Apple has retained the external aesthetics of its new computing machines, but has made a few meaningful upgrades under the hood that would be interesting to test once the devices hit the shelves.
2017 MACBOOK AIR VS PRO PRO
The fresh Mac hardware includes a new 13-inch MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini. For one, a 512GB drive will naturally last longer than a 256GB one, and for another, the issue seems to be worse in machines with 8GB of RAM vs 16GB.Apple has unveiled its first wave of Mac hardware powered by the in-house M1 chip. Apple hasn’t responded so we don’t know how or if this will affect the longevity of the new MacBooks, so we have two suggestions: Run the smartmontools health check every few months, and buy as much RAM and storage as you can afford.
Apple says the new SSDs are twice as fast as before across the board, but recent evidence suggests they might have a shorter shelf life than expected.īy running a routine check of their SSD health, some developers on Twitter have noticed more wear than expected after just a few months of use.
2017 MACBOOK AIR VS PRO UPGRADE
Storage and RAMĪll four M1 Macbook models come with 8GB of “unified” DDR4 memory that can be upgraded to 16GB, as well as 256GB of storage with 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB upgrade options. Our take: You’re getting crazy good battery life no matter which model you buy, but if you want the longest-lasting MacBook ever, Pro is the way to go. In our testing, the MacBook Pro lasted a bit longer than the Air, but both were extremely efficient, with a near-40 percent increase over the previous Intel models: So Apple’s new chip is extremely efficient. And that’s with the same Integrated 49.9-watt-hour battery in the Air and 58.2-watt battery in the Pro. Even if you just go by Apple’s ratings, batterly life is vastly improved, with the M1 Air rated for 15 hours (up from 11 hours) and the Pro estimated to last 17 hours, a massive jump over the previous 10 hours. When it comes to battery life, you can’t go wrong with either model.
Our take: If you have a need for speed, upgrade to the MacBook Pro, but otherwise, the 512GB MacBook Air is the sweet spot of performance, storage and price. However, it also means the Pro can sustain high speeds for a longer time without throttling back due to overheating. The MacBook Air doesn’t have one and the Pro does, so you may hear it kick on at higher speeds.
What might be noticeable is the fan noise. The extra GPU core with the MacBook Pro and higher MacBook Air configurations makes a slight difference, but unless you’re going to be encoding video for long stretches, it’s won’t be noticeable. Both feature backlighting with an ambient light sensor as well as a Touch ID sensor for unlocking, authentication, and Apple Pay purchases. Apple’s newest keyboard is a huge improvement over the old one and will feel great to type on. The Air and Pro have the same Magic Keyboard that launched last year, so you don’t need to worry about loud, sticky keys.
Like the design, the display shouldn’t be a factor in your decision. Our take: Both of these computers have fantastic displays, but we’d still like to see some improvements with the next generation: mini-LED, edge-to-edge designs, rounded corners, anything to make it feel just a little more modern. But both are brighter than your eyes can handle for an extended period of time. On the MacBook Pro, the max brightness is 500 nits while the Air only reaches 400 nits. The only difference between them now is one most people aren’t likely to notice. Now the MacBook Air has that spec too, so the displays are nearly identical: While both laptops already featured 13.3-inch displays, the Pro had a bit of an advantage with support for the DCI-P3 gamut for greater color saturation.
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