Home > Laptop comparison > MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020) or Macbook Air (M1, 2020) – what's better?

Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020) vs Macbook Air (M1, 2020)

56 out of 100
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020)
VS
56 out of 100
Apple Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020)
Apple Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
You can select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020) and Macbook Air (M1, 2020) important characteristics
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Case
Design, materials, durability and usability
NanoReview Score

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020)
  • Features a bigger (~17%) battery – 58.2 against 49.9 watt-hours
  • Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
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Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs
Laptop:
MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020)
vs
Macbook Air (M1, 2020)

Case

Weight 1.37 kg (3.02 lbs) 1.29 kg (2.84 lbs)
Dimensions 304.1 x 212.4 x 15.6 mm
11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches		 304.1 x 212.4 x 16.1 mm
11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches
Area 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2) 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~79.4% ~79.4%
Side bezels 8.8 mm 8.8 mm
Colors Silver, Gray Silver, Gold, Gray
Transformer No No
Opening angle 135° 130°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Passive
Vapor chamber No Yes
Number of fans 1 -
Max. fan speed (RPM) 7000 RPM -
Noise level 41.9 dB -

Display

Size 13.3 inches 13.3 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
PPI 227 ppi 227 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2560 x 1600 pixels 2560 x 1600 pixels
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10
Touchscreen No No
Coating Glossy (Antireflective) Glossy (Antireflective)
Display tests
Contrast 1759:1 1069:1
sRGB color space 100% 99.8%
Adobe RGB profile 88.3% 85.9%
DCI-P3 color gamut - 98.6%
Response time 36 ms 35 ms
Max. brightness

Battery

Capacity
Voltage 11.4 V 11.4 V
Full charging time 2:00 hr 2:23 hr
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
USB Power Delivery Yes Yes
Charging port position Left Left
Charge power 61 W 30 W
Cable length 2 meters 2 meters
Weigh of AC adapter 275 grams 172 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 3.2 GHz 3.2 GHz
Cores 8 (4P + 4E) 8 (4P + 4E)
Threads 8 8
Integrated GPU Apple M1 GPU Apple M1 GPU
Fabrication process 5 nm 5 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Submit your Cinebench R23 result

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 15 W 15 W
Type Integrated Integrated
Fabrication process 5 nm 5 nm
GPU base clock 450 MHz 450 MHz
GPU boost clock 1278 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 2.6 TFLOPS 2.6 TFLOPS
Memory size System Shared System Shared
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory bus 128 bit 128 bit
Memory speed 4.27 Gbps 4.27 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 1024 1024
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 64 64
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 32 32
GPU performance

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x4 GB 2x4 GB
Clock 4266 MHz 4266 MHz
Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Upgradable No No

Storage

Storage size
Bus Custom Custom
Storage type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x256 GB 1x256 GB
Upgradable No No
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers 2.0 2.0
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Loudness 77.5 dB 79.6 dB
Microphones 3 3

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v6 v6
Bluetooth v5 v5
Fingerprint Yes Yes
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1280 x 720 1280 x 720
Ports
USB-A No No
USB Type-C 2x USB 4.0 2x USB 3.1
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 3 Thunderbolt 3
HDMI No No
DisplayPort No No
VGA No No
Audio jack (3.5 mm) Yes Yes
Ethernet (RJ45) No No
SD card reader No No
Proprietary charging port No No

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Island Island
Numpad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 1 mm 1 mm
Touchpad
Size 13.2 x 8.1 cm 12.1 x 8.1 cm
Surface Glass Glass
Windows Precision No No
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can be different depending on the laptop’s particular configuration or region.

Cast your vote

So, which laptop would you choose?
105 (22%)
372 (78%)
Total votes: 477

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Comments

Write your opinion about the comparison of Apple Macbook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro 13 (M1, 2020) or ask any questions
Avatar
Carlos Sousa 15 November 2021 02:01
What a great laptop MacBook Air is!!! It is better than MacBook Pro in all benchmarks.
+55 Reply
Avatar
Anonymous 28 July 2022 19:34
Yeah, better by ~4% in some synthetic benchmarks that have no real-life significance. Want to know what DOES have real-life significance? The MacBook Pro charges twice as fast as the Air.
+43 Reply
Avatar
Howie Feltersnatch 02 January 2023 21:16
Yes, by 3% but this does not show sustained performance where better cooling vs no cooling plays a difference. They are both great laptops and while I have a Pro, I'd be just as happy with the Air.
0 Reply
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