Home / Ultraportable Laptop / Comparison
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M6)
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) ($772) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M6) ($1,999) — side-by-side specs, weight, pros and cons to help you pick the right ultraportable laptop.
Spec-by-spec
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) | Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M6) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $772 | $1,999 |
| Weight | 1240g | 1550g |
| Chip | M3 | M6, 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU |
| Display | 13.6" Liquid Retina | 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR, 1600 nits peak |
| Ports | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt, headphone | 3x Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| Cooling | Fanless | — |
| Displays | Two external with lid closed | — |
| Weight | 1240g (Apple published) | 1.55 kg (3.4 lb, Apple published) |
| Memory | — | 16GB, up to 32GB |
| Battery | — | Up to 24 hours |
Pros & Cons
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
- Two external displays, which the M2 could not do
- Faster chip in the same 1240g body
- Fanless and silent
- Better SSD than the base M2
- Marginal gain over an M2 for most tasks
- 8GB base memory again
- Still throttles under long exports
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M6)
- Up to 24 hours of battery, Apple's longest in a Mac
- GPU up to 30 percent faster than the M5 (Apple)
- HDMI and SDXC without a dongle
- 1600-nit XDR display with a nano-texture option
- 1.55 kg for a Pro-class laptop
- $1,999 to start, with 1TB as the entry storage
- Nano-texture display adds $150
- Memory and storage upgrades climb quickly: 32GB and 4TB is $3,899
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is the better value at $772. Both are part of our curated ultraportable laptop index — tap through to check current pricing.
More Ultraportable Laptop comparisons
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M5)Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5)Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro)Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2)Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M3)