Apple’s MacBook lineup has been completely refreshed over the past year between the 2022 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 chips and the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros that launched in late 2021. make a. Are you looking for yourself or someone else? , here’s an in-depth look at the difference between the MacBook Air and Pro to help you decide which is the best choice.
The late 2021 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops feature a new design, mini-LED display backlighting, I/O recovery including HDMI, SD card slot, and MagSafe, and the removal of the Touch Bar.
And they’re more powerful than ever with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips (if you’re on the fence between the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, check out our comprehensive guide).
And at the cheaper end are the MacBook Air 2022 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro running on the updated M2 chip. MacBook Air has received the most changes with an all-new design, a larger 13.6-inch display, curved glass, a new midnight color, an updated webcam, and more.
Difference between MacBook Air and Pro
CPU, GPU, RAM, more
While the M2 is a significant upgrade over the M1, it is less powerful than the M1 Pro, Max and Ultra chips.
The M2 enables up to 24GB of RAM, up to 10 GPU cores, and an 8-core CPU faster than the M1. Here’s a more detailed look at the M1 vs M2 chips.
Meanwhile, with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, you get the M1 Pro or M1 Max chip with the option for even more CPU and GPU Cores, and up to 64GB of RAM.
| Hardware | 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2022) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) |
| CPU | M2 – 8-core | M1 – 8-core | M2 – 8-core | M1 Pro or Max – 8 or 10-core |
| Storage | Up to 2 TB | Up to 2 TB | Up to 2 TB | Up to 8 TB |
| Aries | 8, 16, or 24 GB | 8 or 16 GB | 8, 16, or 24 GB | 16 to 64 GB |
| Graphics | Up to 10-core | 7-core | 10-core | Up to 32-core |
| Neural motor | 16-core | 16-core | 16-core | 16-core |
| FaceTime camera | 1080p | 720p | 720p | 1080p |
| Speakers | 4-speaker system with wide sound | Stereo speakers with wide sound | Stereo speakers with high dynamic range | 6-speaker with high fidelity |
| Mix | Array 3-mic | Array 3-mic | Studio-quality 3-mic array | Studio-quality 3-mic array |
| Thermal management | Fanless | Fanless | Active cooling with fan | Active cooling with fan |
Apple says the M2 is 18% faster for CPU performance and 35% faster for GPU performance than the M1. It has more than 20 billion transistors and can perform 15.8 trillion operations per second.
The M2 chip also includes a media engine that brings support for H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and hardware-accelerated ProRes RAW. It also has a video engine and ProRes encoding and decoding.
Another nice addition to the MacBook Air 2022 is a 1080p web camera, just like the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Apple says it has the same “advanced image processing with computational video.” Meanwhile, the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro is equipped with the old 720p webcam.
It shows
If screen brightness is important to you, the MacBook Air 2022 gets a nice improvement from 400 to 500 nits of brightness.
Another change with the redesign is that the MacBook Air 2022 has a larger 13.6-inch screen with thinner bezels.
While the 14-inch MacBook Pro’s 1,000 nits continuous brightness (1,600 peak) is only for HDR content, you still get refresh rates up to 120Hz with ProMotion, a mini-LED backlight, and smooth bezels.
| 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2022) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) | |
| Actual screen size | 13.6-inch | 13.3-inch | 13.3-inch | 14.2-inch |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1664 | 2560 x 1600 | 2560 x 1600 | 3024 x 1964 |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 + notes | 16:10 | 16:10 | 16:10 + notes |
| PPI | 224 | 227 | 227 | 254 |
| Nits (light) | 500 | 400 | 500 | 500 for SDR, 1000 continuous, up to 1600 peak for HDR |
| Retina display | – | ✅ | ✅ | – |
| Liquid Retina Display | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ + XDR |
| ProMotion (up to 120Hz) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| mini-LED back | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| True tone | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| P3 wide color | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
The M2 MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro have a notch for the 1080p FaceTime camera in the top center of the display. But unlike the iPhone, it doesn’t include hardware/Face ID support.
I / O: The difference between MacBook Air and Pro
The 2022 MacBook Air gets MagSafe charging, just like the 2021 MacBook Pro notebooks. However, Apple has included additions like HDMI, an SDXC slot, and support for 4 external displays that are exclusive to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
2022 MacBook Air and 13-inch Pro have support for 1 external display up to 6K at 60Hz, even with the new M2 chip. That might be a deal breaker for some.
