Apple officially launched the Apple M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in mid-January 2023, and also launched the new 2023 MacBook Pro models. I believe many people are also curious regarding Apple replacing the flagship MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. What is the difference between the M2 MacBook Air launched in 2022? If you are considering whether to buy the M2 MacBook Air or the M2 MacBook Pro? Get a comprehensive understanding through the specification difference comparison and purchase analysis in this article.
2023 MacBook Pro vs 2022 M2 MacBook Air Specs Comparison
Appearance, size and weight difference comparison
The appearance of the 2023 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro continues the design of the previous generation. Together with the color, there are only space gray and silver options. Compared with the 2022 M2 MacBook Air, there are four colors. In addition to the basic color matching, there is an extra midnight Color and starlight color can be selected. The body shape, whether it is M2 MacBook Air or M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro, adopts Apple’s new generation vertical square design, and the screen also adopts bangs and narrow bezels, and The top of the display is designed with rounded corners.
In terms of body thickness, the MacBook Air is also thinner than the MacBook Pro, 0.42 cm less than the body, and the lightest MacBook Air is only 1.24 kg. Note the thinness and weight.
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro Size/Weight/Color Comparison Chart
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| weight | 1.24 kg | M2 Pro: 1.60 kg M2 Max: 1.63 kg |
M2 Pro: 2.15 kg M2 Max: 2.16 kg |
| high | 1.13 | 1.55 | 1.68 |
| width | 30.41 | 31.26 | 35.57 |
| depth | 21.50 | 22.12 | 24.81 |
| color | Midnight star color silver space gray |
silver space gray |
silver space gray |
Comparison of screen monitor differences
The M2 MacBook Air screen only uses a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display. On the contrary, the M2 MacBook Pro model provides 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch large-size screens to choose from, and it is equipped with a mini-LED backlight display, which can improve the contrast and brightness of the screen and present details in detail. More pictures on the screen will have a more layered sense, and the black display will be darker.
In the part of the screen display panel, the M2 MacBook Pro is obviously better than the M2 MacBook Air. The mini-LED screen brightness can reach 1,000 nits, the HDR content can reach a peak of 1600 nits, and the SDR brightness has 500 nits, and it supports ProMotion to adapt to the update frequency Technology, up to 120Hz refresh rate.
Whether it is the M2 MacBook Air or M2 MacBook Pro, there will be a very conspicuous notch design on the top of the screen, mainly to hide the 1080p FaceTime front camera, but the notch does not have Face ID facial recognition hardware support like the iPhone , as well as the 2023 M2 MacBook Pro, and the front-facing FaceTime character centering function is only supported by the MacBook Pro.
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro Screen Specs Comparison Chart
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| screen size | 13.6 inches | 14.2 inches | 16.2 inches |
| the screen | Liquid Retina | mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR |
mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR |
| resolution | 2560×1664 | 3024×1964 | 3456×2234 |
| brightness | 500 nits | SDR 500 nits XDR 1000 nits HDR 1600 nits |
SDR 500 nits XDR 1000 nits HDR 1600 nits |
| 120Hz high brush | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| P3 wide color gamut | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Front camera | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p |
| Character centered | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Speaker Audio Difference Comparison
The M2 MacBook Pro speaker uses a six-speaker sound system with a vibration-suppressing woofer, while the M2 MacBook Air uses a four-speaker sound system, all capable of supporting spatial audio, wide stereo, and Dolby Atmos. In the recording specification section, the M2 MacBook The Pro is slightly better than the M2 MacBook Air, with a studio-grade three-mic array, high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming, and an extra HDMI multi-channel audio output.
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro Audio Specs Comparison Chart
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| trumpet | Four-speaker sound system | High-definition six-speaker sound system | High-definition six-speaker sound system |
| microphone | Three Microphone Array | Studio-grade three-mic array | Studio-grade three-mic array |
| 3.5mm headphone jack | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Vibration suppressed woofer | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| wide stereo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Dolby Atmos | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| spatial audio | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Directional Beamforming | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| high signal-to-noise ratio | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| HDMI multi-channel output | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Chip processor, memory, storage space difference comparison
Although both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro use the M2 chip, in terms of the number of processor cores, the MacBook Air is equipped with the ordinary entry-level Apple M2 chip, while the MacBook Pro is equipped with the mid-to-high-end M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. 12-core CPU, 38-core GPU, and a maximum of 96GB memory and 8TB storage space.
In terms of processor performance, compared with the M2 chip, the Apple M1 chip has an 18% increase in CPU performance and a 35% increase in GPU performance. If the M1 Pro/Max is compared with the M2 Pro/Max, the CPU, GPU, and neural engine are respectively improved. 20%, 30% and 40%, and the number of M2 Pro transistors is 20 billion more than M2 chip transistors, reaching 40 billion, while M2 Max transistors are as high as 670.
In addition to the obvious difference in CPU computing speed between M2 and M2 Max, the GPU performance has also been significantly improved. Apple said that M2 Max is the most powerful and energy-efficient professional-grade notebook chip on the surface, with twice the memory bandwidth and up to three times the unified memory, and up to 38 GPU cores, whether it is special effects calculations, a large number of panorama stitching, and unprecedented extreme 3D geometric structure design, it can easily handle it.
