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MacBook Pro 14” (2021) vs. MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here is a side by side comparison between MacBook Pro 14” (2021) and MacBook Air (M1, 2020) specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

By Conor Banett

September 20, 2020 10:43 am

MacBook Pro 14” (2021) vs. MacBook Air (M1, 2020)

The MacBook Pro 14” (2021) 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 0.00 GHz. While 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.

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

MacBook Pro 14” (2021) vs. MacBook Air (M1, 2020): Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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 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, which is seven additional hours compared to the previous-generation MacBook Pro.	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
What's missing	No Touchbar One less Thunderbolt ports	Supports only one extended 6K@60Hz display, while the older Intel version supports up to two 4K@60Hz. Not supports for external Thunderbolt-3 enabled graphics processors (eGPUs).

Availability	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Released	2021	2020
Release Info	Announced on October 18, 2021. Available on October 26, 2021.	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$1,999 M1 Pro, 8C CPU, 14C 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 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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 400 nits brightness Supports wide color (P3) True Tone technology

Exterior	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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	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	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)

Internal Specs	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Processor	Apple M1 Pro (8C, 14G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 0.00 GHz, Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 0.00 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 24G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 0.00 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 0.00 GHz,	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 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,	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory	16GB 32GB 64GB Unified Memory	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB SSD	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
Wi-Fi	802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 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	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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 15 hours wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
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	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
OS	Shipped with macOS Monterey	Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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	MacBook Pro 14” (2021)	MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
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 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)