Along with two USB4/Thunderbolt 3 ports, the M2 MacBook Air includes a 3.5mm headphone jack.
| mother | 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2022) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) |
| Magic Keyboard | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Touch ID | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Touch Bar | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| USB-C / Thunderbolt ports | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Headphone jack | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| HDMI | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| SDXC card reader | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| MagSafe charging | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax) |
| External display support | 1 external display with 60Hz up to 6K resolution | 1 external display with 60Hz up to 6K resolution | 1 external display with 60Hz up to 6K resolution | Up to 2 external displays at 6K res at 60Hz (M1 Pro) or up to 3 external displays at 6K res and 1 external display at up to 4K at 60Hz (M1 Max) |
Size, weight and finish
As you’d expect, the MacBook Air remains the lightest machine with the 13-inch MacBook Pro weighing slightly more, and the 14-inch being the heaviest. The 2022 MacBook Air is also 0.1 pounds lighter than its 2020 predecessor.
MacBook Air is also ultra-thin at 11.3 mm (0.44 in). And if the new gold or midnight colors are interesting, they’re only available with the MacBook Air.
| 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2020) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) | |
| measure | 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg) | 2.8 pounds. (1.29 kg) | 3 pounds (1.4 kg) | 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) |
| strength | 0.44 in. (1.13 cm) | 0.16-0.63 in. (0.41-1.61 cm) | 0.61 inches (1.56 cm) | 0.61 inches (1.55 cm) |
| Before | 11.97 in. (30.41 cm) | 11.97 in. (30.41 cm) | 11.97 in. (30.31 cm) | 12.31 in. (31.26 cm) |
| Kuri | 8.46 in. (21.5 cm) | 8.36 in. (21.24 cm) | 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) | 8.71 inches (22.12 cm) |
| Display size | 13.6 in. | 13.3 in. | 13.3 in. | 14.2 in. |
| It ends | Silver, gray, starlight, midnight | Silver, gray and gold | Silver or gray | Silver or gray |
Notably, the MacBook Air 2022 has moved away from the rugged design it’s had for years and now has a slim bezel like the MacBook Pro. But Apple has made it only 11.3 mm (1.13 cm) thin.
battery life
Real-world battery life for Apple Silicon MacBooks has been impressive compared to older Intel models and generally matches Apple’s claims. But it can depend on what you do with your MacBook, screen brightness and more.
In any case, power efficiency and battery life are strong with the M2 MacBook Air.
| 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2022) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) | |
| Wireless web battery | 15 hours | 15 hours | 17 hours | 11 hours |
| Video transfer | 18 hours | 18 hours | 20 hours | 17 hours |
| power adapter included | 30W, 35W, or 67W USB-C + MagSafe | 30W USB-C | 67W USB-C | 67W or 96W USB-C + MagSafe |
| Battery capacity | 52.6Wh | 49.9Wh | 58.2Wh | 70Wh |
| Fast shipping | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Apple says that when using a 67W power adapter, the new MacBook Air can fast charge to 50% battery in just 30 minutes.
Pricing
With a starting price of $1,199, the MacBook Air comes in at $800 less than the 14-inch MacBook Pro which starts at $1,999.
The standard models of the 2022 Air are 256 GB SSD / 8 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD / 8 GB RAM configurations. Models with 16 or 24 GB of RAM are standard orders for the 2022 Air and the upgraded M2 chip.
The base model of the 14-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,999 with an M1 Pro chip, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD.
| Model / price | 2022 MacBook Air | 2020 MacBook Air | 13″ MacBook Pro (2020) | 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) |
| 256 / 8 GB | $1,199 | $999 | $1299 | – |
| 512 / 8 GB | $1399 | $1,199 | $1,499 | – |
| 256 / 16 GB | $1399 | $1,199 | $1,499 | – |
| 512 / 16 GB | $1,599 | $1399 | $1,699 | From $1,999 |
| 1TB / 16 GB | $1799 | $1,599 | $1,899 | From $2,199 |
| 1TB/24GB | $1,999 | – | – | |
| 1TB / 32GB | – | – | – | From $2,599 |
| Custom Constructions | Up to $2,499 | Up to $1,999 | Up to $2,299 | Up to $5,899 |
Difference between MacBook Air and Pro output
Hopefully, it is now clear that the MacBook is the right choice.
- For light to medium performance needs and some limited solidity needs, in the lightest machine with great battery life, the MacBook Air is the best, starting at $1,199 or a reasonable $1,099 for students and teachers.
- For those looking to save some money and have a simple workflow (website, documents, media), the $999 M1 MacBook Air (often discounted) is still in line.
- But if you value maximum power, active cooling for extended heavy work, a brighter screen, more ports and greater external display support, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is the way to go.
- While the 13-inch MacBook Pro has been updated with the M2 chip, there probably aren’t many people who should buy it.
The main difference between the 2022 MacBook Air and Pro is the fans for the Pro and the Touch Bar. But if you’re worried about performance and overheating, you might want to look at the 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro.
And the MacBook Air 2022 offers many upgrades that the new 13-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t like, including a larger Liquid Retina display, 1080p webcam, MagSafe charging, midnight and star color options, and more.
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