Apple at the moment sells two laptop computer strains: the MacBook Professional and MacBook Air. The MacBook Professional comes with a 14-inch or 16-inch show and the MacBook Air has both a 13.6-inch or a 15-inch show. And amongst these fashions are an excellent wider vary of specs.
On this article, we’re involved with the Mac laptops finest suited to common use: dwelling, scholar, and workplace work. There are 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions powered by M3 Professional or M3 Max chips which might be higher suited to professional customers and have a lot increased costs, and so they aren’t included right here. However if you’re pondering your wants would possibly lengthen a little bit additional on the professional facet, chances are you’ll have an interest to learn Which MacBook Professional or our information to all of Apple’s laptops.
We’ll be contemplating the next equally specced Mac laptops:
- 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (launched July 2022)
- 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M3 (launched March 2024)
- 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3 (launched October 2023)
- 15-inch MacBook Air, M3 (launched March 2024)
For recommendation about the very best MacBook, we even have a shopping for information, see: Greatest MacBook: Which Mac laptop computer is finest? Curious concerning the M3 MacBook Air? Learn: M3 MacBook Air: The whole lot it’s essential to know.
Off to college? Learn our information to the very best MacBook for college students.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional in contrast
Listed here are the 4 Mac laptops which have our consideration. We are going to evaluate design, specs, shows, worth and different options under.
2. Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (M3, 2024)
Worth When Reviewed:
$1,099 (base)
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Design
The design of the MacBook Air hasn’t modified since Apple revealed it in June 2022 and you would have been forgiven for pondering you have been a MacBook Professional. Gone is the tapered edge for which the Air was well-known, changed with a extra uniform design. The MacBook Air remains to be thinner–albeit fractionally–however additionally it is very barely bigger than the previous model of the Air, due to the larger display.
Wanting on the display you’ll discover the opposite obvious distinction within the new design: the MacBook Air has a notch just like the one which’s additionally seen on the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional and iPhones. This permits the larger display and conceals a a lot better FaceTime digital camera, so it’s not a nasty factor, though some individuals don’t like notches.
When you miss that tapered design that made the MacBook Air immediately identifiable it’s nonetheless obtainable should you purchase the M1 model of the MacBook Air. Apple now not sells this mannequin as a brand new laptop computer, however restricted M1 MacBook Air stock could also be obtainable within the Apple Licensed Refurbished Retailer and you should still be capable to choose one up from a 3rd social gathering, see our round-up of the Greatest MacBook Air offers.
If a 13.6-inch display isn’t large enough for you, Apple added a 15.3-inch MacBook Air to the lineup in June 2023. This bigger mannequin appears to be like an identical to the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, and shares (principally) the identical specs, it’s simply greater.
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The 14-inch MacBook Professional is a bit chunkier and heavier than the 15-inch MacBook Air because of the followers wanted for warmth dissipation, whereas the Air is, unsurprisingly, wider and taller, due to the larger show.
Each fashions have a Contact ID sensor constructed into the keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD cameras, and six-speaker arrays (the 13-inch Air solely has a four-speaker sound system). The sound on the MacBook Professional is described by Apple as “High Fidelity,” by which we assume Apple is indicating it’s superior to the Air. Connectivity for each fashions is through Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E.
One other distinction between these MacBooks is the colour decisions. There are 4 colour decisions for the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air: Midnight (darkish blue), Starlight (gold), Area Grey and Silver. The Starlight shade is paler gold, whereas Midnight is near black with a darkish blue hue.
The 14-inch MacBook Professional with M3 provides solely Silver and Area Grey choices. You probably have the price range for a 14-inch MacBook Professional with M3 Professional or M3 Max a Area Black shade replaces Area Grey.
Apple
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Dimensions
The 13-inch MacBook Air is lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Professional, as you’d anticipate, however the 15-inch MacBook Air can also be lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Professional.
