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Intel MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 16” - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the Intel MacBook Air and 2020 MacBook Pro 16”, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 24, 2024 10:13 am

Intel MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 16”

The 2020 Intel MacBook Air features the 9W 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake dual-core Intel Core i3-1000NG4 up to quad-core Intel Core i7-1060NG7 with the boost speed up to 3.80 GHz. While the 2020 MacBook Pro 16” features the 45W 9th Generation Intel Coffee Lake 6-core Intel Core i7-9750H up to 8-core Intel Core i9-9980HK with the boost speed up to 5.00 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.3″ Intel MacBook Air (2020) and the 16″ 2020 MacBook Pro 16” , we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Intel MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 16”: Specs Comparison

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Intel MacBook Air

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2020 MacBook Pro 16”

Key Features

What's new

New Magic Keyboard

Featuring a new Magic Keyboard with a refined scissor mechanism that delivers 1mm of key travel and a stable key feel, as well as an Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press.

Double the Storage

The 2020 models now come with double the storage of the previous generation starting at 256GB up to 512GB. It can be also configured to even more storage up to 2TB SSD.

Better Performance

It now comes with the 10th Gen Intel Ice Lake processors with Turbo Boost speed of up to 3.8GHz. The integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics also gain 80 percent than the previous generation.

More and Faster Memory

The new 2020 models come with 8GB of 3733 LPDDR4X memory and can be configured up to 16GB.

Built-in Security and Privacy

With the Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple’s own custom-designed second-generation silicon, MacBook Air checks that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with and provides on-the-fly data encryption for everything stored on the SSD.

A three-mic array for more clear voice capture for FaceTime calls.
The industry-best Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and multi-touch navigation.
Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and video output in a single connector.
Support for up to a 6K external display, a first for MacBook Air.
Advanced stereo speakers for immersive and wide stereo sound.

New Optional AMD Radeon Pro 5600M

You can now opt for the latest AMD Radeon Pro with 40 compute units, 8GB of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2), and 394GB/s of memory bandwidth that can deliver performance up to 75% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M.

Availability	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Released	2020	2020
Release Info	Announced on March 18th, 2020 Available on March 18th, 2020	Announced in June 2020. Available in June 2020.
Pricing	$999 - Intel Core i3 \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,299 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$2,399 - Intel Core i7 \| 16GB RAM \| 512GB SSD \| Radeon 5300M 4GB $2,799 - Intel Core i7 \| 16GB RAM \| 1TB SSD \| Radeon 5500M 4GB

Display	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Size	13.3 Inches	16 Inches
Info	Retina display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 1680 by 1050 1440 by 900 1024 by 640 16:10 aspect ratio True Tone technology	Retina display 16‑inch (diagonal) LED‑backlit display with IPS technology; 3072‑by‑1920 native resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 2048 by 1280 1792 by 1120 1344 by 840 1152 by 720 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology Refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

Exterior	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Size Comparison
Dimensions	Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)	Height: 0.64 inch (1.62 cm) Width: 14.09 inches (35.79 cm) Depth: 9.68 inches (24.59 cm)
Weight	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)	Starting at 4.3 pounds (2.0 kg)
Colors	GoldSpace GraySilver	Space GraySilver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 65 (U.S.) or 66 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys in an inverted‑T arrangement Touch Bar Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure‑sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure‑sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Ports	Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)	Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.20 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 9W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.10 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 10W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.80 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 10W	9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 48 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz	9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Discrete Graphics		AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory (20 CUs) AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory (24 CUs) AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory (24 CUs) New AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 8GB of HBM2 memory (40 CUs)
Memory	8GB Configurable to 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory	16GB 32GB 64GB 2666MHz DDR4 onboard memory
Storage	256GB512GB Configurable to 1TB and 2TB SSD	512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB SSD

Connectivity	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Battery	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Size	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	100 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 11 hours wireless web Up to 12 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time	Up to 11 hours wireless web Up to 11 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter	96W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
OS	Shipped with macOS Catalina	Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack	High‑fidelity six‑speaker system with force‑cancelling woofers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Studio‑quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	Intel MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 16”
Sensors	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	16‑inch MacBook Pro 96W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty	Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.	Your MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one‑year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and: One external 6K display with 6016-by-3384 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and: Up to two displays with 6016‑by‑3384 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors or Up to four displays with 4096‑by‑2304 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)