Apple presently sells two laptop computer strains: the MacBook Professional (which is available in 13-inch M2, 14-inch M1 Professional/Max and 16-inch M1 Professional/Max fashions) and the MacBook Air (which is accessible in 13.3-inch M1 or 13.6-inch M2 fashions). That’s a whole lot of Mac laptops with very totally different specs.
Inside that line up are a set of equally speced 13-inch Mac laptops which are designed for dwelling, scholar, and workplace use. These embody the 13.6in MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Professional, which each function the M2 chip and went on sale in July 2022, and an older M1-equipped 13.3-inch MacBook Air mannequin launched in 2020. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions, launched in 2021, are higher suited to professional customers.
It’s these 13-inch Mac laptops we’re most all in favour of right here. On this article we examine the 13in MacBook Professional with the MacBook Air that will help you resolve which one to purchase. In case you are questioning whether or not your wants may prolong a bit of additional on the professional facet, you might also have an interest to learn: Which MacBook Professional: 13, 14, 16-inch in contrast. Elsewhere we take a look at the MacBook Air M1 vs M2 and the two variations of the M2 MacBook Air in contrast.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Design
In some methods the design of the 2022 MacBook Air and MacBook Professional are extra alike than ever. The 2022 MacBook Air has misplaced its tapered design that made it immediately identifiable because the Air (and continues to be out there should you purchase the M1 model of the MacBook Air). Now the MacBook Air seems like a thinner model of the MacBook Professional. Nevertheless, there’s quite a bit to set these two Macs aside.
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Thanks to an intensive redesign, the MacBook Air has many options that the 13-inch MacBook Professional lacks. Most vital is the truth that the 2022 MacBook Air has a bigger 13.6-inch display screen with slimmer bezels, whereas the 13-inch MacBook Professional has an older 13.3-inch show (the identical because the M1 MacBook Air). There’s one potential drawback to this bigger display screen – it incorporates a notch, as seen on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professional, iPhones, and a few iPads. Some individuals don’t just like the notch, we really feel that it’s forgivable as a result of it permits Apple to extend the dimensions of the display screen because it actually simply sits within the menu.
One other notable distinction is that the 13in MacBook Professional is the one Mac laptop computer that options Apple’s Contact Bar strip. Apple eliminated the Contact Bar from the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions with the 2021 fashions, so in order for you the Contact Bar the 13-inch MacBook Professional is the one Mac laptop computer to supply it. All three MacBooks have the identical Magic Keyboard with scissor-switch keys. The entire fashions even have a Contact ID sensor and Drive Contact trackpad.
As you’ll count on from the identify, the MacBook Air is lighter than the MacBook Professional, however solely barely. When it launched in 2008, the MacBook Air was the lightest laptop computer out there, however through the years the load of the MacBook Professional has additionally declined, so the distinction is quite a bit much less now:
- M2 MacBook Air: 2.7 kilos (1.24kg)
- M2 MacBook Professional: 3 kilos (1.4kg)
- M1 MacBook Air: 2.8 kilos (1.29kg)
Following its redesign the 2022 MacBook Air is definitely very barely bigger than the 13-inch MacBook Professional. That change is what permits Apple to accommodate a bigger show. The measurements of the M1 MacBook Air are the identical because the 13in MacBook Professional.
- M2 MacBook Air: 30.41cm x 21.5cm x 1.13cm
- M2 MacBook Professional: 30.41cm x 21.24cm x 1.56cm
- M1 MacBook Air: 30.41cm x 21.24cm x 1.61cm-0.41cm
One other distinction between these MacBooks is the colour selections. The 2022 MacBook Air is available in some model new colours: Midnight (darkish blue), Starlight (gold), House Grey and Silver.
The MacBook Professional provides solely the silver and house gray choices. The M1 MacBook Air is available in silver, house grey and gold. The brand new Starlight shade is paler gold, whereas Midnight is near black with a darkish blue hue.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Show
The 2022 MacBook Air has a brand new show that’s bigger and brighter than the M2 MacBook Professional, and a leap from the show on the earlier technology MacBook Air.
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The M2 MacBook Air provides a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina show, quite than a plain previous Retina show. This primarily means the newer show has a greater distinction ratio and might help extra colours (a billion versus thousands and thousands). Nevertheless, neither is pretty much as good because the Liquid Retina XDR shows within the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions. These dearer MacBook Professional choices deliver as much as 1,000 nits of brightness (versus 500 on the M2 MacBook Air and 400 on the M1 MacBook Air), deeper blacks and extra vivid colours in addition to ProMotion.
