If you’re interested in one of Apple’s new MacBook M2s, but you’re confused about which one you should buy, don’t worry—it’s confusing. The two devices are very similar, but they have some important differences.
To get a large group of people out of the way: If you use this device for work consistently, and your work primarily involves something more intensive than Chrome (eg, any program with Adobe in its name), you should buy a 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max instead of one of these computers. These laptops are much faster, with larger screens and a much more useful selection of ports, and these upgrades will be worth the extra money.
But if you’re not in that category and have your heart set on an M2 machine, here’s how to approach your decision. (And of course, before you dive into any buying decisions, you should know exactly why you’re looking for a new computer, what’s not working with your current computer, and what you’re looking for in a new one.)
MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air: Price
The price difference between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is not very significant.
The Air starts at $1,199 for an eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU, 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, and a 30W power adapter and goes up to $2,499 for a CPU eight-core, a 10-core GPU, 24 GB of unified. memory, 2 TB of storage and a 67 W adapter.
The Pro starts at $1,299 for specs similar to the Air’s base model: eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU, 8GB of memory, 256GB SSD, and a 67W adapter (no 30W option W here). However, it also comes in at $2,499 (with similar specs to the higher-end Air: eight-core/10-core, 24GB memory, 2TB storage, same charger).
The exact prices of the configurations and the differences between them vary. Generally speaking, the price difference between the two models if you spec them as closely as possible will be $100.
MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air: Chassis Differences
Here’s a list of the differences between the M2 MacBook Pro and the M2 MacBook Air, some of which may interest you and some of which may not.
- The MacBook Pro is slightly heavier at 3 pounds (1.4 kg), while the Air weighs 2.7 (1.24 kg). I’d say the difference is noticeable, but not life-changing, although the Air feels a lot thinner.
- Both MacBooks come in space gray and silver, while the Air also comes in Midnight (dark blue) and Starlight (gold). Be careful with the midnight color – it collects fingerprints very, very easily.
- The MacBook Air has a larger screen: 13.6 inches compared to the Pro’s 13.3. (This means the Air’s resolution is technically slightly higher, but it’s not really noticeable.) The two have the same brightness and color coverage, but the Air is a Liquid Retina display while the Pro is the same IPS panel with LED backlight as last year. Pro had
- The MacBook Air has a camera notch, and the cursor will disappear as you move under it. So while you’ll have extra screen real estate to work with in the Air, the notch may interfere with some apps in the menu bar.
- The MacBook Pro has an OLED touchscreen strip (the Touch Bar) at the top of its keyboard, while the MacBook Air has a row of physical function keys. People on the Internet have all kinds of strong feelings about the Touch Bar. If you’re not familiar, the TL;DR is that the Touch Bar gives users a way to access functions like brightness, volume, emoji selection, Siri activation, and other toggles all in one place, but it’s also slower for most people. use than physical keys and it’s easy to call accidentally.
- The MacBook Pro only charges via USB-C, while the MacBook Air also has a MagSafe power port. This essentially gives you an extra port on the MacBook Air, as one of the Pro’s ports will be occupied whenever it’s plugged in (both models have two Thunderbolt/USB-4 ports). The MagSafe connectors also slide out of their slots very easily, which means the Air is less likely to come off your desk if someone trips over the cable.
- The MacBook Air has a better webcam: 1080p to the Pro’s 720p. I don’t find either amazing, but the Air makes me look sharper and less washed out.
- The MacBook Air has several power adapter options, including a 30W USB-C adapter, a 35W dual USB-C port adapter, and a 67W fast charging adapter. The Pro only comes with a 67W version.
- The MacBook Air has a “four-speaker sound system,” while the MacBook Pro only has “stereo speakers with a high dynamic range.” These sound the same to me as far as I can tell.
Here’s the air, see that notch? Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Here’s the Pro: No notch. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air: Performance Differences
The Pro and Air have the same M2 processor and run the same macOS operating system. But that doesn’t mean they perform identically because the Pro has something inside that the Air doesn’t: a fan.
Machines need to prevent their processors from overheating when they are working very hard. The Pro does this by turning on its fan. Since the Air can’t do this, it has to limit its processor performance below what the Air does. In practice, this means that if you run heavy loads in the air for long periods of time, you will see a decrease in performance. In our tests, the Pro was able to run Cinebench R23 for 30 minutes without a drop in performance, while the Air’s performance began to drop shortly after its run.
The Air also gets hotter than the Pro, though I’ll stress that it doesn’t heat up on Zoom calls, Chrome tabs, and most web-based loads you’ll have. But you might feel a little warm on the bottom or keyboard of the Air if you’re running heavier programs for long periods of time. Conversely, I never felt the slightest amount of heat in the Pro’s chassis, even while doing video stuff (nor did I ever hear any noise from its fan).
In terms of graphics performance, our tests saw a 26 percent increase in Shadow of the Tomb Raider performance and more than a two-minute difference in Premiere Pro 4K export time.
The Pro also has a larger battery and delivered longer battery life in our tests. Overall, I averaged 16.5 hours of continuous use on the M2 Pro and an average of 13 hours and 15 minutes off the air. Your results may certainly vary depending on the work you do, but based on my findings and those of others on the internet, I’d expect to get a couple of extra hours out of the Pro.
Here is the Air. Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Here’s the Pro. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
OK, let’s try some scenarios
I often work with video, music, graphics, virtualization, VFX or other demanding use cases, but the 14-inch model is out of my price range – buy the Pro. If I’m using a device for these things and I’m going to use it all day, I’d rather be on the Pro. That said, if you’re dead set on a Mac, I’d save up for a MacBook M1 Pro or M1 Max (or Mac Studio) if possible. They will save you a lot of time.
I code: If you mainly work on tasks like web design, Air is fine. Having MagSafe in an office environment can save you some stress, and that probably outweighs the performance benefits you’ll see. If you often compile elaborate things, the Pro will probably save you time. The Pro beat the Air by 10 seconds in Xcode Benchmark.
I don’t use these fancy programs, but I do use a very heavy load of Chrome so I’m worried that Air won’t be enough – I’d still get Air unless you really don’t think any of the other benefits of Air will be. make a difference in your life. I work with some pretty massive documents and spreadsheets, and the difference in performance between the Pro and the Air was barely noticeable.
I only use my computer for Netflix and emailing on the couch – Buy the Air. The better screen and lighter weight will be more beneficial to you than the extra performance.
I usually only use my computer for Netflix and emailing, but sometimes I do YouTube videos – buy the Pro if you’re working on your YouTube videos every day or if you often need to do this battery-powered work; the Air heats up quite a bit. if you are pushing it hard all the time. Otherwise, Air should be fine.
I’m a student who needs to walk around all day and mostly work in Google Docs or Word or whatever – Buy the Air. You won’t see much of a difference in performance, and battery life should be adequate to get you through a school day. The Pro’s larger battery makes up for its extra size and weight; a thin laptop is a big plus when your backpack is full.
I want to run games on my MacBook: First of all, good for you. I support you and your dreams. Don’t let the haters get you. Second, get the Pro. You’ll see higher framerates, you’ll get more battery life, and the Air gets unpleasantly toasty if you play for a while.
I travel a lot – this one is tough. I think it’s a question of whether the extra battery life or a thinner, lighter device is more important to you: if it’s battery life, Pro; if it’s portability, Air.
I hate notches: Pro.
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