MacBook Air or MacBook Pro?

Design and dimensions

At the first glance, you won't recognise MacBook Air from MacBook Air Pro. Both share the same iconic wedge-shaped design. While MacBook Air is thicker on the paper thanks to its tapered edges, it feels a lot thinner in the hand.

In the past, only MacBook Pro came in a range of colours and finishes including premium colours such as Silver, Gold and Space Grey (There was also a Rose Gold option). As of October 2018, Apple made these premium colours available for the MacBook Air. However, the colours offered is not the same. For example, the MacBook Air Gold is brassier when compared to the Gold in MacBook that is slightly lighter. No colour finish seems better than the other. It's only a matter of personal preference.

Price

Despite being larger and more powerful than the past MacBook devices, MacBook Air is 100$ cheaper than MacBook Pro.  With $1,999 you'll get a 1.6GHz dual-core processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) and 128GB storage. In comparison, the entry point MacBook comes with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.0GHz) and 256GB storage. This extra storage will cost you $1,399. So, the best deal depends on the speed and storage you need. 

The price of current MacBook models is:

MacBook Air (2017): $999

MacBook Air (2018): $1,199

MacBook: $1,299

MacBook Pro (no Touch Bar): $1,299

Besides, If you want a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar you need to invest more than $500. A significant increase over the basic $1,299, but for that, you'll get a lot more from your laptop, with twice storage as much as MacBook air well as an eighth-gen processor and USB-C ports.

Speed

Both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro share the same Apple M1 chipset but the key difference is in the cooling system. MacBook Air is a fan-less system. This means the cooling system in the MacBook Air is designed so that it can be cooled only with the surrounding air.  Removing the fan from a laptop will bring about some advantages such as increasing battery life, reducing weight as well as the overall weight of the system. However, this passive cooling method will impose more thermal constraints on MacBook Air than MacBook Pro that has ventilation and fans. This indicates that because of the active cooling system in MacBook Pro you can put the processor under more pressure and get more of your laptop processor.

Since MacBook Pro features an effective cooling system it will be better for users who need better performance. But you won't see a big difference between MacBook and MacBook Air in day-to-day applications. Both laptops are powered by the M1 bionic processor and, though offer similar performance for the task that doesn't require sustained processing power.

The entry-level MacBook Air comes with a seven core-GPU; the higher tier MacBook Air sold at $1249 includes an eight core-GPU. Meanwhile, the basic MacBook Pro features an eight core-GPU as standard. Although The difference between seven and eight is not dramatic if you're using a lot of graphics-based application or for playing games, it's better you opt for MacBook Pro which costs only more than $50.

Display 

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro share the same 13.3-inch Retina display with True Tone technology and P3 Wide Colour. Content and images will look the same on both devices. 

The True Tone feature in MacBook Air and MacBook Pro uses built-in sensors to read the room's colour temperature and adjust the white point, so it always looks white. Not yellow. Not blue. But white.

Because the MacBook Pro screen features a brighter screen, content will look slightly brighter on the Pro device. Nevertheless, the brightness of the MacBook Air will not disappoint most users.

Another main difference between the two is screen size. While MacBook Air comes only with a 13-inch display, in MacBook Pro you can choose between 13- and 16-inch display sizes.

Battery life  

Thanks to the efficient M1 chip both devices have an excellent battery life of up to 20 hours on MacBook Pro and 18 hours for MacBook Air, respectively. This is likely because of a smaller battery due to slimmer, wedge-shaped frames in MacBook Air.

While both machines feature an excellent battery life, if you need to prioritise longer battery life, you should go for MacBook Pro. Besides, you'll get a better display and cooling as well as and more memory and storage.

Storage and memory 

All MacBook models come with SSD storage, so no matter which model you choose, you are going to be getting a very fast drive. The only difference is the amount of storage you get. The entry-level MacBook Air comes with a 128GB whereas the starting MacBook Pro features a 256GB SSD, as twice as the entry point MacBook Air. All MacBooks Support installation of up to 2TB high-speed storage devices.

Similarly, all MacBook laptops offer 8GB of RAM. They also are compatible with the installation of up to 16GB or 32GB of RAM depending on the Model.

Ports

Apple ships MacBook Air with a 3.5mm headphone jack along with two thunderbirds 3/USB 3 ports that also work in USB 4. You can use these ports to accomplish a variety of tasks including charging and high-speed data transfer. The situation is the same as the MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1 chipset. In both machines, you'll have to purchase a USB-C hub if you need added connectivity. MacBook Pro with intel chipset offers four USB C ports. But we could not recommend that, when comparing the performance of MacBook with M1 and intel chipset, outstanding performance and power efficiency of M1 chip outweighs two additional USB ports.

Microphones and Speakers

The MacBook Air features stereo speakers and a three-mic array with directional beam-forming that provide industry-quality sound and recording quality. MacBook Pro pushes this even further offering stereo speakers that support high dynamic range, as well as a "studio-quality" three-mic array with directional beam-forming. If you consume a lot of multimedia contents or frequently use the built-in microphone MacBook Pro seems to be a better option for you.

Touch Bar

While both devices come with Touch ID, only the Pro version includes Touch Bar, a long thin touch-enabled OLED that comes installed on Apple MacBook's Pro keyboard. It's Apple's answer to gestures in Windows 10 and is best used in professional graphic or movie editing apps such as Adobe Creative Suite. However, you can use the Touch Bar neither to interact with elements and buttons on the screen and website nor to draw on the screen.

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro share almost the same look, design and specs with some minor differences that make big changes. If you would like a smaller and lighter machine with less noise as well as a more portable device, you may want to opt for MacBook Air. Apart from being more costly, MacBook Pro offers better performance, display and multimedia combined with longer battery life. In addition, some premium features such as Touch Bar and Studio quality speakers and microphone comes only with the Pro version.