MacBook Professional vs Air: How the lineup compares

Apple’s MacBook lineup was overhauled between the brand new MacBook Professional arriving with M2 Professional and Max chips to start out out 2023 and the MacBook Air with M2 chip that launched in 2022. Observe alongside for our in-depth take a look at the MacBook Professional vs Air to see what’s completely different between these laptops.

The MacBook Air with M2 chip obtained an enormous improve in 2022 with an all-new design, bigger 13.6-inch show, flat-edged chassis, new midnight colour, upgraded webcam, and way more.

And to kick off 2023, the MacBook Professional laptops had been refreshed with M2 Professional and M2 Max chips and extra that construct on the late 2021 updates that introduced a contemporary design, mini-LED show, the return of I/O like HDMI, SD card slot, and MagSafe.

For an in depth comparability between the 2023 and 2021 MacBook Professional laptops, we’ve obtained a devoted information on that too:

MacBook Professional vs Air: How do they evaluate?

CPU, GPU, RAM, neural engine

M2 permits as much as 24GB RAM, as much as 10 GPU cores, with as much as 2TB of storage.

In the meantime, with the MacBook Professional, you get the M2 Professional or M2 Max chip with the choice for as much as 12 CPU cores, 38 GPU cores, and RAM as much as 96GB.

Apple introduced as much as 18% quicker CPU efficiency and as much as 35% quicker GPU efficiency with the M2 in comparison with the M1. And it has over 20 billion transistors due to its second-gen 5 nm chip know-how.

However the M2 Professional and M2 Max supply 20, 30, and 40% efficiency enhancements when in comparison with the M1 Professional and Max for CPU, GPU, and neural engine. The M2 Professional doubles the M2’s 20 billion transistors to 40 billion, and the M2 Max options a tremendous 67 billion transistors.

One other main distinction between the M2 and M2 Max would be the GPU functionality.

Apple says the brand new media engine has “twice the ProRes assist to dramatically speed up media playback and transcoding.” The brand new M2 Max chip continues to incorporate two video encode engines like Apple did with the M1 Max.

In the meantime, the MacBook Air with M2 chip and the M2 Professional chip have single encode, decode, and ProRes encode/decode engines.

We’ve even seen the M2 Max outperform the M1 Extremely on the subject of ProRes exports:

Shows

The MacBook Air has the smallest display by slightly below half an inch. After all, the MacBook Professional is on the market in each 14.2 and 16.2″ variations.

For display brightness, the MacBook Air has as much as 500 nits. which is similar for the MacBook Professional (for SDR content material). However that goes as much as 1,000 sustained nits brightness (1,600 peak) for HDR content material on the MacBook Professional. Different show upgrades over the Air embody 120Hz refresh charges with ProMotion, mini-LED backlighting, and a better pixel density with the Professional.

The MacBook Air and the MacBook Professional embody a notch on the prime heart of the show for the 1080p FaceTime digicam. However not like the iPhone, the notch doesn’t embody Face ID {hardware}/assist, even within the 2023 MacBook Professional fashions.

All the present MacBooks function a lot slimmer bezels than their predecessors.

I/O: MacBook Professional vs Air

The 2022 MacBook Air gained MagSafe charging like the trendy MacBook Professional. Nevertheless, Apple has saved additions like HDMI, SDXC slot, and assist for as much as 4 exterior shows unique to the 14 and 16″ MacBook Professional.

The 2022 MacBook Air has assist for simply 1 exterior show as much as 6K at 60Hz, even with the brand new M2 chip. Which may be a deal-breaker for some.

Different upgrades which have arrived with the M2 Professional/Max MacBook Professional embody Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and assist for 8K video output with the brand new HDMI 2.1 port.

Dimension, weight, and end

As you’d anticipate, the MacBook Air stays the lightest machine with each MacBook Professional fashions weighing extra. The MacBook Air can be super-thin at 11.3 mm (0.44 in).

The brand new MacBook Professional laptops stay accessible in area grey and silver whereas the Air is available in 4 selections.

For the reason that 2022 MacBook Air shifted from the wedge design it had for years, all the new MacBooks share the flat-edged chassis.

Battery life

Actual-world battery life for Apple Silicon MacBooks in comparison with the previous Intel fashions has been spectacular and often matches the corporate’s claims. However that may rely in your workflow, display brightness, and extra.

Apple has boosted the M2 Professional/Max MacBook Professional battery life to the purpose the place the 16″ MacBook Professional has as much as 22 hours of video playback. Right here’s how the machines evaluate:

All of those fashionable MacBooks can quick cost to surrender to 50% battery in simply half-hour. However have in mind you’ll want to make use of the larger energy adapters listed above.

Pricing

With a beginning worth of $1,199, the MacBook Air is available in $800 lower than the 14-inch MacBook Professional which begins at $1,999.

The 14-inch MacBook Professional base mannequin at $1,999 comes with an M2 Professional chip, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD. The 16-inch MacBook Professional with the identical base specs begins at $2,499.

MacBook Professional vs Air wrap-up

• For gentle to medium efficiency wants and a few restricted intensive wants, within the lightest package deal with all-day battery life, the MacBook Air is the most effective match beginning at an affordable $1,199.

• When you want or worth probably the most energy (nonetheless with an all-day battery), energetic cooling for heavy workloads, a brighter display, extra ports, better exterior show assist, and extra, the MacBook Professional is the best way to go.

• Whereas the 13-inch MacBook Professional was refreshed with the M2 chip 2022, you shouldn’t purchase it. It’s best to both go for the M2 MacBook Air which has many extra upgrades or if you actually need the additional energy, step as much as the M2 Professional or Max MacBook Professional.
  • Apple does nonetheless promote the M1 MacBook Air, however with many upgrades for simply $200 extra, go for the M2 MacBook Air if in any respect attainable

What do you consider the present MacBook lineup? Share your ideas within the feedback! Thanks for studying our information on MacBook Professional vs Air!

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