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The first Mac laptops with Apple silicone were a game-changer. But now that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models have nearly identical M1 processors, choosing which model to buy isn’t as easy as it used to be. That’s why we’re here to break it down and take the guesswork out of it.
Design
Neither the 13-inch MacBook Pro nor the MacBook Air are any different from the models they replace. They both measure the same 8.36 inches by 11.97 inches, and the Air still has a tapered edge that extends from 0.16 inches to 0.63 inches while the Pro has a fixed height of 0. , 61 inch. And the Air is lighter at 2.8 pounds compared to just 3 pounds on the Pro.
IDG / Willis LaiThe design of the new MacBooks is identical to the old ones.
The interior is also the same. Both feature a magic keyboard flanked by a pair of vertical speakers as well as family-sized bezels around the screen. A large Force Touch trackpad is centered below the keyboard, and they’re available in the same colors: Silver and Space Gray for the Pro and Silver, Space Gray and Gold for the Air.
Our opinion: It’s a bit of a shame that the design is so similar to last year’s, especially since Apple obviously had to do a bit of reengineering to configure the old MacBook body for the new chip. But the design of both machines is very nice and shouldn’t sway your decision one way or the other.
Display
While both laptops already featured 13.3-inch displays, the Pro had a small advantage with support for the DCI-P3 lineup for greater color saturation. Now the MacBook Air also has this specification, so the screens are almost identical:
- 13.3 inch (diagonal) LED-backlit IPS
- 2560 by 1600 pixels
- Wide color (P3)
- True tone
The only difference between them now is that most people probably won’t notice. On the MacBook Pro, peak brightness is 500 nits while the Air only hits 400 nits. But both are brighter than your eyes can handle for an extended period of time.
Our opinion: Both of these computers have fantastic displays, but we’d still love to see improvements with the next gen: mini LEDs, edge-to-edge designs, rounded corners, everything to make it a bit more modern. Much like the design, the display shouldn’t be a factor in your decision.
Keyboard, ports and camera
The Air and Pro have the same Magic Keyboard that launched last year, so you don’t have to worry about loud, sticky keys. Apple’s new keyboard is a huge improvement over the old one and you’ll feel great typing. Both feature backlighting with an ambient light sensor as well as a Touch ID sensor for Apple Pay unlocking, authentication, and purchases.
Willis Lai / IDGThe keyboard of the new MacBooks is excellent.
The difference is in the function keys. Like the later generations, the MacBook Pro comes equipped with the Touch Bar, which is a thin OLED display above the row of numbers, while the MacBook Air has a standard set of function keys, which include keys dedicated for Spotlight (f4), Dictation (F5) and Do Not Disturb (F6) for the first time.
As for ports, both models have a pair of USB-C / Thunderbolt ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right side. And that’s all. Apple offers a more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro with four ports, but it uses an Intel processor, so you’ll likely need to invest in a hub or at least a dongle or two.
And sadly, both new MacBooks use the same old 720p FaceTime camera, although Apple says images should be improved by the new chip. Apple uses a custom image signal processor as well as face detection in the M1’s Neural Engine which it claims will bring “brighter, sharper images” with more detail in shadows and highlights and ” more natural skin tones ”.
Our opinion: If your choice between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro comes down to the keyboard, it’s a matter of preference. We still don’t see the point of the Touch Bar, but we don’t hate it as much as we used to. Touch ID is excellent on both models and we like that the Touch Bar has a dedicated Escape button to the right of the Touch Bar. However, we’re not at all thrilled with the ports – two just don’t do it on a “professional” machine. And don’t get us started on the camera.
Processor and graphics
Now, for the time being, you were all waiting. Apple’s two new laptops feature the new M1 processor, which Apple claims is “the world’s fastest processor core for low power silicon.”
AppleThe new M1 promises a considerable speed increase over the previous generation.
