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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 08, 2024 02:46 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Mar 18, 2024 06:01 PM
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Size13.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size16"
Operating SystemmacOS
Variants
- MacBook Air 13 (MGND3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNE3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN93LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNA3LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN63LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN73LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVM2L/A) (Silver - i9-9880H/Radeon Pro 5500M/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVJ2LL/A) (Space Gray - i7-9750H/Radeon Pro 5300M/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MVVK2LL/A) (Space Gray - i9-9880H/Radeon Pro 5500M/16GB/1TB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019) are both productivity-focused laptops with many similarities. The most notable difference is that the MacBook Pro 16 uses an x86 Intel 9th Gen CPU with AMD Radeon Pro graphics, while the MacBook Air uses Apple's ARM-based M1 SoC, though it can still run x86 programs through Rosetta 2. The MacBook Pro is a better choice for creative professionals because its discrete GPU performs much better for graphically demanding tasks than the M1's integrated graphics. Also, it doesn't suffer any performance loss over time, whereas the MacBook Air throttles because it's a fanless device. As for the CPU performance, the MacBook Air's M1 chip is better in most instances, and it's significantly more power-efficient, resulting in much longer battery life.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
8.4
7.9
Battery
8.8
7.2
Portability
9.1
7.7
Ports
4.0
6.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
134°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
9.1
7.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
13.3"
16"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.6" (1.6 cm)
Width
12.0" (30.5 cm)
14.1" (35.8 cm)
Depth
8.4" (21.2 cm)
9.7" (24.7 cm)
Volume
51.3 in³ (840.6 cm³)
86.2 in³ (1,411.9 cm³)
Weight
2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
4.3 lbs (2.0 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (90.6 cm³)
11.3 in³ (185.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.8 lbs (0.4 kg)
Serviceability
3.3
2.8
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
5.5
5.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
No
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2560 x 1600
3072 x 1920
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
225 PPI
226 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
84%
87%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
6.8
7.6
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,044 : 1
1,496 : 1
Brightness
7.8
8.7
Maximum Brightness
372 cd/m²
496 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
5 cd/m²
Reflections
8.9
8.9
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.73%
1.69%
Indirect Reflections
0.16%
0.17%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.57%
1.52%
Black Uniformity
7.4
8.3
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.071%
0.777%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.8
6.8
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
25°
Color Washout From Right
28°
27°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
40°
40°
Color Shift From Right
46°
44°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
28°
29°
Brightness Loss From Right
31°
28°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
29°
33°
Gamma Shift From Right
32°
35°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.8
6.6
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
24°
Color Washout From Above
25°
26°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
37°
37°
Color Shift From Above
41°
44°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
27°
28°
Brightness Loss From Above
28°
30°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
37°
28°
Gamma Shift From Above
35°
25°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.7
9.4
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.75
2.0274
Avg. Gamma
2.2
2.1628
Avg. Color dE
1.21
1.3813
Avg. Color Temperature
6,883.6 K
6,899.1 K
Color Gamut
9.4
9.5
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.96%
99.99%
sRGB uv
99.84%
99.99%
Adobe RGB xy
88.07%
88.38%
Adobe RGB uv
92.88%
93.57%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.57%
99.88%
DCI P3 uv
99.15%
99.82%
Rec. 2020 xy
72.25%
73.42%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.92%
76.37%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
7.6
6.9
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
6.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
63 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
37 gf
44 gf
Pre-Travel
0.76 mm
0.82 mm
Total Travel
0.85 mm
1.09 mm
Touchpad
8.8
9.7
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.0
9.5
Size
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
8.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
79 dB SPL
82 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.5 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.6
2.2
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
247 Hz
155 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.9 dB
2.1 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.2
8.2
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
8.5
8.5
Resolution
720p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
4.0
6.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
2
4
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
No
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M1
Core i9-9880H
Core Count
8
8
Thread Count
8
16
GPU
Brand
Apple
AMD
Model
M1
Radeon Pro 5500M
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Dedicated
VRAM Size
N/A
4 GB
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
16 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
2 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR4X
DDR4
Speed
4,266 MHz
2,667 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
218 GB
983 GB
Drive 1
SDRGJHI4
Apple SSD AP1024N
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
8.8
8.5
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,721 points
1,164 points
CPU Multi-Thread
7,437 points
6,795 points
GPU Compute
19,359 points
28,987 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.1
8.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,497 points
1,191 points
Multi-Thread
6,855 points
8,792 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
6.2
7.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
7.3 min
4.4 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.1
6.9
Basemark Image
Overall Score
26,868
37,312
Storage Drive Performance
9.3
9.5
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,580.5 MB/s
1,886.2 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,487.4 MB/s
2,820.4 MB/s
Random Write Speed
51.5 MB/s
97.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
60.5 MB/s
68.2 MB/s
Battery
8.8
7.2
Capacity
50 Wh
100 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.3 hrs
9.6 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
6.6 hrs
6.5 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.6 hrs
1.0 hrs
Charge Time
3.1 hrs
2.5 hrs
Borderlands 3
2.4
1.1
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
15 fps
7 fps
1% Low
6 fps
1 fps
0.1% Low
3 fps
1 fps
1% Low Delta
86 ms
534 ms
0.1% Low Delta
302 ms
946 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
32 fps
30 fps
Civilization VI
5.6
5.3
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
43 fps
1% Low
23 fps
23 fps
0.1% Low
21 fps
22 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
20 ms
0.1% Low Delta
17 ms
22 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
71 fps
80 fps
Avg. Turn Time
11.63 s
10.77 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
7.7
8.8
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
65 fps
110 fps
1% Low
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
94 fps
143 fps
Counter-Strike 2
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
2.0
6.0
Avg. FPS
13 fps
49 fps
1% Low
9 fps
31 fps
0.1% Low
5 fps
16 fps
1% Low Delta
31 ms
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
135 ms
44 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
26 fps
71 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.3
6.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
28 °C (82 °F)
29 °C (85 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
47 °C (117 °F)
50 °C (123 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
50.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
7.5
10
Performance Over Time Graph
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
N/A
96 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
13% loss
0% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
N/A
75 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
3% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
macOS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
Yes
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
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Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019)
Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019): Main Discussion
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