Which should you buy: a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro? It’s a surprisingly tough question because you can’t go wrong either way. Apple refreshes its lineup yearly, equipping its devices with better hardware and new software features. There have never been more factors to consider when buying a new Apple laptop. So, where do you start?
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Well, you should first consider a MacBook’s computing power, storage capacity, display, and size. For example, the 2022 13-inch and 2024 13-inch MacBook Air may look identical, but they have different chips, meaning the laptops vary in performance, efficiency, and battery life. That gulf becomes larger when you throw in the current MacBook Pro series, which has the M4 chipset. Contemporary MacBook Air laptops have the older M3 SoC (system on a chip).
At the time of this writing, there are five mainline MacBooks split between the Pro and Air series receiving active support from Apple. Let’s review the main differences between the two to help you decide which one to purchase.
What’s the difference between the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air?
The MacBook Pro comes in two sizes: 14 inches and 16 inches. And this affects what chipset they possess. The 14-inch model only offers the M4 chip, while the 16-inch option can have either the M4 Pro or M4 Max. All three chips perform great, although there are notable differences. For example, the M4 Max has a “powerful Media Engine.”
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Each one also has a different number of cores. The standard M4 has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Apple’s M4 Pro houses a 14-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. The M4 Max has the same processor as the M4 Pro but sports a 32-core GPU instead. Apple’s M4 MacBook Pro models have additional unified memory ranging from 16GB to 48GB, a long battery life, extra ports (including three Thunderbolt 4 inputs and an SD card slot), plus a more sophisticated hardware setup than their Air counterparts.
Apple has also said that the standard M4 MacBook Pro “delivers… up to 1.8x faster [image processing in Affinity Photo] when compared to” the M1 MacBook Pro. The M4 Max laptop goes even further, as it reportedly “delivers up to 3.5x the performance of [the] M1 Max,” allowing it to rip through “heavy creative workloads.”
Here’s the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Kerry Wan/ZDNET
Alternate versions of the MacBook Pro were available, including a 13-inch model and laptops running the M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets. Apple has officially discontinued these variants, although refurbished units can still be found at third-party retailers. Best Buy is currently selling a refurbished M3 Max MacBook Pro for $2,300.
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The M4 MacBook Pro is a solid laptop for most use cases, but if the base chip isn’t powerful enough for you, choose either the M4 Pro or M4 Max. Remember that going big with the 16-inch Pro raises the price tag. The 14-inch Pro starts at $1,600 and, with chip and internal storage upgrades, can go up to $2,000. The 16-inch Pro starts at $2,500 and, with internal upgrades, goes up to $4,000.
As for the MacBook Air, there are two 13-inch models and one that’s 15 inches. One of the 13-inch devices is actually from 2022 and only comes with the base M2 chip. Meanwhile, the 2024 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air houses the base M3 chip with no option for either the M3 Pro or M3 Max. That doesn’t mean the Air is a less-than-capable computer.
Because it has less hardware (no HDMI port, SD card slot, or cooling fan), the MacBook Air is lighter than the MacBook Pro. No cooling fan may sound strange, but that’s because Apple banks on the efficiency of its chips to dissipate heat.
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You can make a few upgrades. The M2 Airr offers two chip configurations, one with more GPU cores than the other. An upgraded GPU means your computer can process footage more efficiently, making 4K video editing faster and smoother.
Back in Summer 2024, Apple announced a 15-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip but discontinued the device when it introduced the M3 15-inch MacBook Air. Although the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air had a short run, it’s still a great option if you’re looking for an larger Air. Unfortunately, you can only buy it refurbished from Apple or at a discounted price on Amazon.
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The M3 13-inch Air starts at $999 and rises to $1,999 if you max out the internal storage and pick a more powerful GPU. The M3 15-inch Air starts at $1,099 and goes up to $1,699 for the best configuration. It’s also worth mentioning that all the M3 MacBook Airs start with 16GB of memory instead of just 8GB.
If you’re contemplating buying an M3 MacBook Air and want to know how it compares to the M2 Air models, we compared the specs here to help you decide which device is best for you.
Which MacBook is right for you?
The answer mainly depends on how you see yourself using the laptops and how display size and weight factor into that equation. A reliable computer is an investment; you don’t want to spend too much on an overqualified laptop, and you don’t want to buy a computer that’s not powerful enough for your needs. The exact gulf between the M3 and M4 chipsets is unknown, but Apple told ZDNET Editor Kyle Kucharski that the “M4 is 1.3 times faster at handling productivity tasks than the M3.”
If you’re a graphic designer, music producer, professional photographer, videographer, 3D artist, or iOS game and app developer, a MacBook Pro would be the way to go. The Pro models can handle intense graphics processing and more software running in the background without significantly lagging, overheating, or slowing down.
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If you are a student or someone who spends most of your time in Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, a MacBook Air may be a better fit, as it won’t put a burden on your back as you lug it around. If you want a MacBook to casually surf the internet, watch YouTube or Netflix, respond to emails, and FaceTime your friends, then the Air is perfect for you. In fact, if these tasks are the only things that bring you to open your laptop, an M2 Air will work just fine.
No matter which model you buy, a MacBook is an excellent device if you want to expand your personal Apple ecosystem with a device that works seamlessly with your iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, and other products. Handoff, for example, allows you to switch FaceTime calls between your MacBook and iPhone, and your MacBook can easily access your iPhone files, messages, contacts, and photos.