As we creep through winter 2024 towards another potential spring Apple event, the question of “MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro?” remains a tough one. The current Apple laptop lineup includes 13.3-inch, 13.6-inch, and 15.3-inch MacBook Airs and two flavors of MacBook Pro: 14.2 inches, and 16.2 inches.
The Air lineup at its peak offers the Apple M2 chipset, while the latest MacBook Pro 14 and 16 are powered by the Apple M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max. Only the Pro models offer the more powerful “Pro” or “Max” chipsets, this is one of the clearest differentiators between the Air and Pro MacBooks. Only the base MacBook Pro 14 blurs these lines with its standard M3 chip. Every single one of the current MacBooks is excellent, earning our Editor’s Choice award, so rest assured whether you go with MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, there are no wrong choices, just determining which best meets your needs.
But don’t worry, we’ve reviewed them all, so just follow along and we’ll help you decide which Apple laptop is right for you by comparing price, features, performance, battery life, and more. By the end of this guide, we’ll settle whether the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is right for you to spend your hard-earned money on.
MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro: Specs compared
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Best for Most | Next Best Option | Best big screen value | For power users | For power users who need a large screen |
| Row 1 – Cell 0 | MacBook Air 13 (M1) | MacBook Air 13 (M2) | MacBook Air 15 (M2) | MacBook Pro 14-inch | MacBook Pro 16-inch |
| Price | $999 | $1,099 | $1,299 | $1,999 (starting) | $2,499 |
| CPU | M1 | M2 | M2 | M3, M3 Pro or M3 Max | M3 Pro or M3 Max |
| RAM | Up to 16GB | Up to 24GB | Up to 24GB | Up to 128GB | up to 128GB |
| Display | 13.3 inches (2560 x 1664) | 13.6 inches (2560 x 1600) | 15.3 inches (2880 x 1864) | 14.2 inches (3024 x 1964), 120Hz | 16.2 inches (3456 x 2234), 120Hz |
| Ports | 2 Thunderbolt 3, headphone | 2 Thunderbolt 3, headphone | 2 Thunderbolt 3/USB4, headphone | 3 Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SDXC card, headphone | 4 Thunderbolt 3, headphone |
| Graphics | M1 | M2 | M2 | M3, M3 Pro or M3 Max | M3 Pro or M3 Max |
| Storage | up to 2TB | up to 2TB | Up to 2TB | Up to 8TB | up to 8TB |
| Battery Life (hrs) | 14:41 (tested) | 14:06 (tested) | 14:59 (tested) | 17:16 (tested) | 18:05 (tested) |
| Security | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| Size | 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches | 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches | 13.40 x 9.53 x 0.45 inches | 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches | 14 x 9.8 x 0.66 inches |
| Weight | 2.8 pounds | 2.7 pounds | 3.3 pounds | 3.5 pounds | 4.8 pounds |
The Quick List
M2 Power for under $1,200
In 2024 most prospective MacBook buyers should opt for the MacBook Air M2. It features Apple’s updated design with 14 hours of battery life, outstanding performance, a comfortable keyboard, and the always popular MagSafe charging.
The best budget MacBook
While it isn’t cheap, the MacBook Air M1 is the only Apple laptop under $1,000, which makes it a great pick for MacBook buyers on a budget. It still offers solid performance and excellent battery life.
The best affordable big-screen MacBook
The MacBook Air 15 fills a gap in Apple’s laptop lineup, a big screen that doesn’t cost you $2,500+. Sure it’s just an M2 Air with a bigger display, but that’s a perfect laptop for many people.
4. MacBook Pro 14 (M2 Pro)
Best MacBook for pros on the go
Whether you’re editing photos or videos, creating music, or just working on a massive spreadsheet, the MacBook Pro 14 is the way to go. The M2 Pro’s power and endurance are off the charts.
5. MacBook Pro 16 (M2 Max)
Best MacBook for peak performance
There’s no task the MacBook Pro 16 with M2 Max can’t handle. Whether it’s the larger display, higher peak performance, or 4 extra hours of battery life, the Pro 16 earns its premium price.
MacBook Air (13-inch, M2): Best for most people
Pros: The latest chapter in the MacBook Air’s saga is compelling, to say the least. The laptop eschews the wedge design of old for a look that puts it squarely in MacBook Pro territory. But staying true to its name, the Air is 20% smaller than its predecessor in terms of volume. You even get some snazzy new colors to choose from this time around. Apple’s also added a few other new goodies such as a 1080p webcam, a new speaker setup, and a bigger display.
