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M1 MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3) - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the M1 MacBook Air and 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3), including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 10:15 am

M1 MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)

The 2020 M1 MacBook Air features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 7G) up to 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz. While the 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3) features the 15W 8th Generation Intel Coffee Lake quad-core Intel Core i5-8257U up to quad-core Intel Core i7-8557U with the boost speed up to 4.50 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.3″ M1 MacBook Air (2020) and the 13.3″ 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3) , we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

M1 MacBook Air vs. 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3): Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 MacBook Air	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it 2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Key Features
What's new	Better Performance. With the new Apple M1 Chip, it is now 3x times faster in exporting a project in iMovie, 5x times faster applying 3D effects in Final Cut Pro, editing multiple streams 4K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro with no frame drop, 2x times faster in exporting photos in Lightroom, and more. Better battery life of up to 18 hours. The new M1 MacBook Air has the most extended battery life ever, with up to 18 hours of watching movies and 15 hours of web browsing. Better FaceTime HD camera. With the latest Apple Image Single Processor (ISP) in the M1 chip, image quality is better in noise reduction, has a better dynamic range, and has an improved auto white balance. Better display. It now supports a P3 wide color with 400 nits of display brightness. Improvements It supports the latest USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6. It has better security with the new Secure Enclave in the M1 chip.	New Magic Keyboard The updated 13-inch MacBook Pro now features the new Magic Keyboard, first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and added to MacBook Air in March. Double the Storage The 2020 models now come with double the storage of the previous generation starting at 256GB up to 1TB. It can be also configured to even more storage up to 4TB SSD.
What's missing	Natively supports only one external display. The new M1 chip supports only one extended 6K@60Hz display, while the older Intel version supports up to two 4K@60Hz.	No Performance Improvements It's using the same 8th Gen Intel Core processors and LPDDR3 memory that powered the previous 2019 MacBook Pro 13-inch.

Availability	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Released	2020	2020
Release Info	Announced on November 10th, 2020	Announced on May 4th, 2020 Available on May 4th, 2020
Pricing	$999 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$1,299 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,499 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Size	13.3 Inches	13.3 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 400 nits brightness Supports wide color (P3) True Tone technology	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 640 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology

Exterior	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
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)	Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm) Height: 0.61 inch (1.56 cm)
Weight	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)	Starting at 3.1 pounds (1.4 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 / USB 4 (USB‑C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)	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)

Internal Specs	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Processor	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8257U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.40 → 3.90 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8557U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 4.50 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8257U Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 645 48 Execution Units with 128 MB eDRAM, 300 → 1050 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8557U Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 645 48 Execution Units with 128 MB eDRAM, 300 → 1150 MHz
Memory	8GB unified memory Configurable to 16GB	8GB configurable to 16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Storage	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD

Connectivity	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Wi-Fi	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 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	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Size	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	58.2 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 15 hours wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback	Up to 10 hours wireless web Up to 10 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter	61W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
OS	Shipped with macOS Big Sur	Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
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	Stereo speakers with high dynamic range Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5mm headphone jack

Misc	M1 MacBook Air	2020 MacBook Pro 13 (2TB3)
Sensors	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor
In the box	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	13‑inch MacBook Pro 61W 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 display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)