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Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Pro) ($2,999) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) ($772) — 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 (M3) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,999 | $772 |
| Weight | 2140g | 1240g |
| Chip | M5 Pro | M3 |
| Display | 16.2" Liquid Retina XDR, 1600 nits peak | 13.6" Liquid Retina |
| Refresh | 120Hz ProMotion | — |
| Battery | Longest of any Mac | — |
| Ports | 3× Thunderbolt, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 3 | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt, headphone |
| Weight | 2.14 kg (4.7 lb) | 1240g (Apple published) |
| Cooling | — | Fanless |
| Displays | — | Two external with lid closed |
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 (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 Air 13-inch (M3) is the better value at $772. Both are part of our curated pro laptop index — tap through to check current pricing.
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