But the real star of the show is Apple’s M2 chip, which offers great performance for an ultraportable laptop. It’s faster and more powerful than the previous model and is ideal for anyone looking for a super-light workhorse. Plus, it lasted over 14 hours on our battery test and has fast charging.
Bigger screen, smaller bezels — that’s the name of the game for the M2 MacBook Air. The laptop boasts a 13.6-inch, 2560 x 1664 Liquid Retina display, compared to the previous version’s 13.3 inches. And when it comes to displays, more often than not, bigger is always better. As expected, the M2’s screen is an explosion of color with sharp details.
The M2 Air also performed great during our synthetic benchmarks. When we ran Geekbench 5.4, for example, the notebook hit 8,919, decimating the 6.054 premium laptop average and the Slim 7 Carbon’s (AMD Ryzen 7 5800 CPU) 6,241.
On the Handbrake test, the Air M2 transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 7 minutes and 52 seconds. That score roasted the 10-minute average as well as the XPS 13 (Intel Core i7-1185G CPU) and Spectre x360 (Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU) which had times of 18:33 and 18:39, respectively. The Slim 7 Carbon came the closest at 8:51, more than a minute slower.
Weighing a slight 2.7 pounds and measuring 12 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches, the MacBook Air can easily slide into any medium-sized purse, messenger bag, or backpack.
Cons: While no one can be mad at over 14 hours of battery life, it’s still slightly less than the previous model. That’s not a huge problem, but if you’re looking to get every ounce of juice out of your MacBook, then the M1 MacBook Air may be more to your tastes.
Yes, the $1,199 starting price is a bit steep, especially when compared to the last-gen’s $999 starting price. However, the M2 outclasses the M1 in just about every category, making it well worth the investment.
Apple’s lightest laptop has always been light on ports and that remains true with the M2 Air. Although the MagSafe charger made a triumphant return, you still only get a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headset jack to work with, so you might need a dongle or two.
See our full MacBook Air M2 review
MacBook Air (13-inch, M1): A sub-$1,000 MacBook
Pros: The MacBook Air with M1 delivers almost everything you could want in an Apple laptop thanks to its M1 chip, which enables excellent performance and battery life. Specifically, the MacBook Air lasted for 14 hours and 41 minutes on our battery test, making it one of the longest-lasting laptops around, even longer than its succesor.
Our MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM scored a resounding 5,962 on the Geekbench 5.2 overall performance test, crushing the XPS 13 (5,319, Core i7-1165G7) with an 11th Gen (Tiger lake) Intel Core. The Surface Laptop 3 (4,791) with 10th Gen Intel chips dropped further behind, but still topped the category average (4,178).
The screen is sharp, too, with a 2560 x 1600-pixel resolution. The M1 Air supports the P3 color range for punchier tones and True Tone, which adjusts the color temperature on the display based on ambient lighting conditions.
Another feature is Touch ID, which makes it easy to unlock the system, make secure payments, and replace passwords. The MacBook Air’s 720p webcam isn’t going to replace the best external webcam, but the M1 chip gave it a boost to performance, and the system supports iOS and iPadOS apps, although we haven’t seen massive uptake on that feature.
The MacBook Air, at 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches and 2.8 pounds, is larger than the Dell XPS 13 (11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches, 2.8 pounds), but more compact than the 13.5-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (12.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches, 2.9 pounds).
Cons: Two USB-C ports aren’t enough for most people so be ready to use a dongle. Also, the MacBook Air isn’t the most compact or lightest 13-inch laptop, and the display bezels that were chunky in 2020 are only harder to take in 2024. Speaking of which, it’s getting a little long in the tooth after 3 years, but Apple still sells it directly and will support it for years to come.
See our full MacBook Air (M1) review
MacBook Air (15-inch, M2): Big screen on a budget
Pros: Getting that big 15.3-inch display for as low as $1,299 is hard to pass up considering for years that would cost you at least $2,499. While it lacks the 120Hz refresh rate of the Pro models, Apple didn’t skimp as it offers an excellent 473 nits of brightness in our testing and a slightly more vibrant panel than the 13-inch Air.