- 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3: 3.4 kilos (1.55 kg)
- 15-inch MacBook Air, M3: 3.3 kilos (1.51 kg)
- 13-inch MacBook Air, M3: 2.7 kilos (1.24 kg)
Apple
The 15-inch MacBook Air is the most important of the M3 laptops, however as a result of it’s thinner, it weighs lower than the Professional. The 13-inch MacBook Air dimensions aren’t a lot smaller than these of the 14-inch MacBook Air.
- 15-inch MacBook Air, M3: 13.40 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches (34.04 x 23.76 x 1.15cm)
- 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3: 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches (31.26cm x 22.12cm x 1.55cm)
- 13-inch MacBook Air, M3: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (30.41 x 21.5 x 1.13cm)
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Show
Listed here are the specs at a look:
- 13-inch MacBook Air M3: 13.6 inches diagonal, 2,560 by 1,664 pixels
- 14-inch MacBook Professional M3: 14.2 inches diagonal, 3,024 by 1,964 pixels
- 15-inch MacBook Air M3: 15.3 inches diagonal, 2,880 by 1,864 pixels
The MacBook Air has both a 15.3-inch or a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina show. The MacBook Professional comes with a superior 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR panel. The display on the Air is a bit greater, however the picture high quality is inferior to the display on the MacBook Professional–it nonetheless appears to be like nice, although.
The 15-inch Air’s show runs at a decision of two,880 by 1,864, whereas the 13-inch provides 2,560 by 1,664. Each Airs have a most brightness of 500 nits, which is half of the Professional’s 1,000 nits in regular use, or a 3rd should you’re working HDR content material at a max of 1,600 nits. That is achieved by the Professional show incorporating mini-LEDs fairly than the Air’s normal LCD display.
Maybe the most important distinction although is that the Professional options ProMotion, that means that the refresh charge tops out at 120Hz, once more double that of the Air’s 60Hz refresh charge. This helps preserve scrolling and animations easy and crisp. Any of those shows will probably be nice for on a regular basis use and lengthy hours of labor, however the Professional has the sting in terms of options.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Specs
All of Apple’s laptops are powered by Apple’s silicon. Amidst the MacBook Air and MacBook Professional choices are two generations of chip: the M2 within the $999 13.6-inch MacBook Air, an M3 within the 13.6-inch and 15-inch Air fashions, and an M3 within the 14-inch MacBook Professional that we’re contemplating right here (there are additionally M3 Professional and M3 Max MacBook Professional choices for individuals who want extra energy). To be taught extra about all of the Mac processors learn our Mac processor comparability and see how the M3 stacks up in opposition to all of Apple’s chips.
That is how the specs within the varied MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Professional normal configurations evaluate:
| MacE book | Worth | CPU | GPU | Reminiscence | SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2022) | $999/£999 | 8-core, M2 | 8-core, M2 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 256GB SSD |
| 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,099/£1,099 | 8-core, M3 | 8-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 256GB SSD |
| 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,299/£1,299 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 512GB SSD |
| 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,499/£1,499 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 16GB (as much as 24GB) | 512GB SSD |
| 15-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,299/£1,299 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 256GB SSD |
| 15-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,499/£1,499 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 512GB SSD |
| 15-inch MacBook Air, M3 (2024) | $1,699/£1,699 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 16GB (as much as 24GB) | 512GB SSD |
| 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3 (2023) | $1,599/£1,699 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 512GB SSD |
| 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3 (2023) | $1,799/£1,899 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 8GB (as much as 24GB) | 1TB SSD |
| 14-inch MacBook Professional, M3 (2023) | $1,999/£2,099 | 8-core, M3 | 10-core, M3 | 16GB (as much as 24GB) | 1TB SSD |
There are additionally M3 Professional and M3 Max MacBook Professional fashions that we focus on in our MacBook Professional comparability and our Greatest MacBook information.
When you look on the specs above, the closest comparability is between the $1,499/£1,499 15-inch MacBook Air and the $1,599/£1,699 14-inch MacBook Professional. The additional cash for the MacBook Professional features a higher show, an HDMI port, an SDXC Card slot, and built-in followers to chill the laptop computer so it could actually preserve efficiency on lengthy duties. It’s possible you’ll or could not want these options.
