MacBook Pro 15” (2019) vs. M1 MacBook Air - Specs Comparison
Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Pro 15” (2019) and M1 MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.
January 26, 2024 10:15 am
The MacBook Pro 15” (2019) features the 45W 9th Generation Intel Coffee Lake 6-core Intel Core i7-9750H up to 8-core Intel Core i9-9980HK with the boost speed up to 5.00 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” (2019) 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” (2019) vs. M1 MacBook Air: Specs Comparison
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| Key Features |
| What's new | | - 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.
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| 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.
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| Availability | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| Released | 2019 | 2020 |
| Release Info | Announced on May 16th, 2019 | Announced on November 10th, 2020 |
| Pricing | - $2,399 - Intel Core i7 | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD
- $2,799 - Intel Core i7 | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD
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| Display | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| Size | 15.4 Inches | 13.3 Inches |
| Info | Retina display- 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)
- True Tone technology
| 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
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| Exterior | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | 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)
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| 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
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| 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)
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| Internal Specs | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| Processor | - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
| - Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W - Apple M1
8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
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| Integrated Graphics | - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz - 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
| - Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz - Apple M1
Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
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| Discrete Graphics | - AMD Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
- AMD Radeon Pro 560XM with 4GB of GDDR6 memory
- AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 with 4GB of HBM2 memory
- AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB of HBM2 memory
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| Memory | 16GB configurable to 32GB of 2400MHz DDR4 onboard memory | 8GB unified memory- Configurable to 16GB
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| Storage | 256GB512GB configurable to 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD | 256GB512GB SSD- Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
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| Connectivity | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | 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
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| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology |
| Battery | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| Size | 83.6 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
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| Power Supply | 87W USB‑C Power Adapter | 30W USB‑C Power Adapter |
| Software | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| OS | Shipped with macOS Catalina | 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” (2019) | 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
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| Misc | MacBook Pro 15” (2019) | M1 MacBook Air |
| Sensors | | - Touch ID sensor
- Ambient light sensor
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| Security | | - Touch ID sensor
- Apple T2 Security Chip
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| 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)
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| 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 SupportSimultaneously 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, 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:
- 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)
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