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Intel MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Pro 16” - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the Intel MacBook Air and M1 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. M1 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 2021 M1 MacBook Pro 16” features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 10-core Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) up to 10-core Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) with a clock speed of 3.20 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 16.2″ M1 MacBook Pro 16” (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Intel MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Pro 16”: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Intel MacBook Air	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 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. More 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.	All-New MacBook Pro Design The new design focus on functionality and performance. It has a larger chassis that provides more room for an advanced thermal system that can move 50 percent more air than the previous generation. New M1 Pro and M1 Max Chip The new 16” MacBook Pro features the new M1 Pro, and M1 Max applies a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture. Both processors feature fast unified memory and increased memory bandwidth up to 400GB/s, 8-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and with best-in-class performance per watt and industry-leading power efficiency. New Liquid Retina XDR with ProMotion Display Featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro, the Liquid Retina XDR display delivers up to 1,000 nits of sustained, full-screen brightness, an incredible 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Better Battery Life of up to 21 hours It delivers up to 21 hours of video playback, seven more hours than its previous-generation 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro.
What's missing		Removed features Here is the list of features removed from the 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro laptop: Removed Touchbar One less Thunderbolt ports No Bootcamp You can no longer install and run Windows 10/11 via Bootcamp on the newer Arm-based M1 chip. The only solution you have for now is to use virtualization.

Availability	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Released	2020	2021
Release Info	Announced on March 18th, 2020 Available on March 18th, 2020	Announced on October 18, 2021. Available on October 26, 2021.
Pricing	$999 - Intel Core i3 \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,299 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$2,499 M1 Pro 10-Core CPU 16-Core GPU 16GB 512GB $2,699 M1 Pro 10-Core CPU 16-Core GPU 16GB 1TB $3,499 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 32GB 1TB $3,899 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 1TB $4,299 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 2TB $4,899 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 4TB $6,099 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 8TB

Display	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Size	13.3 Inches	16.2 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	Liquid Retina XDR display 16.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;10 3456-by-2234 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range) Up to 1000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness, 1600 nits peak brightness 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio Color 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology Refresh rates ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

Exterior	Intel MacBook Air	M1 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: 0.66 inch (1.68 cm) Width: 14.01 inches (35.57 cm) Depth: 9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
Weight	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)	4.7 pounds (2.1 kg) M1 Pro models. 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg) M1 Max models.
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: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Touch ID 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)	Left 2 x Thunderbolt™️ 4 Supports USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), DisplayPort, and charging. 1 x MagSafe 3 1 x Headphone jack Right 1 x Thunderbolt™️ 4 Supports USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), DisplayPort, and charging. 1 x SDXC card slot 1 x HDMI port

Internal Specs	Intel MacBook Air	M1 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	Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
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	Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) Apple M1 Pro iGPU 16 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) Apple M1 Max iGPU 32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
Memory	8GB Configurable to 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory	16GB 32GB 64GB Unified Memory
Storage	256GB512GB Configurable to 1TB and 2TB SSD	512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB SSD

Connectivity	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Battery	Intel MacBook Air	M1 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 14 hours wireless web Up to 21 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter	140W USB‑C Power Adapter Charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with included USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable.

Software	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
OS	Shipped with macOS Catalina	Shipped with macOS Monterey
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
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 sound system with force-canceling woofers Wide stereo sound Support for spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Misc	Intel MacBook Air	M1 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 140W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C to MagSafe 3 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 every 12 months, 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)	Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max) Thunderbolt 4 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI digital video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)