MacBook Air vs Professional: Variations between MacBook Air and Professional

Apple at present 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 a fair wider vary of specs.

On this article, we’re involved with the Mac laptops finest suited to common use: dwelling, pupil, and workplace work. There are 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions powered by M4 Professional or M4 Max chips which can be higher suited to professional customers and have a lot increased costs, and so they aren’t included right here. However in case you are pondering your wants may lengthen a bit additional on the professional facet, you might 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, reminiscence replace October 2024)
• 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M3 (launched March 2024, reminiscence replace October 2024)
• 14-inch MacBook Professional, M4 (launched October 2024)
• 15-inch MacBook Air, M3 (launched March 2024, reminiscence replace October 2024)

For recommendation about one of the best MacBook, we even have a shopping for information, see: Finest MacBook: Which Mac laptop computer is finest? We additionally provide recommendation about how a lot storage, RAM and cores in How a lot MacBook RAM, SSD, Cores do you want?

Off to college? Learn our information to one of the best MacBook for college students. Need a Black Friday deal? See: Finest MacBook offers this Black Friday.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional in contrast

Listed here are the 4 Mac laptops which have our consideration. We are going to examine design, specs, shows, worth and different options under.

1. Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

Value When Reviewed:

$999

The most affordable Mac laptop computer. The M2 model of the MacBook Air was launched in 2022. In October 2024 Apple elevated the usual quantity of Unified Reminiscence (RAM) to 16GB with out growing the associated fee. It’s the most cost effective Mac laptop computer, however we expect it is best to spend $100/£100 extra to get the newer mannequin which has a sooner chip.

2. Apple 13-inch MacBook Air (M3, 2024)

Value When Reviewed:

$1,099

The M3 model of the MacBook Air was launched in March 2024. In October 2024 Apple elevated the usual quantity of Unified Reminiscence (RAM) to 16GB with out growing the associated fee. It’s nice information that Apple has elevated the RAM with out growing the value as we did really feel that 8GB was inadequate. It’s a terrific Mac laptop computer, the one purpose to not purchase one proper now’s that Apple will most likely be updating it in spring 2025. Learn: M4 MacBook Air: All the things it’s worthwhile to know.

3. Apple 15-Inch MacBook Air (M3, 2024)

Value When Reviewed:

$1,299

The 15-inch M3 MacBook Air was launched in March 2024. There is no such thing as a longer a 15-inch model of the M2 MacBook Air, so if you’d like the bigger show that is the one to purchase. In October 2024 Apple elevated the usual quantity of Unified Reminiscence (RAM) to 16GB with out growing the associated fee. As with the 13-inch MacBook Air, the one purpose to not purchase one is that Apple could also be updating it quickly, however when you can’t wait we don’t suppose you’ll be dissatisfied.

4. Apple 14-inch MacBook Professional (M4, 2024)

Value When Reviewed:

$1,599 | $1,799 | $1,999

The M4 MacBook Professional arrived in October 2024. It has extra highly effective siblings within the M4 Professional and M4 Max MacBook Professional, however for these with common necessities, it’s enough and higher suited to extra intensive operations than the MacBook Air. This can be a Mac to decide on when you want a bit extra oomph than the MacBook Air may give however don’t have the cash for a MacBook Professional with M4 Professional chip.

Learn our full

Apple 14-inch MacBook Professional (M4) evaluate

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 had 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 continues to be thinner–albeit fractionally–however additionally it is very barely bigger than the previous model of the Air, because of 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 significantly better FaceTime digicam, so it’s not a foul factor, though some individuals don’t like notches.

Should you miss that tapered design that made the MacBook Air immediately identifiable it’s nonetheless out there when 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 out there within the Apple Licensed Refurbished Retailer and you should still be capable to decide one up from a 3rd social gathering–see our round-up of the Finest MacBook Air offers.

If a 13.6-inch display isn’t sufficiently big for you, Apple added a 15.3-inch MacBook Air to the lineup in June 2023. This bigger mannequin appears equivalent to the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, and shares (largely) the identical specs, it’s simply larger.

Foundry

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, because of the larger show.

Each fashions have a Contact ID sensor constructed into the keyboard, 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 “Excessive Constancy,” by which we assume Apple is indicating it’s superior to the Air. Connectivity for each fashions is by way of Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E.