Due partially to the truth that the 2022 MacBook Air display screen is barely taller, with a diagonal measurement of 13.6 inches quite than 13.3 inches, the MacBook Air show now provides barely extra pixels:
- M2 MacBook Professional: 2,560 x 1,600 pixels
- M2 MacBook Air: 2,560 x 1,664 pixels
- M1 MacBook Air: 2,560 x 1,600 pixels
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Specs
Apple has now up to date all Mac laptops to run by itself system on chip. First the M1 arrived in November 2020, then the M1 Professional and M1 Max in October 2021, and the M2 has arrived on the 2022 MacBook Air and 13in MacBook Professional in July 2022. The M2 is a more moderen chip than the M1 Professional and M1 Max, however these chips are nonetheless superior to the M2. See: M2 vs M1 Professional, Max, and Extremely: Why Apple’s latest chip isn’t the most effective.
In the event you assume you want one thing extra {powerful} you have to take a look at the 14in or 16in MacBook Professional with the choice of M1 Professional or M1 Max, or await the M2 sequence to broaden. If you wish to discover out extra in regards to the M1 sequence of chips learn our M1-series chip information. We now have extra in regards to the M2-series right here: Apple’s M2 chip: Every thing you have to know.
Right here’s how the fashions break down:
MacBook Air, M1 (2020, $999/£999)
8-core CPU with 4 carry outance cores and 4 effectivity cores
7-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Reminiscence (as much as 16GB)
256GB SSD
MacBook Air, M2 (2022, $1,199/£1,249)
8-core CPU with 4 carry outance cores and 4 effectivity cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Reminiscence (as much as 24GB)
256GB SSD
MacBook Air, M2 (2022, $1,499/£1,549)
8-core CPU with 4 carry outance cores and 4 effectivity cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Reminiscence (as much as 24GB)
512GB SSD
13in MacBook Professional, M2 (2022, $1,299/£1,349)
8-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores
10-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Reminiscence (as much as 24GB)
256GB SSD
13in MacBook Professional, M2 (2022, $1,499/£1,549
8-core CPU with 4 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
8GB Unified Reminiscence (as much as 24GB)
512GB SSD
You’ll discover that there’s a MacBook Air and a MacBook Professional mannequin which have an identical specs and the identical worth ($1,499/£1,549). You may due to this fact count on the benchmarks to be related for these two fashions, however different components can decelerate the MacBook Air a bit – the truth that it’s extra compact and fanless means the MacBook Air is much less capable of handle warmth, and due to this fact could also be throttled considerably should you have been to essentially push it.
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CPU
The 2022 MacBook Air and 13in MacBook Professional each run on Apple’s M2 chip. Just like the M1 chip, which you’ll be able to nonetheless get within the entry-level MacBook Air, the M2 has eight CPU cores, 4 of that are high-performance cores and 4 are high-efficiency cores. This is a bonus of Apple’s chip design: when the high-efficiency processor cores are busy backing as much as iCloud or syncing pictures the high-performance cores will nonetheless be out there for extra intensive operations. The M2 is superior to the M1 as a result of this time around the quicker efficiency cores are paired with a bigger cache, whereas the effectivity cores see even larger efficiency features, in keeping with Apple. So it’d seem like the CPU is identical, but it surely isn’t.
In our Geekbench 5 CPU benchmarks we noticed that the M2 MacBook Air peak efficiency was consistent with the M2 MacBook Professional, and a bit higher than the M1. But it surely’s not on par with the higher-end M1 Professional and Max processors.
The Cinebench R23 exams present the variations between the M2 MacBook Professional and MacBook Air although – the brand new MacBook Air was 15 % quicker than the M1 mannequin, however 10 % slower than the M2 MacBook Professional.
GPU
As you will note from the specs above, one other key distinction between all of the Mac laptops on provide right here is the variety of graphics cores.
The entry-level MacBook Air doesn’t solely provide a less-powerful M1 chip, there are solely seven graphics cores in comparison with the eight or ten graphics cores within the M2 MacBook Air fashions.
The variety of GPU cores is perhaps a key a part of the choice about which mannequin is finest suited to your wants.In the event you assume you might be prone to want that further GPU core it’s possible you’ll assume that the most suitable choice is to purchase the dearer Air. However the MacBook Professional, which provides a 10-core GPU possibility, is perhaps a greater possibility, as we are going to clarify.
