The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is typically a much more affordable and lighter option, offering a fanless design for silent operation, which makes it well-suited for general use and highly portable. However, if you require powerful performance for tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) with its more robust M1 Pro processor and larger screen with higher resolution would be the better choice. The MacBook Pro also has a significantly better battery capacity and a brighter and more vivid Mini LED display compared to the MacBook Air's IPS screen. The Pro is heavier and usually much more expensive, so you're trading off portability and cost for increased performance and screen quality. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Very good portability
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Excellent for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
9.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
497.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
17.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its lighter weight and fanless design makes it highly portable and quiet, suitable for general use; its CPU and RAM handle everyday tasks elegantly, and the screen quality is commendable for its class, although it is outshone by the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro 16 (2021), with its more powerful CPU, ample RAM, superior mini LED screen, and larger battery, offers an enhanced experience for more demanding applications and better screen detailing, making it very good for general use, but it is heavier and potentially less convenient to carry around.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a less powerful GPU with 7 GPU cores, which limits its ability to handle demanding 3D tasks, whereas the MacBook Pro 16 (2021) comes with a stronger GPU with 16 GPU cores, significantly boosting its capability for 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its M1 chip offers competent CPU and GPU performance suitable for engineering and design, but the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) surpasses it with a more powerful M1 Pro chip, more RAM, and a superior GPU, enhancing processing power for demanding tasks.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
8.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
9.4/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.2in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
497.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When choosing a laptop for general use, both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro offer excellent resolution and brightness, which makes images and text crisp and vibrant, enhancing your everyday tasks like browsing and watching videos. For engineering and design work, the MacBook Pro stands out with a wider color gamut, offering greater color accuracy and range which is essential for professional photo editing and graphic design. However, for 3D applications where high refresh rates are crucial, neither model is ideal as they prioritize screen resolution and color quality over fast refresh rates, which are more important for smooth motion and gaming.
Battery
15.0 Hours
17.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.2in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
4.7 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,000
$1,999
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) costs $1,999.
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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