With the October 2024 MacBook Professional replace to the M4 chip, the 14-inch MacBook Professional now has a 12-megapixel digicam with assist for Middle Stage and Desk View. The MacBook Air nonetheless has the 1080p FaceTime HD digicam. The MacBook Professional digicam is significantly better, in case you’re involved with high quality for video conferences.

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), House 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 M4 affords solely Silver and House Black choices.

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 be lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Professional.

• 14-inch MacBook Professional, M4: 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 biggest 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, M4: 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 M4: 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 larger, however the picture high quality is not so good as the display on the MacBook Professional–it nonetheless appears nice, although.

The 15-inch Air’s show runs at a decision of two,880 by 1,864, whereas the 13-inch affords 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 when you’re working HDR content material at a max of 1,600 nits. That is achieved by the Professional show incorporating mini-LEDs reasonably than the Air’s normal LCD display.

Maybe the largest distinction although is that the Professional options ProMotion, that means that the refresh price tops out at 120Hz, once more double that of the Air’s 60Hz refresh price. This helps hold scrolling and animations easy and crisp. Any of those shows might be nice for on a regular basis use and lengthy hours of labor, however the Professional has the sting relating to options.

With the M4 MacBook Professional, Apple launched a nano-texture glass choice that has a matte-like end for $150. This selection shouldn’t be out there on the MacBook Air, and if it’s worthwhile to reduce down the glare from the show, it’s a function to think about.

Foundry

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 M4 within the 14-inch MacBook Professional that we’re contemplating right here (there are additionally M4 Professional and M4 Max MacBook Professional choices for many 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 towards all of Apple’s chips.

In October 2024 Apple upped the usual reminiscence in all of the MacBooks – together with these launched beforehand. This implies all MacBook Air and MacBook Professional now have 16GB RAM as normal, probably due to the necessities of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI that comes with macOS Sequoia. Apple didn’t elevate costs.

That is how the specs within the numerous MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Professional normal configurations examine:

There are additionally M4 Professional and M4 Max MacBook Professional fashions that we focus on in our MacBook Professional comparability and our Finest MacBook information.

Should you look on the specs above, the closest comparability is between the $1,499/£1,499 15-inch MacBook Air and the $1,599/£1,599 14-inch MacBook Professional. The additional cash for the MacBook Professional features a higher show, yet one more Thunderbolt port, an HDMI port, an SDXC Card slot, a greater digicam, and built-in followers to chill the laptop computer so it will probably preserve efficiency on lengthy duties. You might or could not want these options.

With a smaller funds the 13.6-inch MacBook Air, M2 (2022) appears like a very good 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 is perhaps a sensible choice regardless of the SSD, as a result of that most likely gained’t matter to you if the apps you utilize aren’t often 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 capable of handle warmth, and subsequently could run slower so as to hold cool when you actually push it. If it’s energy you want then the benchmarks give a clearer image (MacBook Professional M4 benchmarks usually are not but out there. We are going to replace this chart as quickly as we get the info. To your reference, you may see how the remainder of the chips examine):

As you may see from the scores above, the M3 shoots forward of the M2 and M1, in reality it even scores above one configuration of the M1 Professional. However, if you really want a robust machine you may wish to take a look at the M4 Professional MacBook Professional or store round for a M3 Professional MacBook Professional which it’s doubtless will stay on sale for a while although Apple has discontinued that mannequin. See our round-up of the Finest MacBook Professional offers.

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RAM

All of the MacBooks showcased above now include 16GB of Unified Reminiscence at their base configuration. The M1 solely supported as much as 16GB reminiscence, however the M2 and M3 chip carry an choice to improve to 24GB RAM. The M4 MacBook Professional can assist 32GB RAM. Should you want extra reminiscence than that it’s worthwhile to look to the M4 Professional and M4 Max, which may assist 48GB within the case of the M4 Professional and as much as 128GB for the M4 Max.

In October 2024, Apple up to date the MacBook Air in order that it comes normal with 16GB of RAM–it was 8GB earlier than. So, now all Macs begin with 16GB of RAM.

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 affords 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 studies 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 had been certainly true once we ran our personal set of exams utilizing Blackmagic Disk Velocity Take a look at. This may occasionally matter in case you are utilizing apps that entry the SSD typically, however it might not make a distinction in typical use. Because of this, when you can afford a 512GB mannequin we suggest that. You possibly can go for as much as 2TB SSD.

MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Battery life and charging

In terms of battery life these Macs are miles forward of the previous Intel MacBook fashions. In accordance with Apple, the MacBook Air affords 18 hours battery life, whereas the 14-inch MacBook Professional affords an incredible 22 hours (the identical because the 16-inch MacBook Professional).

In our personal testing, the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air battery lasted 19 hours. The battery contained in the M3 MacBook Air is identical as that within the M2 fashions so we didn’t anticipate any distinction in testing.

The battery within the M4 MacBook Professional is larger than that within the M3 MacBook Professional (72.4-watt hours, up from a 70-watt-hour battery). The M3 mannequin had “As much as 22 hours Apple TV app film playback” and “As much as 15 hours wi-fi internet” whereas the M4 mannequin is said as 24 and 16 hours respectively. The M4 MacBook Professional lasted about 20 hours in our check.

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 based mostly 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 suppose that you simply’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 pace. Charging will be quick when you use a very good USB-C energy adapter. A normal 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 check of Apple’s M2 MacBook Air chargers in addition to one of the best USB-C charger on your MacBook.

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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Ports and enlargement

Through the years it’s felt like Apple has been on a mission to take away ports from Macs so as to make them slimmer and slimmer. This has been an obstacle for a lot of, though typically when you want extra or completely different ports you may simply plug in an adapter or a dock (learn: Finest USB-C hubs and adapters for Mac).

The older M1 MacBook Air supplied solely two USB 4 ports two USB/Thunderbolt ports, so a kind 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 releasing up the 2 USB ports so one doesn’t should be given over to charging (this additionally applies to the 15-inch mannequin).

The MacBook Professional options much more ports. On the 14-inch M4 MacBook Professional, you get three Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI, and a SDXC card slot.

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MacBook Air vs MacBook Professional: Audio and digicam

The MacBook Air affords a 1080p FaceTime digicam, which is superior to the 720p FaceTime digicam on the now-discontinued M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Professional.

The 14-inch M4 MacBook Professional has a 12MP Middle Stage digicam that robotically retains the consumer within the heart of the body. The digicam additionally helps Desk View, which may present the desk house in entrance of the laptop computer. That is an improve from the M3 MacBook Professional, which had the identical 1080p FaceTime digicam because the MacBook Air.

The 15-inch MacBook Air has a profit over the 13.6-inch MacBook Air mannequin: if contains 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 it’s superior to that within the 15-inch Air. Apple additionally refers to a “studio-quality three-mic array with excessive 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: Value 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 that began at $1,299/£1,349. Now, the entry-level M4 14-inch MacBook Professional prices $1,599/£1,599 for a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 512GB SSD entry-level laptop computer. That’s fairly a leap from $1,299/£1,299 for the 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU MacBook Air with 512GB SSD.

With no ‘funds’ MacBook Professional out there, the MacBook Air is the one choice for these on the lookout for a discount. If you’re 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 when 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, nevertheless 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 one of the 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 which may be essential to you is the display measurement, which is the place the MacBook Air is the clear winner, but when you’ll plug your Mac into an exterior show each time you might be at your desk this shouldn’t be a choice breaker. See our round-up of one of the 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 do you have to select? If you’re on a funds it must be the MacBook Air and also you gained’t be dissatisfied, particularly now that Apple has upped the reminiscence to 16GB as normal (do ensure you aren’t shopping for an older model with 8GB reminiscence). Should you want a bit extra energy than the Air can provide the M4 MacBook Professional will see you good. However when you want much more energy you’ll should fork out for the M4 Professional or M4 Max MacBook Professional fashions.

Fortunately, you don’t should pay full worth for a MacBook Air or MacBook Professional, try our greatest MacBook Air offers and finest MacBook Professional offers articles for one of the best reductions out there.

Lastly, a phrase of warning: when you see a cheaper price on an Intel MacBook we strongly suggest that you simply don’t purchase it as Apple is unlikely to assist Intel Macs for for much longer. Learn: How lengthy does Apple assist Macs.

We additionally take a look at how the MacBook Air compares to the iMac and the way the MacBook Air and Mac mini examine individually. We additionally show you how to select the Finest Mac in our purchasing information.