The rationale why the MacBook Professional is a greater possibility for graphic intensive operations than the MacBook Air is that it additionally features a fan for cooling – in consequence it is possible for you to to push it a bit of additional. The MacBook Air might be completely effective for regular operations, however as a result of it lacks a fan it’s possible you’ll discover that issues decelerate to ensure that it to not overheat while you’re pushing it.
The Geekbench 5 Compute benchmarks confirmed scores for the M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU have been consistent with the M2 MacBook Professional and virtually 60 % quicker than the previous M1 MacBook Air (with 7 GPU cores), and about 40 % quicker than the “full” M1 with 8 GPU cores within the M1 MacBook Professional.
A MacBook Air has by no means been a terrific gaming laptop computer, and even the enhancements we discover within the M2 don’t change that. But it surely’s fascinating to see how a lot better it’s at working premium video games than the M1.
RAM
All of the M1 MacBooks – each Professional and Air – include 8GB of Unified Reminiscence at their base configuration. The M2 chip brings an choice to improve to 24GB RAM whereas the M1 is restricted to 16GB RAM.
You could be pondering that 8GB RAM gained’t be sufficient to your wants, however you need to be aware that this RAM – which Apple calls Unified Reminiscence – is a part of the M2 (or M1) chip. Because of this it’s accessible to each the CPU and the GPU, which brings efficiency advantages meaning the 8GB RAM in these fashions isn’t actually corresponding to 8GB in an Intel-powered Mac.
In case you are involved although you may replace your MacBook Air or 13in MacBook Professional to 16GB or 24GB RAM at level of sale – and we do suggest that you just get 16GB should you can afford to.
In the event you really feel that you just want greater than 24GB reminiscence then you have to to show to the M1 Professional (which ships with 16GB Unified Reminiscence and is upgradable to 32GB), or the M1 Max (which ships additionally with 16GB Unified Reminiscence, however is upgradable to 64GB). It’s even doable to get 128GB RAM however for that you’ll want the M1 Extremely within the Mac Studio.
Storage
The Air and 13in Professional each include 256GB of storage on the entry-level, with an extra mannequin providing 512GB. It’s also possible to add a bigger SSD at level of sale, however the M1 MacBook Air and Professional fashions are capped at 2TB.
There are some issues in regards to the 256GB SSD within the entry-level M2 MacBook Air with stories that its SSD is as much as50 % slower on learn speeds and 30 % on write speeds. We discovered that these observations have been certainly true once we ran our personal set of exams utilizing Blackmagic Disk Pace Take a look at.
The 256GB Air confirmed learn speeds that have been 47.9 % slower than the 1TB MacBook Air we additionally examined. Whereas write speeds have been a staggering 50.2 % slower, far worse than anticipated. Sadly the entry-level Air was additionally significantly slower than the 2020 mannequin.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Battery life and charging
In terms of battery life nothing has modified for the reason that M1 Macs, however these Macs are nonetheless miles forward of the previous Intel MacBook fashions. In response to Apple, the M1 and M2 MacBook Air fashions provide 18 hours, whereas the 13in MacBook Professional provides a tremendous 20 hours. This makes the discontinued 2.0GHz 13in MacBook Professional’s 10 hours battery life look appalling.
In our personal testing the MacBook Air battery lasted 17.5 hours, outstripping the M1 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Professional by virtually an hour and a half.
In common day by 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 %, however that’s how it’s with Apple silicon. Clearly battery life varies based mostly on what you’re doing, however for this laptop computer’s goal market–the on a regular basis dwelling and productiveness person–it’s arduous to assume that you just’ll ever need to cost up earlier than the day is finished.
These quantity are definitely spectacular, though not essentially the most hours of battery life on provide from an Apple MacBook, which is 22 hours for the 2021 16-inch MacBook Professional.
It’s not simply battery life that’s higher on the MacBook Air although. Apple has improved charging velocity should you use a superb USB-C energy adapter. A regular 35W dual-port adapter (which comes with all fashions of the Air other than the entry-level mannequin) can obtain a ten % cost in 10 minutes (30 % in half-hour). The Apple’s 61W USB-C Energy Adapter will increase this to 72 % cost in half-hour. See our comparability take a look at of Apple’s new M2 MacBook Air chargers.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Ports and growth
Over time it’s felt like Apple has been on a mission eradicating ports from Macs with a view to make them slimmer and slimmer. This has been a drawback for a lot of, though typically should you want extra or totally different ports you may simply plug in an adapter or a dock (learn: Greatest USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac).
