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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Dec 14, 2023 12:24 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated May 02, 2025 02:58 PM
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Amazon.com
Size16"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size15.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Variants
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK1H3LL/A) (Silver - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK1F3LL/A) (Silver - M1 Pro chip/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK1E3LL/A) (Silver - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK1A3LL/A) (Space Gray - M1 Max/10‑core CPU/32‑core GPU/32GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK193LL/A) (Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MK183LL/A) (Space Gray - M1 Pro/10‑core CPU/16‑core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Although there are many design similarities between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024), these two laptops have quite a few differences in features and performance. The MacBook Pro 16 is a workstation designed for demanding tasks like content creation, while the MacBook Air is an ultraportable designed for light, general productivity tasks. The MacBook Pro 16 is better overall since it has more premium features, like a 120Hz Mini LED display, better-sounding speakers, a wider port selection, and longer battery life. You can get better performance from the MacBook Pro 16 even though it sports an older M1 Pro/Max SoC. The MacBook Air 15 can handle some video editing, but the experience won't be as smooth as on the MacBook Pro, especially if the material is highly complex.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
8.6
8.8
Portability
7.2
8.7
Ports
8.5
5.0
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°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
7.2
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
15.3"
Thickness
0.7" (1.7 cm)
0.6" (1.4 cm)
Width
14.0" (35.6 cm)
13.4" (34.0 cm)
Depth
9.8" (24.8 cm)
9.3" (23.7 cm)
Volume
91.6 in³ (1,500.9 cm³)
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
Weight
4.7 lbs (2.2 kg)
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
Charger Size
13.3 in³ (218.3 cm³)
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
3456 x 2234
2880 x 1864
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
254 PPI
226 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
91%
87%
Refresh Rate
8.7
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Apple ProMotion
No
Contrast
10
7.5
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
50,250 : 1
1,412 : 1
Brightness
8.5
8.7
Maximum Brightness
469 cd/m²
494 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.8
9.1
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.91%
1.47%
Indirect Reflections
0.18%
0.38%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.73%
1.09%
Black Uniformity
10
7.3
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.355%
1.103%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.9
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
Color Washout From Right
29°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
39°
Color Shift From Right
47°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
28°
Brightness Loss From Right
32°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
33°
Gamma Shift From Right
38°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.0
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
26°
Color Washout From Above
31°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
38°
Color Shift From Above
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
Brightness Loss From Above
34°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
28°
Gamma Shift From Above
33°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.46
1.47
Avg. Gamma
2.22
2.24
Avg. Color dE
1
0.98
Avg. Color Temperature
6,709.7 K
6,742.3 K
Color Gamut
9.5
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.94%
99.93%
sRGB uv
99.76%
99.72%
Adobe RGB xy
88.91%
87.43%
Adobe RGB uv
94.33%
92.34%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.73%
99.05%
DCI P3 uv
99.09%
98.72%
Rec. 2020 xy
72.6%
71.83%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.59%
73.49%
Flicker
10
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
59 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
41 gf
40 gf
Pre-Travel
0.78 mm
0.80 mm
Total Travel
0.86 mm
0.91 mm
Touchpad
9.7
9.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.4
8.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
76 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.9 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
0.7
2.2
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
116 Hz
155 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.5 dB
2.3 dB
Webcam & Microphone
9.1
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.5
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
8.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
3
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.0
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
SD UHS 2
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M1 Max
M3
Core Count
10
8
Thread Count
10
8
GPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M1 Max
M3
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
RAM
Capacity
32 GB
8 GB
Modules
Unknown
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5
LP-DDR5
Speed
6,400 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
512 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
463 GB
214 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP512R
Apple SSD AP0256Z
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)
9.7
9.4
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,784 points
2,322 points
CPU Multi-Thread
12,733 points
10,501 points
GPU Compute
68,226 points
33,403 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.6
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,535 points
1,892 points
Multi-Thread
12,390 points
9,179 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.9
8.7
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.1 min
4.0 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
1.6 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
9.0
7.4
Basemark Image
Overall Score
80,945
44,950
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
4,506.1 MB/s
2,738.0 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
4,846.1 MB/s
2,834.7 MB/s
Random Write Speed
54.2 MB/s
41.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
57.5 MB/s
62.5 MB/s
Battery
9.4
9.1
Capacity
100 Wh
67 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
15.0 hrs
12.7 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
8.4 hrs
12.0 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.1 hrs
3.5 hrs
Charge Time
2.1 hrs
2.8 hrs
Borderlands 3
6.0
3.1
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
48 fps
20 fps
1% Low
30 fps
7 fps
0.1% Low
16 fps
4 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
89 ms
0.1% Low Delta
43 ms
230 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
58 fps
37 fps
Civilization VI
6.8
5.6
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
52 fps
41 fps
1% Low
37 fps
26 fps
0.1% Low
33 fps
17 fps
1% Low Delta
8 ms
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
11 ms
33 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
97 fps
93 fps
Avg. Turn Time
9.69 s
10.24 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
9.1
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
129 fps
1% Low
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
162 fps
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
1% Low
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
6.0
4.3
Avg. FPS
93 fps
32 fps
1% Low
25 fps
15 fps
0.1% Low
11 fps
8 fps
1% Low Delta
29 ms
36 ms
0.1% Low Delta
77 ms
90 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
134 fps
44 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.7
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
25 °C (77 °F)
27 °C (81 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
45 °C (112 °F)
50 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
43.4 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
9.8
7.1
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
93 °C
90 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
1% loss
6% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
88 °C
90 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
12% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
macOS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
Touch Pen
No
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024): Main Discussion
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