With a smaller price range the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2022) appears to be like like a superb deal at $999/£999. The primary downside with this machine is the smaller SSD, not simply because it’s smaller, but in addition as a result of the 256GB SSDs are recognized to be slower. It nonetheless could be a sensible choice regardless of the SSD, as a result of that most likely gained’t matter to you if the apps you employ aren’t incessantly writing to the laborious drive.
There are different elements that may decelerate the MacBook Air although. As a result of the Air is compact and fanless it’s much less in a position to handle warmth, and subsequently could run slower with a purpose to preserve cool should you actually push it. If it’s energy you want then the benchmarks give a clearer image:
As you may see from the scores above, the M3 shoots forward of the M2 and M1, in actual fact it even scores above one configuration of the M1 Professional. However, if you really want a robust machine you would possibly wish to have a look at the M3 Professional MacBook Professional or store round for a M2 Professional MacBook Professional which it’s possible will stay on sale for a while despite the fact that Apple has discontinued that mannequin. See our round-up of the Greatest MacBook Professional offers.
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RAM
All of the MacBooks showcased above include 8GB of Unified Reminiscence at their base configuration. The M1 solely supported as much as 16GB reminiscence, however the M2 and M3 chip convey an choice to improve to 24GB RAM. When you want extra reminiscence than that it’s essential to look to the M3 Professional and M3 Max, which might help 36GB within the case of the M3 Professional and as much as 128GB for the M3 Max.
We suggest that, whichever mannequin you purchase, you improve your MacBook to 16GB Unified Reminiscence should you can afford to. Our recommendation is to get as a lot RAM as you may afford as you may’t improve it later. See: Apple’s MacBook Professional reminiscence downside.
Storage
Apple provides a 256GB storage choice on the entry-level for each the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. The entry-level MacBook Professional begins at 512GB.
There are some considerations about this 256GB SSD, with experiences that its SSD is as much as 50 p.c slower on learn speeds and 30 p.c on write speeds. We discovered that these observations have been certainly true once we ran our personal set of assessments utilizing Blackmagic Disk Velocity Check. This will likely matter if you’re utilizing apps that entry the SSD typically, however it could not make a distinction in typical use. Because of this, should you can afford a 512GB mannequin we suggest that.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Battery life and charging
In the case of battery life these Macs are miles forward of the previous Intel MacBook fashions. In response to Apple, the MacBook Air provides 18 hours battery life, whereas the 14-inch MacBook Professional provides an incredible 22 hours (the identical because the 16-inch MacBook Professional).
In our personal testing, the M2 MacBook Air battery lasted 17.5 hours, outstripping the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Professional by virtually an hour and a half. The 15-inch MacBook Air battery lasted an excellent higher 19 hours in our assessments. The battery contained in the M3 MacBook Air is similar as that within the M2 fashions so we don’t anticipate any distinction in testing.
In common every day use, battery life is simply as nice. It’s a bizarre feeling, opening up your laptop computer and doing work for 20 minutes and seeing that the battery share hasn’t modified even a single p.c, however that’s how it’s with Apple silicon. Clearly, battery life varies primarily based on what you’re doing, however for this laptop computer’s goal market–the on a regular basis dwelling and productiveness consumer–it’s laborious to assume that you just’ll ever should cost up earlier than the day is completed.
It’s not simply how lengthy the battery lasts that issues, but in addition the charging velocity. Charging might be quick should you use a superb USB-C energy adapter. A typical 35W dual-port adapter can obtain a ten p.c cost in 10 minutes (30 p.c in half-hour). Apple’s 61W USB-C Energy Adapter will increase this to 72 p.c cost in half-hour. See our comparability take a look at of Apple’s M2 MacBook Air chargers in addition to the very best USB-C charger in your MacBook.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Ports and growth
Through the years it’s felt like Apple has been on a mission to take away ports from Macs with a purpose to make them slimmer and slimmer. This has been a drawback for a lot of, though typically should you want extra or completely different ports you may simply plug in an adapter or a dock (learn: Greatest USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac).