At 3.3 pounds and just 0.45 inches thick it’s going to be a tempting option for business travelers or college students that value a larger laptop that won’t weigh down their laptop bag. It will also tick another box for those buyers thanks to 14 hours and 59 minutes of battery life in our testing.
While it features the same M2 chip as the 13-inch Air, it’s slightly more powerful in every performance metric (perhaps due to improved thermal performance) and it fixes one of our only complaints about the smaller Air by dramatically boosting its SSD write speed.
Cons: Not many. The port situation is slightly irritating as it features the same pair of Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, MagSafe charger, and headphone/mic jack as the much smaller MacBook Air 13-inch. However, most of us that need more ports have long ago added a USB-C hub or laptop docking station to our assortment of gear.
The only other con is the rumor of an M3 MacBook Air on the horizon. That chip will represent a larger change than the M1 to M2 upgrade, however, it’s unclear when it will arrive in the Air. The fact that the MacBook Air 15 is launching now with the M2 suggests to me that it will be at least spring of 2024 before we see the new chip in an Air. So if you need a new laptop now, it’s not worth worrying about as something new is always coming.
See our full MacBook Air 15-inch review.
MacBook Pro (14-inch): Best for creative pros on the go
Pros: The MacBook Pro 14 M3 arrived this fall as a new more affordable option for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, starting at $1,599. No, that’s not cheap, but it’s $400 less than the previous $1,999 starting point, which is still what the M3 Pro model will set you back. For most users the base M3 will get the job done, but if time is money for you then the M3 Pro and M3 Max processors Apple are among the fastest, most power-efficient chips ever built for portable computing.
The other performance specs are just as impressive, and while the base model will be more than enough for most users, you can spec the M3 Max configuration up to 128GB of RAM and an 8TB SSD. Battery life is tested at 17 hours and 03 minutes.
Moreover, that redesign from 2021 still feels fresh with the 14.2-inch, 3024 x 1964-pixel Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This panel is one of the brightest laptop screens ever (at 1,600 nits of peak luminance), and the most vivid outside of OLED panels.
At 12.3 inches x 8.7 x 0.6 inches and 3.5 pounds, the 14-inch MacBook Pro remains portable despite the power it packs underneath the hood.
Some other nice features include a 1080p webcam, Touch ID, a six-speaker setup, and a keyboard without a Touch Bar.
Cons: So, what’s wrong with the laptop? Well, there’s that notch. While you do adjust to it quickly, we still don’t love that design decision, particularly since it doesn’t come with Face ID. If you are thinking these are minor complaints then you are absolutely right, this is an outstanding laptop that belongs on the short list for anyone with portability and performance in mind.
See our full MacBook Pro 14 2023 review
MacBook Pro 16-inch: Best for peak performance
Pros: Everything we love about the 14-inch MacBook Pro but with a large 16-inch display. It has the same M3 Pro and M3 Max chips along with up to a ludicrous 128GB of memory and up to an 8TB SSD. Battery life is even slightly better at 18 hours and 5 minutes in our testing. Given the performance that it almost unbelievable, honestly, it seems like Apple may have created a pocket dimension that houses some additional battery in this thing.
Cons: Except for that battery life and the display size, you can get everything found in the 16-inch MacBook Pro in the 14-inch model for $500 less. If you need the larger panel, then get this 16-inch MacBook Pro. If you don’t, then it probably won’t be worth the price trade-off.
Also at 14 x 9.8 x 0.66 inches and 4.7 pounds, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is considerably larger than the 14-inch model, so if you are toting your laptop around regularly that’s worth considering as well.
See our full MacBook Pro 16-inch 2023
To find out more about how much longer Apple will keep your MacBook healthy, read our comprehensive Apple Warranty Check guide.
How We Test MacBooks
We put MacBooks through extensive benchmark testing — both synthetic and real-world — before they end up in the hands of our reviewers. We evaluate everything from speed and battery life to display brightness, speaker volume and system heat.
We use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of a laptop’s display. For performance benchmarking, we run the laptop through a gauntlet of benchmarks, including Geekbench 5.0 and 3DMark professional graphics tests.
To determine real-world performance, we task the laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p resolution and to duplicate a 25GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is the Dirt 3 benchmark with medium settings and 1080p resolution.
We also run heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and our battery test consists of continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. We consider everything over the category average (8 hours and 36 minutes) to be a good result. Of course, these tests are complemented with hands-on testing from our reviewers.
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