 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 5,925.
They were both demolished by the bigger MacBook Pros, however. On the same Geekbench 5 benchmark test, the 14-inch M1 Pro-powered MacBook Pro scored 12,477 while its 16-inch counterpart scored 12,683. The latest versions powered by M2 Pro/M2 Pax scored even higher, to the tune of 14,939 and 15,044.
Though not as powerful as the Pro and Max chips, the base M2 processor is still a beast. On Geekbench 5.4, the MacBook Pro 2022 scored 8,911 on the multicore portion of the test, while the MacBook Air 2022 scored 8,919.
On the Handbrake video transcoding test converting a 4K video to 1080p, the M1 MacBook Pro had a time of 7:44, beating the Air's 9:15 time. The MacBook Pros won over both, with the MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 having a time of 4:51 and the 16-inch 2021 laptop transcoding in 4:48. Their 2023 successors are even faster, up to 4:06 and 4:03 respectively. The M2 MacBook Pro delivered solid results by transcoding a video in 6:51. The MacBook Air 2022 was just slightly behind the latter, delivering a time of 7:52.
The SSDs on the M1 Pro (13-inch) are impressive, with BlackMagic Disk Speed Test read rates of 2,824.9 MBps, beating 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 the 2021 14-inch and 16-inch models scoring 5,321 and 5,314, respectively. Their newer 2023 siblings are even faster, scoring 5,319 and 5,717 respectively. The M2-powered MacBook Pro scored 2,794, which puts it between the old and new M1 chips.
While testing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm test, the M1 MacBook Air notched 36.9 fps, slightly behind the M1 Pro's 38.2 fps. Rise 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 as 47 fps. The newer models with M2 Pro and M2 Max scored nearly 60 fps across the board.
The new MacBook Pros have an obvious edge here due to their beefier chips. Unfortunately, the M2 MacBook Pro isn't much better than its M1 predecessor when it comes to gaming.
Winner: MacBook Air for value, MacBook Pros for sheer speed
MacBook Air vs Pro: Battery life
Battery life is the other place where Apple's move to its own M1 processors has delivered serious wins. The M1 MacBook Air lasted for 14 hours and 41 minutes on our battery test (web surfing at 150 nits), while the M1 Pro (16:32) lasted even longer. Both times leave the old Intel-powered 16-inch MacBook Pro (10:55) in the dust.
The 2021 MacBook Pros trounce these numbers. During our testing, the MacBook Pro 14-inch lasted for 14:08 while the MacBook Pro 16-inch endured for 15:31. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 lasted for an astonishing 18 hours and 20 minutes during our testing, but for the best battery life you want the 2023 MacBook Pros. The 14-inch model with an M2 Pro chip lasted just over 14 hours in our battery test, whereas the 16-inch model with an M2 Max chip lasted an amazing 18 hours and 56 minutes. That makes it one of the longest-lasting laptops we've reviewed at Tom's Guide.
Winner: 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 because the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro offer a six-speaker setup. And you now get more bass along with an octave lower sound for even more robust audio profile. Plus, the new MacBook Pros support Dolby Atmos in speaker as opposed to just headphones.
Winner: MacBook Pros
MacBook Air vs Pro: Value and price
The MacBook Air with M1 is still the value leader with its $999 starting price and it arguably gives you more bang for your buck in terms of performance than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Both the old and new 13-inch Pros give you longer battery life, but it may not be enough to justify the $1,299 price.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch represents a big jump in price over the 13-inch, but you get 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 likely 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 display, and it's priced accordingly at $2,499. And you'll get a longer-lasting battery.
Winner: MacBook Air
MacBook Air vs Pro: What should you buy?
This is somewhat tricky since different users have different needs. At the risk of sounding cliche, there are MacBooks for everyone.
The MacBook Air is the best MacBook for most people, delivering awesome M1 performance and longer battery life in a fairly portable design. If you can spare the extra cash, the new MacBook Air is also worth considering due to its versatility and improved performance.
The 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro is still good, but it's outshined by the more premium 14-inch MacBook Pro and all of its upgrades. But we're guessing at least some shoppers will think twice about jumping from $1,299 to $1,999. Because of that, the new M2 MacBook Pro looks more than enticing for budget-conscious folks. But if you need power above all, the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro with a top-tier M2 Max chip is the ultimate splurge machine for power users for those who want the most screen real estate they can have at home and on the go.
If you want pure horsepower or simply want the latest models available, the latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros might be best for you. Of course, you'll need to decide (or justify) if their respective $1,999 and $2,499 starting prices are within your budget. But if money is not an object, these are the MacBooks to get.
