M4 MacBook Air vs M4 MacBook Pro: Co 500 $ really gets you – 9to5mac

Time to school to school always brings some of the best laptop offers and this year is no exception. Amazon offers crazy M4 MacBook Air ($ 799) and M4 MacBook Pro ($ 1299). While my intestinal reaction is amazed on how much power and value you get from the M4 MacBook Air for $ 799, after I stopped thinking about it, the M4 MacBook Pro for $ 1299 could actually be the best Buck Computer bang on the market, but costs $ 500 another?

That’s what I wanted to analyze in this post. Both are exceptional values, but what exactly do you get from MacBook Pro, which justified another $ 500? Let’s go.

Do not forget to watch our practical video, where we go to depth with both computers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwd3imv03k

Similarity

Even with a $ 500 price gap, these two machines share more than you could expect. Before I dive into different, I want to share some context about how similar these two machines are, especially in terms of performance. Let’s emphasize where they overlap.

Design and size

Viseelly, both M4 MacBook Air and M4 MacBook Pro look almost the same. Both have this Signature Design Unibody Aluminum, which is premium, sustainable and elegant. Both are easily transmitted from the race and are conveniently used on the table, wedge or carrying in a backpack. MacBook Air is a little lighter and smaller than MacBook Pro:

• MacBook Air: £ 2.7 (for 13.6in version)
• MacBook Pro: 3.4 pounds (for version 14.2in)

Both of these computers look the same from a distance. It is not a unit you hold side by side, that you see that the MacBook Air track is slightly smaller and also a little thinner. After both have in their hand, £ 0.7 otherwise is not what it does or breaks my decision.

MacBook Air has more color options than MacBook Pro, so if you are dying of Sky Blue Color, the only option is MacBook Air. However, the overall shape factor is almost identical.

Power and thermal

You always think that the price differs in the air and the model for. In this case, this is not true. Both have a regular M4 chip inside. The only difference is that MacBook Pro has two additional GPU cores and has a fan for better thermal. But both have a M4 chip and both come with 16 GB of RAM. Check out this geekbench score below:

Here you can see that you can press about 5% more power from the Pro model compared to the Air model. But like a comparison of size that will not even break or break the decision to buy. Both of these machines can handle the same intensity of performance tasks. So what do you pay when you spend another $ 500-600, do we have a MacBook Pro? Hardware

Why is MacBook Pro is more expensive $ 500

The key difference you pay for when you go to MacBook Pro is premium hardware. Internally, you get much more compared to MacBook Air, but the premium and high -quality nature of external hardware is the place where the MacBook Pro starts to deserve this “name”.

Display

Now things are really getting warm. The MacBook Air has a light and color IPS display with a liquid retina that maximizes at 500 nits brightness. For the price you pay, it’s a great display. For most people, this will do 100%, especially if the reproduction and accuracy of color are not the most important thing for you. But it is limited to 60 Hz and does not support HDR content.

MacBook Pro, on the other hand, packs a mini-fierce XDR liquid retina display (yes, it’s mouth). This screen offers up to 1,000 nits of suffered brightness (and 1,600 thread peaks for HDR), plus 120 Hz promotion for ultra smooth scrolling and movement. Because it is a mini-nave, it also provides deeper blacks and higher contrast, which is especially in dark mode or watching HDR videos. This display itself is worth $ 500. If you have no experience with this, go to the Apple store and play with MacBook Pro, then return to MacBook Air and see that it is so good.

If you are editing a photo or video or the highest visual Apprentice, the MacBook Pro display is in the OWS league. But if you use the primary laptop for e -maily, viewing and writing, the air display is more than good.

Selection

This is also simple. You have ports or you do and MacBook Pro just comes better equipped with additional ports.

MacBook Air Ports:

• 2x Thunderbolt 4 (both on the left side)
• Magsafe 3
• Headphones

Ports MacBook Pro:

• 3x Thunderbolt 4 (two left, one to the right)
• HDMI port
• Sd slot sd card
• Magsafe 3
• Headphones

If you know that you need a HDMI port, SD card slot or more Thunderbolt ports, then your only MacBook Pro option is your only option. You can get a USB-C or Dongle for MacBook Air from the race, but good, it will cost at least $ 50 to be reliable.

Battery and speakers

Both computers have a fantastic battery life due to M4 chips. You will be easy for a last day for a single fee. As already mentioned, MacBook Air gets 16-18 hours for a fee and MacBook can stretch for about 20-22 hours. This is because MacBook Pro has only a larger battery.

Then you have a speaker. MacBook Air has solid stereo speakers that are great for calling zoom, youtube or background. But the MacBook Pro Six-product with Wofers called Force. It is louder, fuller and more basgic. I’m not one to try to play loudly in full volume, but it’s nice to know that MacBook Pro Speakers competes with a single premium separate Bluetooth speakers.

Which one should you buy?

So after all that is better purchase? It only depends on what you value and need. Both are crazy values. But what I really wanted to know is that you don’t pay here for further performance. If you want more power, you must get the M4 Pro or M3 Ultra chip. You pay for better hardware that comes with for. If your work is on accurate color reproduction, or do you really like the idea of having more ports or appreciate a much better display, then get the M4 MacBook Pro. But if you don’t really need a bleeding edge of the display technique and can be fine with a port selection, then MacBook Air is still fantastic, especially for $ 799.

Get MacBook air if:

• Want a strong, lightweight notebook below $ 1,000
• Make most web or productivity (documents, zoom, browsing)
• Prefer more color options
• Prefer portability and silence
• Sometimes make a light photo or video edit

Get MacBook Pro if:

• Work with video, photos, sound, gold development tools
• Want the best display in MacBook
• Need more ports (SD card, HDMI, Extra Thunderbolt)
• Value the battery life and speakers of the highest level

One last thing to note is that the basic version of the MacBook Air comes with 256 GB of storage, while the MacBook Pro base line comes with 512 GB of storage space. This would be adding $ 200 if you get love to the MacBook storage.

The last thoughts

At $ 799, the M4 MacBook Air is one of the best offers I’ve ever had for such a powerful computer. It is powerful, quiet, ideal for 90% of users and can easily last 5 to 7 years.

However, MacBook Pro for $ 1299 offers a top display, better speakers, a wider port selection, and watch battery life. If your daily work requires more imaging forces, this upgrade may be $ 500 to pay off each day.

Both are excellent choices; Everything depends on your priorities.

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