Apple MacBook Pro vs. Apple MacBook Air with Retina display

Laptop Comparison, Reviews and Tests
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple MacBook Air with Retina display

In depth comparison and review of Apple MacBook Pro and Apple MacBook Air with Retina display. Compare sizes, performance, storage capacities, batteries and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right laptop for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the laptop that will best fit your needs.

Laptop Specifications Comparison

Apple MacBook Pro vs. Apple MacBook Air with Retina display Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Product Type Notebook Notebook
Dimensions (WxDxH) 35.7 cm x 24.3 cm x 2.6 cm 30.41 cm x 21.24 cm x 1.56 cm
Weight 2.5 kg 1.25 kg
Case Material - Aluminum
Colour - Space grey | Gold | Silver
DISPLAY Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Screen Size (Type) 15.4" 13.3" - IPS
LCD Backlight Technology - LED backlight
Screen Resolution 1440 x 900 (WXGA+) 2560 x 1600 (WQXGA)
Pixel Density (ppi) - 227
Widescreen Yes Yes
Image Aspect Ratio - 16:10
Features - BFR/PVC-free, Mercury free, beryllium free, arsenic free, Retina display
PROCESSOR Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
CPU Intel Core Duo 2 GHz Intel Core i5 (8th Gen) 1.6 GHz
Max Turbo Speed - 3.6 GHz
Number of Cores Dual-Core Dual-Core
Cache L2 - 2 MB L3 - 4 MB
Front Side Bus 667 MHz -
64-bit Computing - Yes
Features Enhanced SpeedStep technology, power-optimized processor system bus, Execute Disable Bit capability Intel Turbo Boost Technology
MEMORY Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
RAM 512 MB 8 GB (provided memory is soldered)
Max RAM Supported 2 GB -
RAM Type DDR2 SDRAM LPDDR3 SDRAM
Speed 667 MHz / PC2-5300 2133 MHz
Rated Speed 667 MHz -
Form Factor SO-DIMM 200-pin -
Slots Qty 2 -
Empty Slots 1 -
STORAGE Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Main Storage Size (HDD/SSD) 80 GB HDD SATA 1.5Gb/s / 5400 rpm 128 GB SSD soldered PCIe
Optical Drive DVD±RW fixed -
Read Speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) -
Write Speed 24x (CD) / 4x (DVD±R) -
CD / DVD Rewrite Speed 10x (CD) / 4x (DVD±RW) -
AUDIO & VIDEO Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Graphics Processor (GPU) PCI Express x16 - ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 Intel UHD Graphics 617
Video Memory 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM -
Camera Yes Yes - 720p
Resolution 0.3 Megapixel -
Camera Features - FaceTime HD camera
Video Resolutions 640 x 480 -
Sound Stereo speakers, microphone Stereo speakers, three microphones
COMMUNICATIONS Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Wireless 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Network Interface Gigabit Ethernet -
BATTERY Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Technology Lithium polymer Lithium polymer
Battery Capacity (Size) 60 Wh 50.3 Wh
Battery Life Up to 4.5 hours Up to 12 hours
Battery Run Time - Web browsing over Wi-Fi: up to 12 hours
Video playback: up to 13 hours
Standby time: up to 30 days
AC ADAPTER Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Input AC 100-240 V (50/60 Hz) AC 100-240 V (50/60 Hz)
Output - 30 Watt
INPUT Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Type Keyboard, trackpad Keyboard, Force Touch trackpad
Keyboard Backlight - Yes
Features - Pressure sensitivity, multi-touch touchpad, Multi-Touch Gesture Recognition, ambient light sensor, force click, Touch ID sensor
CONNECTIONS & EXPANSIONS Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Slots 1 x ExpressCard/34 (1 free)
2 x memory (1 free)
-
Interfaces 1 x display / video - DVI-Analog/Digital
1 x audio - SPDIF input/line-in - mini-phone 3.5 mm / TOSLINK
1 x audio - SPDIF output/headphones - mini-phone 3.5 mm / TOSLINK
1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
2 x USB 2.0 4 pin USB Type A
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - RJ-45
2 x USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 (supports Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort Alt Mode) (Power Delivery)
Headphone output
SOFTWARE Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Operating System (OS) Apple MacOS X 10.4 Apple macOS Big Sur 11.0
Software Included Drivers & Utilities, Apple QuickTime, Apple Mac OS X Mail, OmniOutliner, FileMaker Pro (Trial), Apple iCal, Apple DVD Player, Apple Address Book, Apple Safari, Apple iChat AV, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, Apple Dashboard, Apple Spotlight, Apple XCode Developer Tools, Front Row, Photo Booth, Apple iLife '06, plasq Comic Life, iWork '06 (30 days trial) iTunes, Apple iMovie, Apple Safari, Apple GarageBand, Photo Booth, Apple Time Machine, Apple FaceTime, Apple Preview, Mail, Maps, Photos, Reminders, App Store, Contacts, Stocks, Notes, Calendar, Siri, Messages, Apple iBooks, Apple Keynote, Apple Pages, Apple Numbers, News, Voice Memos, Home
MISCELLANEOUS Apple MacBook Pro Apple MacBook Air with Retina display
Included Accessories - USB-C power adapter
Cables Included DVI-VGA adapter USB-C charge cable
Integrated Options Ambient light sensor -
Security - Apple T2 Security Chip, fingerprint reader
Features Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately), keyboard light T2 Security Chip
SAR Value - 0.71 W/kg (body)
Repairability Index - 6.1 (out of 10)
ENERGY STAR Certified Yes Yes
EPEAT Compliant EPEAT Gold EPEAT Gold
Max Operating Temperature 35 °C 35 °C
Min Operating Temperature 10 °C 10 °C
Humidity Range Operating 0 - 90% 0 - 90% (non-condensing)
Manufacturer Warranty Limited warranty - 1 year
Technical support - phone consulting - 90 days
Limited warranty - 1 year
Technical support - phone consulting - 90 days
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