The new MacBook Air M1 makes the MacBook Pro look irrelevant

(Image credit: Apple)

Let's say y'all're willing to take a gamble and enter the make new world of Apple Silicon with its M1 flake. You accept two MacBooks from which to choose: the new MacBook Air and the new $1,299 MacBook Pro 13-inch.

Both laptops sport Apple tree's powerful new M1 scrap, which promises to blow away the best laptops running Windows. So why would you pay $300 more for the MacBook Pro? While at that place are some notable differences between these 2 Apple Silicon Macs that I'll get into below, they're not enough to justify the premium.

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New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Specs

	MacBook Air	13-inch MacBook Pro
Starting toll	$999	$1299
Screen	13.3 inches (2560 x 1600), 400 nits	thirteen.three inches (2560 x 1600), 500 nits
Battery life	xv hours web/18 hours video	17 hours web/twenty hours video
Processor	Apple M1 (8-cadre CPU, sixteen-core Neural Engine)	Apple tree M1 (8-core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine) \| Intel 10th Gen Core i5 and i7
Graphics	7-core GPU (viii-core optiona)	8-cadre GPU
Storage	256GB to 2TB	256GB to 4TB
Retentiveness	8GB, 16GB	8GB, 16GB
Thunderbolt three USB-C ports	2	2
Touch Bar	No	Yes
Security	Touch ID	Touch ID
Audio	Stereo speakers, iii-mic array	Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, Studio quality iii-mic assortment
Dimensions	12 ten 8.4 10 0.6 inches	12 x viii.4 10 0.half-dozen inches
Weight	2.8 pounds	3.0 pounds

New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro design

The new MacBook Air is sleeker and lighter than the MacBook Pro, weighing in at two.8 pounds and measuring 0.sixteen inches to 0.63 inches thick. The MacBook Pro is a heftier three pounds and is 0.61 inches thick all the way around.

Certain, the MacBook Pro benefits from having a Touch on Bar display, which can come in handy for shortcuts, only I don't see that as a existent advantage.

New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro operation

The new MacBook Air has the same powerful M1 chip every bit the MacBook Pro. And that ways you get the same iv high-powered cores along with 4 high-efficiency cores for balancing heavy workloads with lighter tasks.

Notwithstanding, while the MacBook Air has a 7-cadre GPU, the MacBook Pro bumps that upwards to 8 cores. That doesn't seem like a big difference to me.

It is worth noting that the MacBook Pro has an active cooling system while the Air is fanless, so the Pro may exist able to deliver meliorate sustained functioning nether heavy load.

The other specs are quite like. You starting time with 8GB of universal retentiveness (RAM) for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro and both go up to 16GB. And the starting storage is 256GB for both models, going all the way up to 2TB.

New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro display and speakers

MacBook Air vs Pro - Apple Silicon — (Image credit: Apple)

The MacBook Pro does accept a singled-out advantage when information technology comes its display, as its rated for 500 nits of effulgence to 400 nits for the MacBook Air. The Air likewise now supports the P3 wide colour gamut and both systems take True Tone back up.

If you really care almost audio quality, the MacBook Pro features stereo speakers with high dynamic range and broad stereo audio, equally well equally support for Dolby Atmos. Plus, yous get three studio-quality mics.

The MacBook Air also has stereo speakers and iii mics, but it doesn't offer the same level of quality as the Pro.

New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro battery life

This is probably the biggest difference between these two laptops. The MacBook Air is rated for upward to 18 hours of battery life when streaming video, compared to 20 hours for the MacBook Pro. And while the Air can go up to 15 hours surfing the spider web, the Pro tin endure for 17 hours.

New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro bottom line

While nosotros don't know how well the new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is going to handle older Intel apps yet, based on the specs and features I'd say the Air looks like a much better value. You lot get nearly the same exact operation in a thinner and lighter pattern for considerably less money.

While our benchmarking and reviews could change my mind, right now I would put my own money on the Air.

Marker Spoonauer is the global editor in main of Tom'southward Guide and has covered technology for nearly xx years. In add-on to overseeing the direction of Tom'southward Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends. Mark was previously editor in primary of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.