Which laptop should you buy?

• MacBook Air 15.3-inch M2 2023

  $999 $1299 Save $300

  The 15.3-inch MacBook Air comes with a gorgeous 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, Apple’s powerful M2 chip with a powerful 8-core CPU, and a 10-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB storage space, Touch ID, and more. 

  Pros

  • Thinner & lighter
  • More affordable
  • Bigger display

  Cons

  • Less powerful chip
  • Fewer ports

• 

  Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023)

  $1399 $1599 Save $200

  The 14-inch MacBook Pro has the M3 and M3 Pro chips, a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, and up to 36GB of RAM. It’s the perfect compact powerhouse that can enable you to do all demanding tasks, whether that’s video editing, 3D modeling, or gaming on the go.

  Pros

  • Faster M3 chip
  • Liquid Retina XDR display
  • More ports

  Cons

  • More expensive
  • Slightly bulkier & heavier

Apple’s MacBook lineup offers some of the best laptops you can buy. If you’re a student, there’s a fantastic lineup of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models at your disposal. For creators and video professionals, the MacBook Pro delivers the best hardware and software for your needs. Now, if you’re in for a big screen laptop, Apple offers two great options: the 15-inch MacBook Air and the 14.2-inch MacBook Pro. But, which one is the right choice for you? Let’s break it down for you, starting with the specs comparison.

MacBook Air 15 vs MacBook Pro 14: Specifications Compared

• 	MacBook Air 15.3-inch M2 2023	Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (2023)
  CPU	Apple M2 (8-core)	Apple M3: 8-core
  GPU	10-Core	10-core
  RAM	8GB, 16GB, or 24GB	8GB, 16GB, 24GB
  Storage	256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB
  Display (Size, Resolution)	15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 500 nits brightness,	14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, 1600 nits, 120Hz
  Camera	1080P webcam	1080P webcam
  Speakers	Six-speaker sound system, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	High-fidelity six-speaker sound system
  Colors	Midnight, Starlight, Space Grey, Silver	Space Gray, Silver, Space Black
  Ports	2 x USB-C, MagSafe, headphone jack	SDXC card, HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, 3x Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3
  Network	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
  Dimensions	0.61″ x 0.45″ x 13.40″	0.61″ x 12.31″ x 8.71″
  Weight	1.51 kg	1.55 kg
  Starting Price	Starting at $1,299	Starting at $1,599
  Security	Touch ID	Touch ID

Price and Availability

The 15-inch MacBook Air was unveiled at Apple’s June 2023 WWDC conference and has been on the market for several months now. You can find it at major retailers, including the official Apple Store, Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama. It starts at $1,200 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, but you have the option to upgrade the RAM to 16GB or 24GB, and the SSD can be expanded to up to 2TB. Since it’s been out for a while, you can snag the base model for as low as $1,049.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple M3 chipset was announced at the company’s Scary Fast event in late October 2023. Like the MacBook Air, you can purchase it at major retailers, including the official Apple store, Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama. The starting price for this MacBook Pro was reduced to $1,599 compared to the previous model, as it now features the Apple M3 chipset instead of the M3 Pro. Just like its Air counterpart, this model can be upgraded to 16GB or 24GB of RAM and offers up to 2TB of storage. Despite being relatively new, the MacBook Pro is already available at discounted prices from various retailers, going as low as $1,399.

Design

Starting with the design, both the 15-inch MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro share a similar look. Both the models comes with an aluminum chassis with the iconic glass-made Apple logo on the lid. Lifting the aluminum lids reveals the display, keyboard, and a large trackpad. The keyboard layout is the same on both models, and it’s backlit on both, too. The display on both the models also comes with a notch up top, but the underlying technology is a lot different, which we’ll discuss in the display section.

There are, however, some difference in terms of overall size and build. The major difference is in the size, with the 15-inch MacBook Air taking more space on the table compared to the 14-inch MacBook Pro. Then there’s the difference in thickness. The 15-inch MacBook Air measures a sleek 0.45 inches, while the MacBook Pro is 33% thicker at 0.6 inches. The MacBook Air feels really thin when sitting next to the MacBook Pro. The weight, however, is mostly the same, with the MacBook Air at 1.51 kg and the Pro model at 1.55 kg.

If you want more ports, though, the MacBook Pro should be your go-to choice. It has a better selection of ports, including an SDXC card slot, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and two Thunderbolt USB-C ports. The MacBook Air comes with only two Thunderbolt USB-C ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. Lastly, both the laptops feature a MagSafe 3 connector for charging, allowing you to use all the Thunderbolt 4 ports even while charging.

Finally, coming to the color options, the MacBook Air is available in four finishes: Silver, Starlight, Space Gray, and Midnight. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is available in three colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Space Black. It should, however, be noted that the base variant of the 14-inch MacBook with Apple M3 chipset is not available in the Space Black colorway.

Display and Speakers

The display on the MacBook Pro is far better compared to the MacBook Air, despite being slightly small in size. The MacBook Pro features a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with mini LEDs on the back for great color and contrast. This display can also go up to 1,600 nits for HDR content and also refreshes at 120Hz for smoother content.

The MacBook Air, on the other hand, features a large 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display with up to 500 nits of brightness and True Tone support. This display, however, refreshes only at 60Hz, making things slightly choppier. The underlying LCD panel also means that the color and contrast won’t match up to the MacBook Pro’s level.

If your priority is an outstanding display, the MacBook Pro is undoubtedly the superior choice. The MacBook Pro also features a better high-fidelity six-speaker sound, although both laptops support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.

Performance

Let’s now dive into the performance comparison between these two MacBook models. It should be noted that both the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro share some common specs, including an 8-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 8GB to 24GB of RAM options, and a maximum SSD capacity of 2TB. However, there’s a difference in their base chipsets: the MacBook Air uses the Apple M2, while the MacBook Pro features the Apple M3.

You should know that the Apple M3 is the industry’s first chipset based on the 3nm node technology, packing more transistors onto the chip while maintaining the same physical size as the Apple M2, which relies on 4nm node technology. Apple claims that the M3’s CPU is 20% faster than the M2, and the M3’s GPU offers enhanced features, including hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, as well as a 15% faster Neural Engine.

So, yes, you can expect the Apple M3 to deliver slightly snappier performance compared to the Apple M2. When looking at benchmarks, the Apple M3 does offer improvement over the Apple M2 chipset in nearly all the aspects. However, for most users, the Apple M2 on the MacBook Air should suffice, even for creative tasks.

However, if you’re a professional who handles multiple 4K streams alongside numerous apps in the background and demands the utmost performance, the Apple M3 is a significant step-up.

Battery Life

Finally, coming to the battery life: the 14-inch MacBook Pro offers an impressive 22 hours of battery backup, while the 15-inch MacBook Air gives you up to 18 hours on a single charge. It is also worth noting that while both laptops feature MagSafe 3 charging, the MacBook Pro supports faster charging at up to 96W, whereas the MacBook Air maxes out at 70W.

Which MacBook Should You Buy?

The MacBook Pro 14-inch is undoubtedly a better laptop. It offers a superior display, though slightly smaller, a newer chipset, larger battery, a wide selection of ports, and is overall a solid investment for the future. The only con here is the price, but if budget isn’t a concern, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is the way to go.

However, I would still say that for the majority of users, the 15-inch MacBook Air is the smarter choice. It offers a bigger display which is great for multitasking, the Apple M2 chipset is going to handle most of your tasks efficiently for years to come, and you’ll really appreciate the slim design of this laptop. And at the price it is currently available, the MacBook Air is definitely a better choice.