MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air: How to choose the Apple laptop that's right for you

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

Which should you buy: a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro? It's a amazingly pugnacious question due to the fact that you can't spell incorrect either way. Apple refreshes its lineup yearly, equipping its devices with amended hardware and caller bundle features, and determination person ne'er been much factors to see erstwhile buying a caller Apple laptop. So, wherever bash you start?

First , I urge considering a MacBook's computing power, retention capacity, display, and size. The MacBook Pro, for example, is, acold and away, the "better" machine successful presumption of hardware. It's much powerful, has a bigger screen, and much storage, among different things. 

Also: I yet replaced my M1 MacBook Pro with a basal exemplary M4 - and the upgrades were worthy it

Previously, determination was a bigger disagreement betwixt the hardware successful a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air, but with the merchandise of the new MacBook Air, that determination is simply a small trickier. The refreshed Air has Apple's M4 chipset, giving the bid a important powerfulness boost. It besides comes with much memory, making it look a small much similar the Pro. 

Putting each the size options together, determination are presently 10 MacBook Pro configurations and six MacBook Air configurations. Let's reappraisal the main differences betwixt the 2 to assistance you determine which 1 to purchase.

What's the quality betwixt the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air?

The MacBook Pro comes successful 2 sizes: 14 inches and 16 inches. The 14-inch MacBook Pro supports each 3 M4 builds: the basal M4, the M4 Pro, and the M4 Max. The 16-inch option, however, lone supports second two. All 3 chips are high-performing, though determination are notable differences. The M4 Max is the beefiest, with a almighty media motor susceptible of powering the astir demanding tasks. 

Also: How we trial laptops astatine ZDNET

Each 1 besides has a antithetic fig of cores. The modular M4 has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. Apple's M4 Pro houses a 14-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. The M4 Max has the aforesaid processor arsenic the M4 Pro but sports a 32-core GPU instead. Apple's M4 MacBook Pro models besides person antithetic amounts of unified representation ranging from 16GB to 48GB. 

This translates to beardown show erstwhile it comes to demanding tasks similar video editing. For example, Apple says the modular M4 MacBook Pro delivers up to 1.8x faster representation processing erstwhile compared to the M1 MacBook Pro, and the M4 Max goes adjacent further with 3.5x faster show for dense originative workloads.

Other benefits of the M4 MacBook Pro bid see longer artillery lives, other ports (they person 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports and an SDXC paper slot), and a higher-resolution Liquid Retina XDR display.

Here's the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

Alternate versions of the MacBook Pro utilized to beryllium available, including a 13-inch exemplary and laptops moving the M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets. Apple has officially discontinued these variants, though refurbished units tin inactive beryllium recovered astatine third-party retailers. Best Buy , for instance, is selling a refurbished M3 Max MacBook Pro for $2,160.

Also: Happy birthday, Apple Watch: 10 champion features that changed however we way our health, ranked

The M4 MacBook Pro is simply a coagulated laptop for astir usage cases, but if the basal spot isn't almighty capable for you, take either the M4 Pro oregon M4 Max. Remember that going large with the 16-inch Pro raises the terms tag by an arsenic large amount. The 14-inch Pro starts at $1,599 and, with spot and interior retention upgrades, tin spell up to $3,199. The 16-inch Pro starts at $2,499 and, with interior upgrades, goes up to $3,999.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

As for the MacBook Air, determination are 2 13-inch and 15-inch M4 models connected Apple's website, with the older M3 and M3 units nary longer disposable connected Apple's site, but you tin inactive find it astatine different retailers. The newest procreation uses the almighty M4 chipset, and though it's not capable to scope the aforesaid heights of powerfulness arsenic the MacBook Pro, it's inactive nary slouch.

ZDNET Editor Kyle Kucharski spent immoderate prime clip investigating the M4 MacBook Air and praised the laptop's responsive performance. Across aggregate benchmark tests, the MacBook Air performed rather well, adjacent coming adjacent to the MacBook Pro M4, and successful immoderate instances, outdoing the MacBook Pro M3.

Also: I swapped my Windows laptop for a MacBook Air M4, and yet recognize the hype

Battery beingness is excellent, too, lasting implicit 14 hours connected a azygous charge. Its Liquid Retina show delivers a crisp image, well-defined text, smooth, vibrant video, and enactment for 1 cardinal colors. Other notable features see the quality to enactment 2 outer monitors portion the lid is unfastened and Center Stage, which keeps you successful the halfway of the MacBook's webcam.

The MacBook Air exemplary has importantly less ports than the MacBook Pro, consisting of lone 2 Thunderbolt 4 inputs, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe 3 charging port. Because determination isn't arsenic overmuch hardware, the laptop lone weighs 2.7 pounds. Conversely, the Pro laptop clocks successful astatine 3.4 pounds and becomes heavier erstwhile lodging a much almighty chipset.

Also: I swapped my ThinkPad for a MacBook Air M4, and it's spoiled enactment laptops for me

Multiple MacBook Air configurations are available. At $999, the cheapest exemplary has a 10-core CPU, an 8-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and 256GB SSD storage. The high-end laptop, astatine $1,399, sports the aforesaid processor but alternatively has a 10-core GPU, 24GB of unified memory, and a 512GB SSD.

You tin upgrade definite aspects, similar expanding the retention abstraction to 1 TB. However, doing truthful volition summation the terms by $400, truthful beryllium mindful of your buying budget. If you privation to prevention money, the base M3 MacBook Air is disposable connected Amazon for $891.66.

Which MacBook is close for you?

The reply chiefly depends connected however you spot yourself utilizing the laptops and however the show size and value origin into that equation. A reliable machine is an investment; you don't privation to walk excessively overmuch connected an overqualified laptop, and you don't privation to bargain a machine that's not almighty capable for your needs. Since the gulf betwixt the 2 models isn't arsenic large arsenic successful erstwhile generations, the 1 you should bargain depends connected the benignant of idiosyncratic you are.

If you're a graphic designer, euphony producer, nonrecreational photographer, videographer, 3D artist, oregon iOS crippled and app developer, a MacBook Pro would beryllium the mode to go. The Pro models tin grip aggravated graphics processing and much bundle moving successful the inheritance without importantly lagging, overheating, oregon slowing down.  

Also: Why I bought a $5,300 Apple Mac Studio successful the midst of tariffs quality - and don't regret it

If you are a pupil oregon idiosyncratic who spends astir of your clip successful Microsoft Office oregon Google Workspace, a MacBook Air whitethorn beryllium a amended fit, arsenic it won't enactment a load connected your backmost arsenic you lug it around. If you privation a MacBook to casually surf the internet, ticker YouTube oregon Netflix, respond to emails, and FaceTime your friends, past the Air is cleanable for you.

No substance which exemplary you buy, a MacBook is an fantabulous instrumentality if you privation to grow your personal Apple ecosystem with a instrumentality that works seamlessly with your iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, and different products. Handoff, for example, allows you to power FaceTime calls betwixt your MacBook and iPhone, and your MacBook tin easy entree your iPhone files, messages, contacts, and photos.