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Video Comparison: M3 MacBook Air vs. M3 MacBook Pro

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With the refresh of the MacBook Air models in March, Apple now has M3 versions of the 13-inch MacBook Air, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and 15-inch MacBook Air, all with the same chip inside. For those trying to decide between the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, we did a comparison video to highlight what you're getting with each machine.


While the MacBook Air and the 14-inch MacBook Pro have the same M3 chip, there is a difference with the low-end MacBook Air. At the entry-level $1,099 price, the 13-inch MacBook Air has an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. The more expensive $1,299 13-inch MacBook Air has an 8-core CPU and upgraded 10-core GPU, with all 15-inch MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro models also starting with the upgraded 10-core GPU.

So you can get a MacBook Air for as little as $1,099, but at that price point, the GPU is downgraded. That won't matter for general day-to-day use, but it's something to keep in mind. The 15-inch MacBook Air is priced starting at $1,299, and the 14-inch MacBook Pro is priced starting at $1,599, so there is a major price difference.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro is priced higher because it starts with a 512GB SSD instead of 256GB like the MacBook Air, and because it has a better display. Apple uses a mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display that has ProMotion with refresh rates up to 120Hz and up to 1,600 nits peak brightness. The MacBook Air has an LCD display with up to 500 nits brightness, so the real notable difference between the machines is the display quality.

Mini-LED offers deeper blacks, more vivid colors, and it overall just looks better, especially for work where color is important like photo editing and for watching movies or other HDR content. There are no fans inside the MacBook Air, while the MacBook Pro has fans for active cooling. In theory, you could see better performance out of the M3 with the active cooling when using very system intensive tasks. Ports are another difference, with the MacBook Pro featuring an HDMI 2.1 port and an SDXC card slot in addition to two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports. The MacBook Air doesn't have the extra ports, and is limited to the two Thunderbolt ports.

Both versions of the MacBook Air are thinner and lighter than the 14-inch MacBook Pro, so the MacBook Air wins out when it comes to portability, but the MacBook Pro has longer battery life (18 hours for the MacBook Air vs. 22 hours for the MacBook Pro. Other specs are largely the same, though there are some differences in speaker and microphone quality.

Basically, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is more expensive but has better display quality, while the MacBook Air wins out when it comes to portability and price. Choosing one will depend on workload, but the MacBook Air is the computer that we recommend for most people. You'll want to go with the MacBook Pro if display quality is important or if there are specific ports you need.

Make sure to watch our video up above for a full comparison of the two machines, and we also have a comparison guide that includes the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.

Article Link: Video Comparison: M3 MacBook Air vs. M3 MacBook Pro
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/03/12/m3-macbook-air-vs-macbook-pro/
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I don't know who this base M3 Pro is for. It seems it's for Apple's fiendishly clever pricing ladder more than to meet the needs of any specific user. The way they price things is that there is always something better for just another $100-200 more than you wanted to spend. It's the devil's work, I tell you.

In terms of actually being a good choice for anyone, I literally can't think of anyone who would be better served with this over a MacBook Air. The folks who need 'Pro' level power know that and won't shop an 8GB machine for 'Pro' work.

Very strange Apple. Very strange...
 
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TLDR:

Get a MACBOOK AIR 8GB model if you make generic long winded videos like these
Get a MACBOOK PRO 16GB model if you work for a real living. Not make these generic long winded videos all the time.

Your MBAir will throttle when you actually perform real life tasks like compiling long code, blender work, and or frequent ffmpeg related tasks.
 
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MacRumors said:
There are no fans inside the MacBook Air, while the MacBook Pro has fans for active cooling. In theory, you could see better performance out of the M3 with the active cooling when using very system intensive tasks.
Click to expand...
I have to say, I'm really impressed with how well the MacBook Air performs with no fans and only throttling to help with the heat buildup. Even a lot of things that normally required a beefy setup in the past — like video editing — work just fine on the Air without issues. 👌
 
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MacRumors said:
Basically, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is more expensive but has better display quality, while the MacBook Air wins out when it comes to portability and price. Choosing one will depend on workload, but the MacBook Air is the computer that we recommend for most people. You'll want to go with the MacBook Pro if display quality is important or if there are specific ports you need.
Click to expand...
The MBP display would be more important to me then saving a few dollars. But people have good choices now between MBA line and MBP line offering more performance which is good. :)
 
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JamieLannister said:
TLDR:

Get a MACBOOK AIR 8GB model if you make generic long winded videos like these
Get a MACBOOK PRO 16GB model if you work for a real living. Not make these generic long winded videos all the time.

