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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro)
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) ($1,299) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) ($2,999) — 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 (M5) | Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,299 | $2,999 |
| Weight | 1230g | 2140g |
| Chip | M5 (up to 10-core CPU / 10-core GPU) | M5 Pro |
| Display | 13.6" Liquid Retina, 500 nits | 16.2" Liquid Retina XDR, 1600 nits peak |
| Battery | Up to 18 hours | Longest of any Mac |
| Cooling | Fanless | — |
| Ports | 2× Thunderbolt, MagSafe 3, headphone | 3× Thunderbolt, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 |
| Weight | 1.23 kg (2.7 lb) | 2.14 kg (4.7 lb) |
| Refresh | — | 120Hz ProMotion |
Pros & Cons
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)
- Fanless — silent under any load
- 1.23 kg genuinely sling-friendly
- 18-hour battery is real, not optimistic
- MagSafe frees a Thunderbolt port
- Longest software support in the class
- $200 more than the M4 it replaced
- Only two Thunderbolt ports
- Sustained heavy exports throttle without a fan
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro)
- The most performance available in a portable
- Longest battery life of any Mac
- 16-inch XDR is a genuine editing display
- Speakers rival dedicated desktop sets
- 2.14 kg dictates your entire bag choice
- $2,999 entry is professional-tier spend
- Overkill for anything short of pro media work
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) is the better value at $1,299. Both are part of our curated ultraportable laptop index — tap through to check current pricing.
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