However, like the iPhone, Apple does not give concrete data with these claims. But in our tests, both are incredibly fast, showing very similar Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23 scores:
Geekbench 5 (single / multiple)
Macbook Air: 1730/7454
Macbook Pro: 1724/7569
Cinebench R23 (single / multiple)
Macbook Air: 1496/6838
Macbook Pro: 1513/7778
The slight difference in scores is due to the slightly underpowered GPU on the MacBook Air we tested. Here’s how the models break down:
MacBook Air (256 GB)
8-core processor with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
7-core GPU
16-core neural motor
MacBook Air (512 GB)
8-core processor with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU
16-core neural motor
MacBook Pro (256 GB / 512 GB)
8-core processor with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU
16-core neural motor
The extra GPU core with the MacBook Pro and higher MacBook Air setups makes a slight difference, but unless you’re encoding video for long periods of time, it won’t be noticeable. What might be noticeable is the noise of the fan. The MacBook Air doesn’t and the Pro does, so you can hear it boot up at higher speeds. However, this also means that the Pro can maintain high speeds for longer without slowing down due to overheating.
Our opinion: If you need speed, upgrade to the MacBook Pro, but if not, the 512GB MacBook Air is the perfect compromise between performance, storage and price.
Drums
When it comes to battery life, you can’t go wrong with either model. Even if you’re happy with Apple’s ratings, battery life is dramatically improved, with the M1 Air rated at 15 hours (up from 11 hours) and the Pro rated at 17 hours, a huge jump from the 10. previous hours. And that’s with the same built-in 49.9 watt-hour battery in the Air and the 58.2 watt battery in the Pro. Apple’s new chip is therefore extremely efficient.
In our tests, the MacBook Pro lasted a bit longer than the Air, but both were extremely efficient, with an increase of almost 40% over previous Intel models:
Macbook Pro: 17.9 hours
Macbook Air: 16.2 hours
Our opinion: You get really good battery life no matter which model you buy, but if you want the most durable MacBook ever, Pro is the way to go.
Storage and RAM
All four Macbook M1 models come with 8GB of “unified” DDR4 memory upgradeable to 16GB, as well as 256GB of storage with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB upgrade options. Apple claims the new SSDs are twice as fast as before across the board, but recent evidence suggests they may have a shorter shelf life than expected.
While performing a routine health check on their SSD, some developers on Twitter noticed more wear than expected after just a few months of use. Apple hasn’t responded, so we’re not sure how or if this will affect the longevity of new MacBooks, so we have two suggestions: Run the smartmontools health test every few months and buy as much RAM and storage as you can. you allow it. On the one hand, a 512GB drive will naturally last longer than a 256GB drive, and on the other hand, the problem seems to be worse on machines with 8GB of RAM versus 16GB.
Our opinion: It might turn out to be a lot of ado about nothing, but until we know for sure, you might as well cover your bases and get a little more storage and RAM. Even if the SSD fears turn out to be unwarranted, you’ll be happy with the extra space and memory. After all, no one ever said: “There is too much lots of storage in this laptop. “
Price
Apple sells two standard configurations of each model at prices similar to those before:
MacBook Air (256 GB): $ 999
MacBook Air (512 GB): $ 1,249
MacBook Pro (256 GB): $ 1,299
MacBook Pro (512 GB): $ 1,499
You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM for $ 200, and each tier of storage (512GB or 1TB) also costs $ 200, with Apple charging $ 400 to go from 1TB to 2TB.
AppleOur opinion: As we noted above, we recommend that you get the best machine you can afford at the time of purchase, as you won’t be able to upgrade later. But if you have to choose, we will upgrade RAM before storage.
Our buying advice
With a fast chip, great battery life, a 13-inch display, and a pair of USB-C ports, the M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have a lot of similarities. So much so that we don’t think there is a reason why most people deviate from the cheaper model and spend the savings on upgrades. We recommend the MacBook Air with a 7-core GPU and adding 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for a total of $ 1,399.
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