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Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2)
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) ($2,999) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) ($580) — side-by-side specs, weight, pros and cons to help you pick the right pro laptop.
Spec-by-spec
| Spec | Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) | Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,999 | $580 |
| Weight | 2140g | 1240g |
| Chip | M5 Pro | M2 |
| Display | 16.2" Liquid Retina XDR, 1600 nits peak | 13.6" Liquid Retina |
| Refresh | 120Hz ProMotion | — |
| Battery | Longest of any Mac | Up to 18 hours |
| Ports | 3× Thunderbolt, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt, headphone |
| Weight | 2.14 kg (4.7 lb) | 1240g (Apple published) |
| Cooling | — | Fanless |
Pros & Cons
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 (M2)
- Completely silent, there is no fan
- 1240g and 11.3mm thin
- MagSafe 3 returned, so a tripped cable does not take the Mac with it
- Cheapest modern Apple silicon laptop
- Base model has a 256GB SSD that reads slower than the 512
- 8GB base memory is tight in 2026
- Throttles under sustained load
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) is the better value at $580. Both are part of our curated pro laptop index — tap through to check current pricing.
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