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MacBook Air (M1, 2020) vs. MacBook Pro 15” (2017) - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here is a side by side comparison between MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro 15” (2017) specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Conor Banett September 20, 2020 10:43 am

MacBook Air (M1, 2020) vs. MacBook Pro 15” (2017)

The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) up to 8-core Apple M1 with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz. While the MacBook Pro 15” (2017) features the 45W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake quad-core Intel Core i7-7700HQ up to quad-core Intel Core i7-7920HQ with the boost speed up to 4.10 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.3″ MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and the 15.4″ MacBook Pro 15” (2017) , we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

MacBook Air (M1, 2020) vs. MacBook Pro 15” (2017): Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Air (M1, 2020) See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Pro 15” (2017) See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Better Performance With the new Apple M1 Chip, it 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 It's a MacBook Air with the longest battery life ever made, 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, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance. Better Display It now supports P3 wide color with 400-nits of display brightness. More Supports latest USB 4 Supports latest Wi-Fi 6 Better security with new Secure Enclave in M1 chip	7th-gen Intel Kaby Lake Core i7 processors up to 3.1 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz Up to 16GB of LPDDR3 memory Powerful Radeon Pro discrete graphics with 2GB or 4GB of video memory in every configuration Up to 2TB of SSD storage Apple T1 Chip Touch Bar and Touch ID
What's missing	Supports only one extended [email protected] display, while the older Intel version supports up to two [email protected] Not supports for external Thunderbolt-3 enabled graphics processors (eGPUs).

Availability	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
Released	2020	2017
Release Info	Announced on November 10th, 2020	Announced on June 5th, 2018
Pricing	$999 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$2,399 Intel Core i7 7700HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 256GB SSD \| Radeon Pro 555 $2,799 Intel Core i7 7820HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 512GB SSD \| Radeon Pro 560

MacBook Air (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Gold By Apple $899.99 Was: $999.00	See at Amazon
	2020 Apple MacBook Air with M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $1,600.00	See at Amazon
	2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $795.97	See at Amazon
MacBook Pro 15” (2017) Price
	Apple 15in MacBook Pro, Retina, Touch Bar, 2.9GHz Intel Core i7 Quad Core, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Gray, MPTT2LL/A (Renewed) By Apple $713.80 Was: $860.00	See at Amazon
	Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina Core i7 2.6GHz MLH32LL/A with Touch Bar, 16GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Drive (Renewed) By Apple $605.50 Was: $699.98	See at Amazon
	2015 Apple MacBook Pro with intel I7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD)- Silver (Renewed) By Apple $514.99 Was: $597.05	See at Amazon

Display	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
Size	13.3 Inches	15.4 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 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200 1680 by 1050 1280 by 800 1024 by 640 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3)

Exterior	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
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)	13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61” (349.3 mm x 240.7 mm x 155 mm)
Weight	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)	Starting at 4.02 pounds (1.83 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: 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys Touch Bar with integrated 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)	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	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
Processor	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7820HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.90 → 3.90 GHz, 8 MB Cache, 45W 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7920HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 3.10 → 4.10 GHz, 8 MB Cache, 45W
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	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ Intel® HD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7820HQ Intel® HD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7920HQ Intel® HD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
Discrete Graphics		AMD Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory AMD Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
Memory	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB	16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Storage	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD

Connectivity	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
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 4.2 wireless technology

Battery	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
Size	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	76 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	87W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
OS	Shipped with macOS Big Sur	Shipped with macOS Sierra
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
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 Three microphones 3.5mm headphone jack

Misc	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)	MacBook Pro 15” (2017)
Sensors	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T1 Chip
In the box	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	15‑inch MacBook Pro 87W 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)	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and: Up to two displays with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors Up to four displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors Up to four displays with 3840-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

MacBook Air (M1, 2020) Price
	2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Gold By Apple $899.99 Was: $999.00	See at Amazon
	2020 Apple MacBook Air with M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $1,600.00	See at Amazon
	2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Space Gray (Renewed) By Apple $795.97	See at Amazon
MacBook Pro 15” (2017) Price
	Apple 15in MacBook Pro, Retina, Touch Bar, 2.9GHz Intel Core i7 Quad Core, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Space Gray, MPTT2LL/A (Renewed) By Apple $713.80 Was: $860.00	See at Amazon
	Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina Core i7 2.6GHz MLH32LL/A with Touch Bar, 16GB Memory, 256GB Solid State Drive (Renewed) By Apple $605.50 Was: $699.98	See at Amazon
	2015 Apple MacBook Pro with intel I7 (15-inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD)- Silver (Renewed) By Apple $514.99 Was: $597.05	See at Amazon