The comparison is really close when it comes to the display. (Image credit: Apple) MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: display

Finally, while all these laptops come in either silver or space grey, only the MacBook Air offers a gold option – and it's a really nice colour. There are also some differences in terms of the ports you've got available, which will get on to shortly. However, in our new world of video-conferencing all the time, they're a big improvement over most built-in mics. The MacBook Pro models also have new microphone arrays that Apple's calls 'studio quality', though we'd still probably suggest a real microphone for your hit podcast. The stereo separation is impressive, though, and you certainly won't feel like you're missing out when it comes to sounds. The MacBook Air and smaller MacBook Pro also have good speakers, but now we're back into for laptops territory. Some high-end speakers use this setup, including the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Balance. They use an advanced design with two opposing drivers in each side, one facing up, one facing down, so that the vibrations from each will cancel each other out, so you get big noise levels without feeling any shake in the frame. They're genuinely impressive, and not in a mealy-mouthed 'well, they're good for laptop speakers' way. The 16-inch MacBook Pro finds room for noticeably bigger and more impressive speakers than you get on either the MacBook Air or the 13-inch MacBook Pro… or almost any laptop we've tried, really. The keys have a fairly short travel, but you can feel the movement, and there's great feedback, so accuracy is no problem.Īll the models have excellent trackpads, too – this is one area Apple nailed a long time ago, and never missteps on. You may have heard of reliability concerns around Apple's keyboards over the last few years, but now 100% of its laptops use a new design for the mechanics of the keys, and it's both more comfortable and (based on use so far) less likely to break than previous models.

Again, note that the difference between the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro isn't huge.Īll three models use Apple's latest generation of keyboard, which is a crucial improvement over previous models.

The MacBook Air weighs in at 1.29kg (2.8 pounds), compared with 1.37 g (3.02 pounds) for the 13-inch Pro and 2kg (4.3 pounds) for the 16-inch Pro.

Mac airbook specs