Apple MacBook Air (2025) 13.6" Apple M4 (10-core CPU) / 16GB RAM / 256GB SSD VS Apple MacBook Pro (2025) 14"

The Apple MacBook Air (2025) and the Apple MacBook Pro (2025) both belong to the productivity category, but their designs vary in several key aspects. The MacBook Air is lighter, weighing 1240 g, while the MacBook Pro is heavier at 1550 g. This difference in weight could impact portability, with the MacBook Air being the more travel-friendly option.

Both laptops feature a backlit keyboard, ensuring ease of use in low-light environments. The MacBook Air, however, has a fanless design, making it completely silent during operation. In contrast, the MacBook Pro uses an active cooling system, which may result in more noise but potentially better heat dissipation during heavy tasks.

When it comes to physical size, the MacBook Air is more compact with a volume of 718.96 cm³, and it measures 304 mm in width, 215 mm in height, and 11 mm in thickness. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has a larger volume of 1034.28 cm³, and it is slightly bigger at 312 mm in width, 221 mm in height, and 15 mm in thickness. Neither device is weather-sealed or rugged, and both lack features like splashproof design or a rugged build.

The display specifications of the Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) differ in several notable ways. The MacBook Air features a 13.6″ LCD, LED-backlit, IPS display with a resolution of 2560 x 1664 px and a pixel density of 224 ppi. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro has a larger 14.2″ Mini-LED display with a higher resolution of 3024 x 1964 px and a greater pixel density of 253 ppi, providing potentially more detailed visuals.

Both laptops have a maximum brightness of 500 nits (MacBook Air) and 1000 nits (MacBook Pro) for typical usage, with the MacBook Pro offering significantly higher brightness. This could make the Pro's display more suitable for use in bright environments. Additionally, both displays support up to two external displays, though neither has a touch screen or an anti-reflection coating.

In terms of refresh rate, the MacBook Air operates at a standard 60Hz, while the MacBook Pro supports a faster 120Hz refresh rate, which could result in smoother motion, especially during video playback or gaming.

The Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) differ significantly in their performance specifications. The MacBook Air is equipped with 16GB of RAM, while the MacBook Pro has double the memory at 32GB. This means the MacBook Pro is better suited for handling larger datasets or more intensive multitasking.

In terms of storage, the MacBook Air features a 256GB NVMe SSD, while the MacBook Pro offers a much larger 4096GB NVMe SSD, providing vastly more internal storage for files and applications. Both devices use flash storage, ensuring fast data access and transfer speeds.

Regarding the CPUs, the MacBook Air has a 10-core CPU with 4 cores clocked at 4.05 GHz and 6 cores at 2.75 GHz, whereas the MacBook Pro has a slightly faster CPU, with 4 cores at 4.6 GHz and 6 cores at 3.2 GHz. Both models use multithreading, and they support 64-bit architecture. The MacBook Air has a maximum memory capacity of 24GB, while the MacBook Pro can handle up to 64GB of memory. Both products use the same 3 nm semiconductor size and are equipped with DDR5 memory, ensuring efficient and modern processing power.

The connectivity options on the Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) differ in several areas. Both devices support USB Type-C, but the MacBook Air has 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports and 2 USB 4 40Gbps ports, while the MacBook Pro offers 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports and 4 USB 4 40Gbps ports, providing more overall connectivity options for the Pro.

Both laptops support Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), ensuring robust wireless connectivity. They also both have Bluetooth 5.3 and support AirPlay, though the MacBook Pro additionally includes an HDMI output and an external memory slot, features the MacBook Air lacks. The MacBook Pro has 1 HDMI port, while the MacBook Air does not have any HDMI output.

Neither laptop has USB 2.0, RJ45, DisplayPort, mini DisplayPort, or VGA connectors. The MacBook Air does not include an external memory slot, while the MacBook Pro offers one for additional storage expansion.

The Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) have different battery specifications. The MacBook Air offers a longer battery life of 18 hours, compared to the MacBook Pro's 16 hours. However, the MacBook Pro features a larger battery size at 72.4 Wh, while the MacBook Air has a 53.8 Wh battery.

Both laptops have sleep-and-charge USB ports and come with a MagSafe power adapter, ensuring convenient charging options. Despite the differences in battery size and life, both models offer similar power management features, which should support their daily use.

Overall, while the MacBook Air offers a slightly longer battery life, the MacBook Pro has a larger battery to support its other features and potentially handle more demanding tasks.

The Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) share many features, including stereo speakers, a 3.5 mm audio jack, a 12MP front camera, Dolby Atmos support, and three microphones. Both laptops also have a fingerprint scanner for added security and support voice commands.

While both models do not support ray tracing or DLSS, the MacBook Air lacks 3D facial recognition, which is included in the MacBook Pro. Both models do not have a stylus, an S/PDIF Out port, a gyroscope, GPS, an accelerometer, a compass, or an optical disc drive.

Overall, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are quite similar in terms of features, with the main difference being the MacBook Pro’s inclusion of 3D facial recognition.

The Apple MacBook Air (2025) and Apple MacBook Pro (2025) share many key technical features but differ in a few areas. Both devices are laptops, with the MacBook Air also classified as a desktop. Neither supports ECC memory. The MacBook Air has a maximum memory bandwidth of 120 GB/s, while the MacBook Pro offers a higher bandwidth at 153 GB/s.

Both models use HMP (heterogeneous multi-processing), TrustZone, and NX bit technology, and they come with integrated graphics. They also both employ big.LITTLE technology, which optimizes performance by utilizing different core types. The MacBook Air has 28,000 million transistors, while the MacBook Pro has slightly more with 38,000 million transistors, indicating a higher potential for processing power in the Pro.

Both laptops support a maximum RAM speed of 6400 MHz, ensuring high-speed memory performance. Overall, the main differences lie in the maximum memory bandwidth and the number of transistors, with the MacBook Pro slightly ahead in both areas.