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M1 MacBook Pro 14” vs. Intel MacBook Air - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the M1 MacBook Pro 14” and Intel MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 24, 2024 10:13 am

M1 MacBook Pro 14” vs. Intel MacBook Air

The 2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14” features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G) up to 10-core Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz. While 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.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 14.2″ M1 MacBook Pro 14” (2021) and the 13.3″ Intel MacBook Air (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

M1 MacBook Pro 14” vs. Intel MacBook Air: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Intel MacBook Air
Key Features
What's new	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 14” 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 It delivers up to 17 hours of video playback, seven more hours than the previous-generation MacBook Pro.	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.
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 port 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	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Released	2021	2020
Release Info	Announced on October 18, 2021. Available on October 26, 2021.	Announced on March 18th, 2020 Available on March 18th, 2020
Pricing	$1,999 M1 Pro, 8C CPU, 14C GPU, 16GB, 512GB $2,299 M1 Pro, 10C CPU, 16C GPU, 16GB, 512GB $2,499 M1 Pro, 10C CPU, 16C GPU, 16GB, 1TB $3,099 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 24C GPU, 32GB, 1TB $3,299 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 32GB, 1TB $3,699 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 1TB $4,099 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 2TB $4,699 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 4TB $5,899 M1 Max, 10C CPU, 32C GPU, 64GB, 8TB	$999 - Intel Core i3 \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,299 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Size	14.2 Inches	13.3 Inches
Info	Liquid Retina XDR display Size: 14.2-inch Technology: Liquid Retina XDR display Resolution: 3024 x 1964 Pixel Density: 254 PPI 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	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

Exterior	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Size Comparison
Dimensions	Height: 0.61 inch (1.55 cm) Width: 12.31 inches (31.26 cm) Depth: 8.71 inches (22.12 cm)	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)
Weight	3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors	Space GraySilver	GoldSpace GraySilver
Keyboard and Trackpad	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	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
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)

Internal Specs	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Processor	Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,	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
Integrated Graphics	Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G) Apple M1 Pro iGPU 14 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) Apple M1 Pro iGPU 16 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G) Apple M1 Max iGPU 24 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) Apple M1 Max iGPU 32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,	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
Memory	16GB 32GB 64GB Unified Memory	8GB Configurable to 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory
Storage	512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB SSD	256GB512GB Configurable to 1TB and 2TB SSD

Connectivity	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
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 Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Size	70 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 11 hours wireless web Up to 17 hours of Apple TV app movie playback	Up to 11 hours wireless web Up to 12 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply	67W USB‑C Power Adapter M1 Pro with 8-core CPU models 96W USB‑C Power Adapter M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max models. Supports Fast-Charging.	30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
OS	Shipped with macOS Monterey	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 Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera Advanced image signal processor with computational video.	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	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	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	M1 MacBook Pro 14”	Intel MacBook Air
Sensors	Touch ID sensor	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	14‑inch MacBook Pro 67W USB‑C Power Adapter M1 Pro with 8-core CPU models. 96W USB‑C Power Adapter M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max models. USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty	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.	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.
More	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)	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)