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MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M1 MacBook Air - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Pro 15” (2016) and M1 MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 10:15 am

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M1 MacBook Air

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 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.

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 13.3″ M1 MacBook Air (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

MacBook Pro 15” (2016) vs. M1 MacBook Air: 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 M1 MacBook Air
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	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.
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.

Availability	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
Released	2016	2020
Release Info	Announced on October 27, 2016 Available on November 15, 2016	Announced on November 10th, 2020
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	$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 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
Size	15.4 Inches	13.3 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)	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 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
Size Comparison
Dimensions	13.75” x 9.48” x 0.61” (349.3 mm x 240.7 mm x 155 mm)	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	Starting at 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg)	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors	Space GraySilver	GoldSpace GraySilver
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 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	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)	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 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
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 M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
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 M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
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 unified memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
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 5.0 wireless technology

Battery	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
Size	76 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	49.9 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 wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	87W USB‑C Power Adapter	30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
OS	Shipped with macOS Sierra	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 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Stereo speakers with high dynamic range Three microphones 3.5mm headphone jack	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	MacBook Pro 15” (2016)	M1 MacBook Air
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)	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, 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	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 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)