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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro)
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) ($772) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro) ($1,853) — 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 16-inch (M4 Pro) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $772 | $1,853 |
| Weight | 1240g | 2140g |
| Chip | M3 | M4 Pro |
| Display | 13.6" Liquid Retina | 16.2" 120Hz mini-LED XDR |
| Ports | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt, headphone | 3x Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 |
| Cooling | Fanless | Active, dual fan |
| Displays | Two external with lid closed | — |
| Weight | 1240g (Apple published) | 2140g (Apple published) |
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 16-inch (M4 Pro)
- Genuinely desktop-class performance
- Thunderbolt 5
- Enormous, superb XDR display
- Best-in-class battery even at this size
- 2140g, the heaviest thing in this catalog by a wide margin
- Needs a real bag, not a sleeve
- Expensive even used
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.
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