Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) vs Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
70
out of 100
VS
56
out of 100
You can select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
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
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Can run popular games at about 55-75% higher FPS
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Around 48% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench R23 test
- Features a much bigger (~40%) battery – 70 against 49.9 watt-hours
- Thinner bezels and 7% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Better webcam recording quality
- Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
Advantages of the Apple Macbook Air (M1, 2020)
- Easier to carry: weighs 310 grams less (around 0.68 lbs)
- Smaller footprint: 7% more compact case (100.1 vs 107.1 square inches)
We may earn commissions from Amazon for purchases made via the links below. This does not affect our assessment methodology.
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 1.6 kg (3.53 lbs) | 1.29 kg (2.84 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 312.6 x 221.2 x 15.5 mm 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches |
304.1 x 212.4 x 16.1 mm 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches |
| Area | 691 cm2 (107.2 inches2) | 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~84.6% | ~79.4% |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | 8.8 mm |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | Silver, Gold, Gray |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 135° | 130° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Passive |
| Vapor chamber | No | Yes |
| Number of fans | 2 | - |
| Max. fan speed (RPM) | 6241 RPM | - |
| Noise level | 49.5 dB | - |
Display
| Size | 14.2 inches | 13.3 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 227 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3024 x 1964 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, HDR10 |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Contrast | 48900:1 | 1069:1 |
| sRGB color space | - | 99.8% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 85.9% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 99.3% | 98.6% |
| Response time | 49 ms | 35 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Voltage | - | 11.4 V |
| Full charging time | 2:30 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, Right | Left |
| Charge power | 67 / 96 W | 30 W |
| Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
| Weigh of AC adapter | 274 grams | 172 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 3.2 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Cores | 10 (8P + 2E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
| Threads | 10 | 8 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) | 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)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 30 W | 15 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 450 MHz | 450 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1296 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | 5.2 TFLOPS | 2.6 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory bus | 256 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | 4.27 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2048 | 1024 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 128 | 64 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 64 | 32 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 4x4 GB | 2x4 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 4266 MHz |
| Type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | Custom | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x512 GB | 1x256 GB |
| Upgradable | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | 84.9 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 | 1920 x 1080 | 1280 x 720 |
| USB-A | No | No |
| USB Type-C | 3x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 3.1 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.0 | No |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
| SD card reader | Yes | No |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | No |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1 mm | 1 mm |
| 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
Total votes: 529