Apple MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Which Mac is Best?

MacBook Air or MacBook Pro: Which is Best?

Both the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro are excellent laptops in their own right, but which one to opt for depends on what you’ll be using it for.

• The Air is the thinnest, and it’s lighter than the Pro models
• The Air is a better choice for simple day-to-day use such as browsing and email
• The 13-inch Pro is the cheapest Pro model
• The Pro 16-inch is the most expensive model, aimed at design professionals
• The Air only comes with a 13-inch screen, whereas the Pro comes in either 13 or 16-inch sizes, both with sub-variants for processors and RAM
• All Pro models now have the unique ‘Touch Bar’ above the keyboard

Both the Pro and the Air are beautifully designed and offer excellent battery life, at around 15 – 17 hours between charges. This makes them excellent travel companions, no matter which model you go for.

As for which is best? We’ve got you covered. Our guide will help you work out exactly which model will work best for you.

MacBook Air: Highlights, Pros and Cons

• Incredibly light and slim
• Apple’s cheapest MacBook
• Dedicated Apple M1 processor
• Retina display

It would be fair to say that Apple neglected the MacBook Air for some time, but in 2018, it got serious overhaul, and since then, Apple has shown it some real affection. The latest 2020 model has been kitted out with Apple’s dedicated M1 processor, instead of the Intel processors of old, and it’s better than it has ever been.

Recent redesigns have taken cues from the MacBook Pro too, including finally getting a highly detailed Retina screen. It’s also had its speakers moved to the sides of the keyboard, rather than underneath, making the sound more impactful and clearer.

As you might expect, the Air is light and slim. It’s a great option for anyone who travels a lot with their laptop and doesn’t want to be inconvenienced by a weighty set-up. It also boasts incredible battery life, at 15 hours – an achievement that has other laptop manufacturers drooling. And for newly remote workers, it should handle most business tasks, from spreadsheets to emails.

That said, the Air doesn’t have the necessary grunt for heavy lifting tasks – think graphics editing, giant spreadsheets full of macros, or video work. For those tasks, that’s why the Pro exists.

MacBook Pro: Highlights, Pros and Cons

• Available in 13-inch, 14-inch, and 16-inch sizes
• Powerful specs
• Retina screen
• Touch Bar on some models
• Dedicated graphics card on some Pro models

In the MacBook line up, the Pro is the pinnacle, making it the most desirable (and costly) laptop bearing the Apple badge. The reason for this is that it is stuffed with tech, from fast processors (up to i7 or M1 Max), to dedicated Radeon graphics cards.

The MacBook Pro is a beast of a laptop, designed to tackle complex video editing and graphical processing with ease.

The Pro models are also the models in which you’ll deal with the controversial Touch Bar, a thin touch screen that sits at the top of the keyboard and offers a context sensitive control panel: Apple introduced it as an option for earlier Pro models, but walked it back for the 14- and 16-inch versions that debuted in 2021. So, if you loved the Touch Bar, stick with the cheaper and still sturdy 13-inch, but if you hated it, the powerful new 16-inch is for you.

It all sounds rosy for the Pro, but it comes at a price. Literally. The Pro is the priciest laptop in the MacBook line up, and can run you up to $3,499 if you opt for the 16-inch model with 1TB of storage and a blisteringly fast 10-core M1 Max processor. That’s not one for the budget conscious, but it’s a serious asset for design professionals.

To keep your budget down, but still get plenty of power, we’d recommend the 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar. This model is the cheapest Pro, but still packs in enough power for all but the most demanding users.

One other thing – if you were impressed with the Air’s 15 hour battery life, then please stand to applaud the Pro, which can manage an incredible 17 hours battery life between charges.

The MacBook Pro line starts from around $1,300 – click to compare MacBook Pro prices on Amazon

Best All Rounder: MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is pitched as Apple’s entry-level laptop. That’s a slight misnomer, as tech-wise, it blows most entry-level Windows models out of the water. With the Air, you’re paying for a laptop that will cruise its way through your daily tasks. It will let you handily juggle your social media activity, Netflix binging, web browsing and most tasks a remote workplace can dish out.