With the arrival of the 2022 MacBook Air Apple did add a MagSafe charging port, which implies that these two USB ports are nonetheless free if you find yourself charging. This places the 13in MacBook Professional and the older MacBook Air at a drawback since they each provide solely two USB 4 ports two USB/Thunderbolt ports, so a type of can even be used for charging.
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In the event you do really feel that you just want extra ports the 14in MacBook Professional and 16in MacBook Professional have quite a few ports out there together with three Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) ports, an HDMI port and a SDXC card slot. (In case you are questioning what the distinction between USB-C and USB 4 is, USB 4 ought to be capable of provide 40Gb/s, which is what Thunderbolt 3 already provides. USB-C provides 10 to 20Gb/s.)
All Mac laptops provide a 3.5mm headphone jack.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Value
Whatever the options, the choice of whether or not to purchase the MacBook Air or MacBook Professional may come down to cost. You is perhaps searching for the most affordable possibility – wherein case the $999/£999 M1 MacBook Air is the clear winner – otherwise you is perhaps pleased to pay a bit of extra to get higher worth for cash.
We suggest getting the most effective machine you may afford on the time of buy because you gained’t be capable of improve down the road. Usually we’d recommend that you just improve the RAM earlier than the storage, however given the problems with the storage within the entry-level M2 MacBook Air we’d recommend that you just go for extra storage this time spherical. An M2 MacBook Air with 8-core GPU and 512GB SSD would value $200/£200 extra at $1,399/£1,449 however at that time you may as properly spend one other $100/£100 on the 10-GPU core mannequin.
We’ll run by means of the pricing for the totally different fashions under, together with a number of the newest provides on new MacBooks – since you don’t essentially need to pay Apple’s worth. We additionally suggest checking the Apple Refurbished Retailer to see should you might decide up a reduced MacBook.
MacBook Air costs
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MacBook Air is accessible in two default configurations:
- M1 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and seven‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $999/£999.
- M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and eight‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,199/£1,249.
- M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,549.
Purchase instantly from Apple, or look under for the most effective costs proper now:
M2 MacBook Air, 8-core GPU (MSRP: $1,199/£1,249)
When the M2 MacBook Air goes on sale you will note costs under.
$1199
$1199.00
Free
M2 MacBook Air, 10-core GPU (MSRP: $1,499/£1,549)
$1499
$1499.00
Free
M1 MacBook Air, 7-core GPU (MSRP: $999/£999)
$899.99
Free
$999.00
Free
Not Obtainable
Free
For offers on much more MacBook Air take a look at our finest MacBook Air offers article for reductions out there elsewhere.
13in MacBook Professional costs
There are two 13in configurations of the MacBook Professional offered by Apple:
- M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and eight‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299/£1,349
- M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,499/£1,549
You’ll discover that the dearer Air is identical worth because the dearer 13in MacBook Professional. Each share the identical specs. The distinction is within the design.
Purchase instantly from Apple, or look under for the most effective costs proper now:
M2 MacBook Professional, 10-core GPU, 256GB SSD (MSRP: $1,299/£1,349)
When the M2 MacBook Professional goes on sale you will note costs under.
$1,253.92
$1299
$1299.00
Free
M2 MacBook Professional, 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD (MSRP: $1,499/£1,549):
When the M2 MacBook Professional goes on sale you will note costs under.
$1499
$1499.00
Free
We additionally suggest that you just check out our spherical up of the finest MacBook Professional offers proper now.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Shopping for recommendation
The MacBook Air and 13in MacBook Professional are each nice MacBooks. Actually the choice needs to be based mostly in your finances. If a low worth is a very powerful to you then the M1 MacBook Air is the most suitable choice, however you simply have to weigh up whether or not getting twice as a lot storage is extra helpful to you than the MacBook Professional’s higher battery life, further graphics core and fan. In the event you don’t do the type of work that requires a lot of graphics processing the 7-core MacBook Air could possibly be enough.
If it’s a selection between the M2 MacBook Air and M2 MacBook Professional, the brand new design and higher display screen of the M2 MacBook Air do edge it forward a bit of. The M2 MacBook Professional has little going for it aside from the Contact Bar and the truth that it has higher cooling than the MacBook Air, so if you have to use your Mac for intensive work the Professional is perhaps higher for you.
But when you really want the last word in energy then you definitely actually ought to be trying on the 14in MacBook Professional and the 16in MacBook Professional, which supply extra graphics cores and help extra RAM. Additionally they provide a bunch of ports that will profit many.
Determined to get a MacBook, Professional or Air? Take a look at the
finest equipment for MacBooks.
Nonetheless unsure? We additionally take a look at
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MacBook Air and Mac mini examine individually.