So where does that leave an Apple fan looking for a new laptop? Of course, you’ll pay a pretty penny for that sort of notebook (more than $6,000, in fact), but even more modest Pros cost quite a bit deal more than the Air, with the 14-inch Pro starting at $2,000. While the Air tops out at 2 terabytes of solid-state storage and 16GB of memory, the Pro can be configured with as much as 8 terabytes of storage and 64GB of memory. In short, you’ll spend less time waiting and more time doing.īeyond the more powerful processor, the Pro has a brighter, more vibrant display that makes photos and videos truly pop, longer battery life (both sizes clock in at 14 hours), and can be configured with more storage and memory than the Air. You can easily slice and dice 4K video and have it ready to upload to YouTube in the blink of an eye. You can load dozens of tracks into an audio project without skipping a beat. (A 13-inch Pro is also available that uses the regular M1.) In practice this means, for example, that photo filters apply faster and large spreadsheets open quicker. As their names imply, the M1 Pro and M1 Max are more powerful versions of the “regular” M1 found in the MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro is available in 14- and 16-inches, and can be configured with the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Its battery can last as long as 13 hours on a single charge, according to our tests.Īlthough the MacBook Pro lineup has been refreshed in the past year, with Apple fully dropping Intel’s processors for its own, the basic calculus remains the same: These are hugely powerful notebooks for users who need raw power. In terms of specs, the Air starts with the Apple M1 processor, 8 gigabytes of memory, and 256GB of solid-state storage, a type of storage technology that’s faster than traditional hard drives. The 13-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 and the 13-inch Dell XPS 2021 also weigh in at 2.8 pounds, while LG’s 14-inch Gram is a feathery 2.2 pounds. It’s a neat feature-I enjoy using my preferred podcast app, called Overcast, on my MacBook Air-but because the Mac doesn’t have a touch screen, the experience is slightly clunky.Īt 2.8 pounds, the computer is lightweight (you’d hope so with a name like Air) but not uniquely so. It’s capable of running a wide variety of apps, whether that’s a web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari a word processor like Google Docs, Pages, or Word or a spreadsheet program such as Excel, Numbers, or Sheets.Īnd with the M1, you can now run iPhone and iPad apps. The Air starts at $1,000, comes in one size (13 inches), and is a smart choice for everyday use. Both do well in our ratings, but they’re aimed at different audiences. Apple makes two notebooks, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

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