Home » compare

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M2 MacBook Air 15” - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) and M2 MacBook Air 15”, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 05:58 am

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M2 MacBook Air 15”

The MacBook Pro 15” (2016) features the 45W 6th Generation Intel Skylake quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ up to quad-core Intel Core i7-6920HQ with the boost speed up to 3.80 GHz. While the 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15” features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M2 (8C, 10G) with the boost speed up to 3.48 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 15.4″ MacBook Pro 15” (2016) and the 15.3″ M2 MacBook Air 15” (2023), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M2 MacBook Air 15”: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M2 MacBook Air 15”
Key Features
What's new	6th-gen Intel Skylake Core i7 processors up to 2.9 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.8 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

Availability	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Released	2016	2023
Release Info	Announced on October 27, 2016 Available on November 15, 2016	Announced on June 05, 2023. At the WWDC 2023 event. Available on June 13, 2023.
Pricing	$2,399 Intel Core i7 6700HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 256GB SSD \| Radeon Pro 450 $2,799 Intel Core i7 6820HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 512GB SSD \| Radeon Pro 455	Base prices: $1,299 M2, 8C CPU, 10C GPU, 8GB, 256GB $1,499 M2, 8C CPU, 10C GPU, 8GB, 512GB Memory options: +$200 16GB unified memory +$400 24GB unified memory Storage options: +$200 512GB SSD +$400 1TB SSD +$800 2TB SSD

Display	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Size	15.4 Inches	15.3 Inches
Info	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 gamut (P3)	Liquid Retina display Size: 15.3-inch Technology: Liquid Retina display Resolution: 2880 x 1864 Pixel Density: 224 PPI Brightness: 500 nits Color [li]1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology[/li]

Exterior	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Size Comparison
Dimensions	13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61” (349.3 mm x 240.7 mm x 155 mm)	Height: 0.45 inch (1.15 cm) Width: 13.40 inches (34.04 cm) Depth: 9.35 inches (23.76 cm)
Weight	Starting at 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg)	3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
Colors	Space GraySilver	Midnight Starlight Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	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	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	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)	1 x MagSafe 3 Magnetic charging port 1 x Headphone jack Headphone/Microphone combo port 2 x Thunderbolt ports support: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gbps) USB 4 (up to 40Gbps) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gbps)

Internal Specs	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Processor	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 45W 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.70 → 3.60 GHz, 8 MB Smart Cache, 45W 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.90 → 3.80 GHz, 8 MB Smart Cache, 45W	Apple M2 (8C, 10G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz,
Integrated Graphics	6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ Intel® HD Graphics 530 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ Intel® HD Graphics 530 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz 6th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-6920HQ Intel® HD Graphics 530 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz	Apple M2 (8C, 10G) Apple M2 iGPU 10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
Discrete Graphics	AMD Radeon Pro 450 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory AMD Radeon Pro 455 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory AMD Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
Memory	16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory	8GB 16GB 24GB unified memory.
Storage	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
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 4.2 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.3 wireless technology

Battery	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Size	76 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	66.5 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 10 hours wireless web Up to 10 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time	Up to 15 hours of wireless web Up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	87W USB‑C Power Adapter	70W USB‑C Power Adapter Fast-charge capable. 35W Dual USB‑C Compact Power Adapter Has two USB-C charging ports.

Software	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
OS	Shipped with macOS Sierra	Shipped with macOS Ventura
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera. Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
Audio	Stereo speakers with high dynamic range Three microphones 3.5mm headphone jack	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling 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 Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Misc	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M2 MacBook Air 15”
Sensors	Touch ID sensor	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T1 Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	15‑inch MacBook Pro 87W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	15‑inch MacBook Air 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter USB-C to MagSafe 3 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, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.	One-year limited warranty.
More	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 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)	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion 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 are supported using adapters (sold separately)