The older M1 MacBook Air provided solely two USB 4 ports two USB/Thunderbolt ports, so a type of had for use for charging (as was additionally the case with the 13-inch MacBook Professional). Fortunately, with the arrival of the 2022 MacBook Air, Apple added a MagSafe charging port thereby liberating up the 2 USB ports so one doesn’t should be given over to charging (the additionally applies to the 15-inch mannequin).
The MacBook Professional options much more ports. On the 14-inch M3 MacBook Professional, you get the identical two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack as you do on the MacBook Air, however the Professional additionally provides HDMI and SDXC ports that the Air doesn’t have.
When you want extra ports there’s an extra Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port on the M3 Professional and M3 Max variations of the MacBook Professional.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Audio and digital camera
The MacBook Air and the MacBook Professional provide a 1080p FaceTime digital camera, which is superior to the 720p FaceTime digital camera on the now discontinued M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Professional.
The 15-inch MacBook Air has a profit over the 13.6-inch MacBook Air mannequin: if incorporates a six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers, in comparison with a four-speaker sound system. Apple describes the speaker system within the 14-inch MacBook Professional as a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers, indicating that’s is superior to that within the 15-inch Air. Apple additionally refers to a “studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming” within the 14-inch Professional, whereas each Air fashions provide solely a “three-mic array with directional beamforming”.
All Mac laptops provide a 3.5mm headphone jack.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Worth and shopping for recommendation
When Apple launched the M3 model of the 14-inch MacBook Professional in October 2023 it changed a less expensive 13-inch MacBook Professional with M2 chip. The 13.3-inch MacBook Professional began at $1,299/£1,349 for the 8-core GPU, 256GB SSD model and rose to $1,499/£1,549 for the 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD model. Now it’s a must to pay $1,599/£1,699 for a 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD entry-level MacBook Professional. That’s fairly a leap from $1,299/£1,349.
With no ‘budget’ MacBook Professional obtainable the MacBook Air is the one choice for these on the lookout for a discount. In case you are on the lookout for the most cost effective choice the $999/£999 M2 MacBook Air would seem like the clear winner. However the beginning worth of the MacBook Air M3 is simply $100/£100 extra. Our recommendation is to spend the additional cash should you can afford to or search for a deal that reduces the M3 MacBook Air to a worth you may afford.
The value of the MacBook Professional is increased, and on on a regular basis duties it performs the identical because the MacBook Air, however it does provide higher efficiency on lengthy, CPU-intensive duties, like picture and video rendering and comparable duties. (To not point out the higher display, HDMI port, and SDXC Card slot.) At simply $100/£100 greater than the 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 and the identical 512GB SSD, it truly represents good worth for cash.
We suggest getting the very best machine you may afford on the time of buy since you gained’t be capable to improve down the road, this will likely require you to improve the RAM and storage earlier than you make your buy.
The opposite issue that could be vital to you is the display measurement, which is the place the MacBook Air is the clear winner, but when you’re going to plug your Mac into an exterior show every time you’re at your desk this shouldn’t be a call breaker. See our round-up of the very best shows for Mac, additionally keep in mind that it may be sophisticated utilizing a couple of exterior show with some MacBooks.
So which MacBook must you select? In case you are on a price range it needs to be the MacBook Air and also you gained’t be disenchanted. When you want a bit extra energy than the Air can provide the M3 MacBook Professional will see you good. However should you want much more energy you’ll should fork out for the M3 Professional or M3 Max MacBook Professional fashions.
Fortunately, you don’t should pay full worth for a MacBook Air or MacBook Professional, take a look at our greatest MacBook Air offers and finest MacBook Professional offers articles for the very best reductions obtainable.
Lastly, a phrase of warning: should you see a cheaper price on an Intel MacBook we strongly suggest that you just don’t purchase it as Apple is unlikely to help Intel Macs for for much longer. Learn: How lengthy does Apple help Macs.
We additionally have a look at how the MacBook Air compares to the iMac and the way the MacBook Air and Mac mini evaluate individually. We additionally show you how to select the Greatest Mac in our purchasing information.