Yeah, the MacBook Pro can do all that too. But, it would be like buying a flamethrower to make toast – impressive, but overkill.

The MacBook Air represents the best of Apple’s laptop line up for the everyday user, suiting their needs, and their pocket, too.

Best for Value: MacBook Air

The term ‘value’ might not seem like it has a place in Apple’s line up – if you’re looking for a bargain, you won’t find one here. Apple has long built its reputation on offering high end computing equipment that is desirable, not affordable.

However, its cheapest laptop is the MacBook Air, at $999. We know that’s hardly pocket change, but trust us, for what you get here, it’s a great investment. Treat it well, and the Air will last you years of daily use, with stunning battery life and buttery smooth performance.

You’re saving a couple of hundred dollars compared to the entry level Pro, which admittedly is a more powerful machine, but unless you’re looking to take on some intensive work and put your laptop through its paces, the Air will do you proud.

Thin, powerful and portable, it’s a great package for $999, and have you ever met an Apple owner who regretted their purchase? Exactly.

Best for Power Users: MacBook Pro 16

Let’s be clear – while the Pro has more raw processing muscle, the Air is still no slouch, and will happily breeze through most of the tasks that you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

However, it’s the Pro that really kicks things up a gear. If you’re looking to do anything graphically intense, or some serious number crunching, this is the one to go for.

First up, the Pro has a more capable graphics processor than the Air, which relies on its integrated chip. Upgrade to the 16-inch Pro model and it comes with a dedicated AMD Radeon Pro graphics card – this gives the 16-inch Pro a significant boost when handling graphics. Sure, you can play Fortnite on it at a decent frame rate, but, more importantly, it can power through intensive media editing or graphic rendering with relative ease.

Then, there’s the processors. The Air comes with a dedicated Apple M1 processor. If all you tend to do is browse the web, stream and email, then this really is more than enough.

The Pro, though goes up to a mighty 3.2 GHz 10-core M1 Max in the 16-inch model, should your wallet allow it — that’s a step up even from the 2019 version of the 16-inch, which topped out with a 2.3GHz 8-core Intel i9.

In basic terms, this means that the Pro is a powerhouse. The MacBook Pro series is scalable depending on what your needs (and budget) are. In a 100 meter race, the 16-inch Pro would be signing autographs at the finish line while the Air was still listening for the starting gun.

Best for Portability: MacBook Air

If there’s one thing that Apple is famed for, it’s design. The company has been responsible for spawning thousands of imitators and a lot of modern tech devices owe their shells to Apple’s influence in some way. Most tablets look like iPads, most phones look like iPhones, and there certainly isn’t a lack of high-end laptops that look rather familiar…

Portability is a key element of Apple’s design philosophy, with its teams constantly shaving millimetres and ounces from line up. The peak of this was the launch of the original Air, which at the time was heavily advertised as being able to fit into an A4 envelope. It might have lost some impact today, but at a time when most laptops were knee-crushing behemoths, it was practically black magic. While there has been some friendly rivalry in recent years between the Air and MacBook models, with both vying to be the thinnest and lightest, the Air holds the current crown, and it is as svelte as an Instagram model’s airbrushed beach shot.

Weighing in at 1.29kg and with a height of 0.63-inches, it’s a great laptop for slipping into a bag (or A4 envelope, if you prefer). That’s not to say that the MacBook Pro is a chunky brick, by any means. It’s also been shaved down to a satisfyingly slim and compact shape, but the Air is the ultimate laptop for portability.

Best for Screen Quality: MacBook Pro

If screen quality is important to you, then you’ve come to the right brand. Apple’s laptop displays are hard to beat. Even the Air has now been bestowed its Retina display, with a 2560×1600 screen that is vibrant and offers stunning color reproduction.

It’s the Pro though that goes the extra mile, though, with a Retina display that’s both notably brighter. The 16-inch model boosts the resolution even higher for an impressive 3456-by-2234 native resolution that packs 254 pixels per inch.