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Apple’s first silicone Mac laptops have been 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 all down and take the guesswork out of it.
Design
Neither the 13-inch MacBook Pro nor the MacBook Air are 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 inches. 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. They both feature a magical keyboard flanked by a pair of vertical speakers along with familiar-sized bezels around the screen. A large Force Touch trackpad is centered under the keyboard and they come 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 bummer that the design is so similar to last year, 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.
To show
While both laptops already featured 13.3-inch displays, the Pro had a bit of an advantage in supporting the DCI-P3 gamut for higher color saturation. Now the MacBook Air has that spec too, so the displays are almost identical:
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) IPS with LED backlight
- 2560 by 1600 pixels
- Wide color (P3)
- True tone
The only difference between them now is one that most people won’t notice. On the MacBook Pro, the maximum brightness is 500 nits, while the Air only reaches 400 nits. But both are brighter than your eyes can bear for an extended period of time.
Our opinion: Both computers have fantastic displays, but we’d still like to see some improvements with the next generation: mini-LEDs, edge-to-edge designs, rounded corners, anything to make it feel a little more modern. Like the design, the screen shouldn’t be a factor in your decision.
Keyboard, ports and camera
Air and Pro have the same Magic Keyboard that was released last year, so you don’t need to worry about noisy and sticky keys. Apple’s newest keyboard is a huge improvement over the old one and it will feel great to type on it. Both are backlit with an ambient light sensor, as well as a Touch ID sensor for unlocking, authenticating, and Apple Pay purchases.
Willis Lai / IDGThe keyboard on the new MacBooks is excellent.
The difference is in the function keys. Like the last few generations, the MacBook Pro features the Touch Bar, which is a slim OLED display above the number row, while the MacBook Air has a standard set of function keys, including dedicated keys for Spotlight (f4 ), dictation (F5) and Do not disturb (F6) for the first time.
When it comes to ports, both models have a pair of USB-C / Thunderbolt ports on the left side and a headphone jack on the right. And that is. Apple offers a more expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro with four ports, but it uses an Intel processor, so you’ll probably need to invest in a hub or at least a dongle or two.
And sadly, the two new MacBooks use the same 720p FaceTime camera, although Apple says the images should be improved with the new chip. Apple is using a custom image signal processor, as well as Neural Engine face detection in the M1, which it says will deliver “clearer, sharper images” with more detail in shadows and highlights and “smoother-looking skin tones. natural”.
Our opinion: If your choice between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro comes down to the keyboard, it’s a matter of preference. We still don’t see the sense of the touch bar, but we don’t hate it as much as we used to. Touch ID is great on both models and we like that the Touch Bar has a dedicated Escape key to the right of the Touch Bar. However, we are not entirely thrilled with ports, two are simply not enough on a “professional” machine. And don’t get us started on the camera.
Processor and graphics
Now, for the moment, everyone has been waiting. Both of Apple’s new laptops feature the new M1 processor, which Apple claims is “the fastest CPU core in the world when it comes to low-power silicon.”
AppleThe new M1 promises a tremendous speed increase over the previous generation.
However, like the iPhone, Apple does not provide hard data with those claims. But in our tests, both are insanely fast, posting very similar Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23 scores:
Geekbench 5 (single / multiple)
MacBook Air: 17.30 / 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 underpowered GPU of the MacBook Air we tested. This is how the models are broken down:
MacBook Air (256GB)
8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
7-core GPU
16-core neural motor
MacBook Air (512GB)
8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU
16-core neural motor
MacBook Pro (256GB / 512GB)
8-core CPU 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 configurations makes a little difference, but unless you’re going to encode video for long periods, it won’t be noticeable. What could be noticed is the noise of the fan. The MacBook Air doesn’t have one and the Pro does, so you might hear it at higher speeds. However, it 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 otherwise the 512GB MacBook Air is the sweet spot for performance, storage, and price.
Drums
When it comes to battery life, you can’t go wrong with either model. Even if you just follow Apple’s ratings, battery life is vastly improved, with the M1 Air rated at 15 hours (up from 11 hours) and the Pro estimated to last 17 hours, a massive jump from 10. previous hours. And that’s with the same 49.9-watt-hour built-in battery in the Air and 58.2-watt battery in the Pro. So Apple’s new chip is extremely efficient.
In our tests, the MacBook Pro lasted slightly longer than the Air, but both were extremely efficient, with an increase of almost 40 percent over previous Intel models:
Macbook Pro: 17.9 hours
MacBook Air: 16.2 hours
Our opinion: You’re getting incredible battery life no matter what model you buy, but if you want the longest-lasting MacBook, Pro is the way to go.
Storage and RAM
All four Macbook M1 models come with 8GB of “unified” DDR4 memory that can be upgraded to 16GB, as well as 256GB of storage with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB upgrade options. Apple says the new SSDs are twice as fast as before across the board, but recent evidence suggests they could have a shorter lifespan than expected.
When running a routine health check on your SSD, some developers on Twitter have noticed more wear and tear than expected after just a few months of use. Apple hasn’t responded, so we don’t know how or if this will affect the longevity of the new MacBooks, so we have two suggestions: Run the smartmontools health check every few months and buy as much RAM and storage as you can afford. . On the one hand, a 512GB drive will naturally last longer than a 256GB one, and on the other, the problem appears to be worse on machines with 8GB of RAM versus 16GB.
Our opinion: It might turn out to be a lot of noise and little nuts, but until we know for sure, you might as well cover your bases and get a bit more storage and RAM. Even if the SSD fears prove unjustified, you’ll be satisfied with the extra space and memory. After all, no one said, “There is as well lots of storage space on this laptop. “
Price
Apple is selling two standard configurations of each model at prices similar to the ones above:
MacBook Air (256GB): $ 999
MacBook Air (512GB): $ 1,249
MacBook Pro (256GB): $ 1,299
MacBook Pro (512GB): $ 1,499
You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM for $ 200, and each storage tier (512GB or 1TB) costs $ 200 as well, and Apple charges $ 400 to go from 1TB to 2TB.
AppleOur opinion: As we mentioned above, we recommend getting the best machine you can afford at the time of purchase as you will not be able to upgrade it in the future. But if you need to choose, we would upgrade RAM before storage.
Our buying advice
With a fast chip, great battery life, a 13-inch screen, and a pair of USB-C ports, the MacBook Pro M1 and MacBook Air have many similarities. So much so that we don’t think there is a reason for most people to 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.
