Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022) vs Air 13 (M2, 2022)

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RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022) and Air 13 (M2, 2022) 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
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Please input up-to-date prices for the selected laptop configurations to get an accurate value-for-money index.
Currency
VS
50.1
(Average)
Value Index
55.9
(Average)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022)
  • Features a bigger (~11%) battery – 58.2 against 52.6 watt-hours
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022)
  • Slightly easier to carry: weighs 160 grams less (around 0.35 lbs)
  • Thinner bezels and 3% higher screen-to-body ratio
  • Better webcam recording quality

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 1.4 kg (3.09 lbs) 1.24 kg (2.73 lbs)
Dimensions 304.1 x 212.4 x 15.6 mm
11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches
304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm
11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches
Area 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2) 654 cm2 (101.3 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~79.4% ~82%
Side bezels 8.8 mm 5.6 mm
Colors Silver, Gray Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 130° 130°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Passive
Vapor chamber No -
Liquid metal No No
Number of fans 1 -
Max. fan speed (RPM) 7300 RPM -
Noise level (max. load) 49 dB -

Display

Size 13.3 inches 13.6 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate - No
PPI 227 ppi 225 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2560 x 1600 pixels 2560 x 1664 pixels
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Sync technology No No
Touchscreen No No
Coating Glossy (Antireflective) Glossy (Antireflective)
Ambient light sensor Yes Yes
Screen space comparison
MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022)
13.6″ (16:10 ratio) = 83.1 in2
MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022)
13.3″ (16:10 ratio) = 79.5 in2
~4% more screen space
Display tests
Contrast 1658:1 1384:1
sRGB color space 100% 99.9%
Adobe RGB profile 87.9% 87.6%
DCI-P3 color gamut 98.8% 98.4%
Response time 35 ms 29 ms
Max. brightness

Battery

Capacity
Full charging time 2:30 hr 2:30 hr
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
Charging via USB (Power Delivery) Yes, 65 W Yes, 65 W
Charging port position Left Left
Charge power 67 W 30 / 35 / 67 W
Cable length 2 meters 2 meters
Weight of AC adapter 274 grams 174 / 189 / 250 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 3.5 GHz 3.5 GHz
Cores 8 (4P + 4E) 8 (4P + 4E)
Threads 8 8
Integrated GPU Apple M2 GPU Apple M2 GPU
Fabrication process 5 nm 5 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 15 W 15 W
Type Integrated Integrated
Fabrication process 5 nm 5 nm
GPU base clock 500 MHz 500 MHz
GPU boost clock 1398 MHz 1398 MHz
FLOPS 2.9 TFLOPS 2.9 TFLOPS
Memory size System Shared System Shared
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory bus 128 bit 128 bit
Memory speed 6.4 Gbps 6.4 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 1024 1024
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 64 64
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 32 32
GPU performance 2.9 TFLOPS 2.9 TFLOPS
Blender GPU 292 270
Solar Bay 6729 6237

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x4 GB 2x4 GB
Clock 6400 MHz 6400 MHz
Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
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 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers)
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Loudness ~81.9 dB ~82.7 dB
Microphones 3 3

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v6 v6
Bluetooth v5 v5.3
Fingerprint Yes Yes
Infrared sensor No No
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1280 x 720 1920 x 1080
Ports
USB-A No No
USB Type-C 2x USB 4.0 2x USB 4.0
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 Yes

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Island Island
Numpad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 1 mm 1 mm
Touchpad
Surface Glass Glass
Windows Precision No No
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

Cast your vote

So, which laptop would you choose?
248 (32.7%)
510 (67.3%)
Total votes: 758

Comments

Write your opinion about the comparison of Apple MacBook Air 13 (M2, 2022) and Pro 13 (M2, 2022) or ask any questions
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User July 24, 2024 at 11:25 AM
Don't fall for all these stupid Macbook air m2 or m3 traps because they're light and all so good well in reality they are not good at all and there won't be much noticeable difference in the webcam and have 1% amount of power, Just go with the pro, trust me it's worth it alot.
0 Reply
Avatar
Avid Apple User October 31, 2023 at 08:50 PM
I have experience using both of these machines. The Air will always undergo thermal throttling (reducing its performance) after more than 10-15 minutes of constant workload. This happens because it doesn't have a fan. On the other hand, the Pro can sustain its performance at 100% even under constant workloads. In my opinion, choosing the Pro is always the more sensible option. I don't particularly care about the webcam and the touchbar doesn't bother me.
+25 Reply
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mohamad April 4, 2023 at 05:14 PM
the macbook pro m2 has 120hz fresh rate
+35 Reply
root April 6, 2023 at 10:43 PM
Unfortunately, it's not.
+18 Reply
Avatar
David December 21, 2022 at 02:22 AM
Just upgraded from the 2018 Macbook Air i5 16GB 512 GB to the 2022 Macbook Air m2. Great reviews, keep it going!
+41 Reply