Your MBAir will throttle when you actually perform real life tasks like compiling long code, blender work, and or frequent ffmpeg related tasks.
Click to expand...
Those "real life" tasks are just for a minority of users..... most real life tasks are office productivity, safari web browsing and on company portals, teams calls, email etc

The graphic/design/video brigade are a very very small subset of users. Indeed users that Apple likes to target... as some consumers will do a tiny bit now and again and you can engineer CPU to fly through encoding tasks. But most people do mostly boring undemanding stuff.

MacBook Air is a fine choice for the vast majority of Apples customers. Not all will buy it, as some like to go with. Pro... but do they really need it? probably not.

It's like when they demo video editing on iPad... very very few will use it for that... the port selection, file management and desktop space (and window system) just isn't there. Most people use iPad to stream shows, read an e-book, surf the web and maybe make a few notes and reply to email.
 
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So Ive seen a few reviews while on YouTube that appear to show the M3 air running significantly hotter than the M2 air... and in teardown the cooling solution is still the same. Although my M2 air never gets warm... as it is right now... I was hoping Apple would put a beefier heatsink in their like they had with the M1 Air... but I guess they just see no need at all... but damn under sustained loads those CPU go to 100 degrees and throttle. Very toasty... and one YouTuber measured case temperatures which were toasty.

Really amazing that we went from heatsink and fan, to heatsink... and then thin foil shield as the cooling solution 😅

But I have to hand it to Apple... under regular use, and even updates... they run super cool. Just shows you how efficient these CPU are. Some of the most efficient ARM CPU I have come across personally.
 
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Thinking about one for my daughter. 15 inch MBA 8/10/16 M3 16/512 is $1,699. 14 MBP 8/10/16 M3 16/512 is $1,799. Not much price difference. Choice is lighter, slightly more portable for MBA vs. Better ports, screen, battery life for MBP. But then the M3 Pro in the MBP is an 11/14/16 M3 and 18/512 for $1,999. Man Tim Apple makes the incremental thing so tough. Since this computer should last a long time, I think the $1,999 is well spent
 
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coffeemilktea said:
I have to say, I'm really impressed with how well the MacBook Air performs with no fans and only throttling to help with the heat buildup. Even a lot of things that normally required a beefy setup in the past — like video editing — work just fine on the Air without issues. 👌
Click to expand...
Yeah indeed it does... but still amazing seeing the temps it gets to and sustains... I mean it's within spec for the CPU for sure... but the lower the better for long term reliable CPU function.... especially if that heat radiates out to other components and the batteries. I think thats one benefit of the Pros... they sink the heat away from the CPU and blow it out the case away from other components.
 
Realityck said:
The MBP display would be more important to me then saving a few dollars. But people have good choices now between MBA line and MBP line offering more performance which is good. :)
Click to expand...
Even the MBA screen quality is impressive for an LCD panel. You really have to have the MBA and MBP side by side, or look at a MBA screen in a dark room to see its shortcomings for regular (non graphic design etc) work.
 
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The way I see it - if someone is questioning if they need a Pro, they most likely don't need it. I have a 1TB/18GB M3 Pro for music production, but if I weren't doing that, an 8GB MacBook Air would be more than enough to get my college work done and I highly doubt it'd ever thermal throttle with normal tasks. Even with 8GB they're still powerful machines that'll last for years, despite what tech influencers say.
 
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goji99 said:
The way I see it - if someone is questioning if they need a Pro, they most likely don't need it.
Click to expand...

Or they might be grappling with relative costs... particularly with BTO upgrades. Instead of "I don't know if I need Pro power" as you seem to assume on all of them, maybe they are thinking "Can I get by for my needs with a cheaper Mac?"
 
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The MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with M3 have no TB4. They are TB3 only. For TB4 you must have 2 DP streams on one port for 2 monitors. On both, if you would like to connect 2 monitors, they must be on 2 ports. For TB3 you need only one DP stream. But the Intel Mac had alway 2 because they were using the Intel TB chip.
 
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Pretty significant differences in performance now that M3 is getting hotter. You're seeing a 20-25% advantage in apps like HandBrake for MacBook Pro M3 simply due to the larger heatsink and presence of a fan. This wasn't the case with M1.
 
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The only difference you need to know is 120hz Display lmao. It's not even a competition. I got so used to 120hz on my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro that I can tell immediately if a screen is 60hz or not. If you're able to, always get a better screen. It's literally the thing you stare at all day lol.
 
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