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro Processor/Memory/Storage Specs Comparison Chart
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| chip | M2 | M2 Pro、M2 Max | M2 Pro、M2 Max |
| CPU | 8 cores | 12 cores | 12 cores |
| GPU | 10 cores | 38 cores | 38 cores |
| Memory | 24GB | 96GB | 96GB |
| storage space | 2TB | 8TB | 8TB |
| thermal design | fanless | fan system | fan system |
| unlock authentication | Touch ID | Touch ID | Touch ID |
Comparison of Output Interface Differences
The M2 MacBook Air is also equipped with the MagSafe magnetic charging design of the MacBook Pro, but only the MacBook Pro has HDMI, SDXC card readers, and external screens. The M2 MacBook Air can only support one screen with a maximum resolution of 6K/60Hz. M2 MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chip can achieve up to 4 external monitors.
In addition, the M2 MacBook Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and the latest HDMI 2.1 port, and the output can reach 8K resolution. Compared with the M2 MacBook Air, it uses Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro I/O Specification Comparison Table
| M2 MacBook Air (2022) | M2 MacBook Pro (2023) | |
| smart keyboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Force Touchpad | ✅ | ✅ |
| USB-C Thunderbolt |
2 | 3 |
| Headphone plug | ✅ | ✅ |
| MagSage charging | ✅ | ✅ |
| HDMI | ❌ | ✅ |
| SDXC card reader | ❌ | ✅ |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Wi-Fi chip | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax) |
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11.ax) |
| Number of external monitors | 1 6K/60Hz screen | 【M2 Pro】 Up to three 6K/60Hz external monitors 【M2 Max】 Up to 4 external monitors |
Comparison of differences in battery life
If you simply surf the Internet, the M2 MacBook Air and the 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro can last up to 15 hours. If you want to play movies, only the 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro can last up to 22 hours. The battery life performance of the three MacBooks is compared in the following table:
M2 MacBook Air vs. M2 MacBook Pro battery life comparison chart
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| wireless online | 15 hours | 12 hours | 15 hours |
| movie play | 18 hours | 18 hours | 22 hours |
| battery capacity | 52.6Wh | 70Wh | 100Wh |
| fast charging | ✅ (requires 67W) |
✅ (requires 96W) |
✅ |
| Bonus power adapter |
30W, 35W or 96W | 67W or 96W | 140W |
Comparison of differences in battery life
| M2 MacBook Air | 14-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro | |
| 512/8GB | NT$46,900 | – | – |
| 512/16GB | NT$52,900 | NT$64,900 | NT$79,900 |
| 1TB/16GB | NT$58,900 | NT$79,900 | NT$85,900 |
| 1TB/32GB | – | NT$97,900 | NT$109,900 |
| top gauge | NT$76,900 | NT$193,900 | NT$199,900 |
From the price comparison table between M2 MacBook Air and 2023 M2 MacBook Pro, it can be clearly found that with 512 SSD storage space and 16GB memory specifications, the price difference will be 12,000~15,000 yuan.
Analysis and summary of purchasing suggestions: Which one should I buy?
Whether it is the M2 MacBook Air or the M2 Pro / Max MacBook Pro, they all have a brand-new appearance design. In addition to the difference in screen, processor, battery life and price, if you plan to consider buying a MacBook, the suggestions are as follows:
MacBook Air is more inclined to light users, such as documents, surfing the Internet, audio-visual entertainment, simple photo editing or editing, such as business, students, or often need to take it with you, so it is very suitable to start with the M2 MacBook Air model.
If you need powerful computing performance, most of the use needs to run calculations, edit videos or music producers, or the laptop is often used on the table, and needs to be connected to multiple external screens, it is recommended to start with M2 Pro, M2 Max chip MacBook Pro The model will never regret it.
At this point in time, it is strongly not recommended to buy the 2021 M2 MacBook Pro 13-inch. After all, most of the hardware designs and specifications are still the old models. Instead, it would be better to choose M2 MacBook Air or 14-inch MacBook Pro.
M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Air Specifications Difference Table
| M2 MacBook Air(2022) | M2 MacBook Pro(2023) | |
| price | From NT$37,900 | 14 inches From NT$64,900 16 inches From NT$79,900 |
| color | Midnight star color silver space gray |
silver space gray |
| chip | Apple M2 | Apple M2 Pro Apple M2 Max |
| CPU | 8 cores | 12 cores |
| GPU | 10 cores | 38 cores |
| Memory | 8/16/24GB | 32/64/96GB |
| storage space | 512G/1TB/2TB | 1TB/2TB/4TB/28TB |
| monitor | 13.6 inches Liquid Retina |
14.2 inches, 16.2 inches Liquid Retina XDR |
| resolution | 2560 x 1664 pixels | 14 inches 3024 x 1964 pixels 16 inches 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| 120Hz ProMotion | Does not support | support |
| brightness | 500 nits | SDR 500 nits XDR 1000 nits HDR 1600 nits |
| size | 1.13×30.41×21.50 | 14 inches 1.55×31.26×22.12 16 inches 1.68×35.57×24.81 |
| weight | 1.24 kg | 14 inches M2 Pro – 1.60kg M2 Max – 1.63kg 16 inches M2 Pro – 2.15kg M2 Max – 2.16kg |
| speaker | Four-speaker sound system | High-definition six-speaker sound system |
| microphone | Three Microphone Array | Studio-grade three-mic array |
| Identification technology | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| interface | USB-C/Thunderbolt*2 Headphone plug MagSage charging port – – |
USB-C/Thunderbolt*3 Headphone plug MagSage charging port SDXC card reader HDMI |
| Wi-Fi chip | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6E |
| bluetooth chip | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Front camera | 1080p FaceTime HD | 1080p FaceTime HD Centering Supporting Characters |
| battery life | up to 18 hours | 14 inches up to 18 hours 16 inches up to 22 hours |
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