Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) vs Air 13 (M1, 2020)
68
out of 100
VS
55
out of 100
Please 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
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Can run popular games at about 89-122% higher FPS
- Features a much bigger (~100%) battery – 100 against 49.9 watt-hours
- Around 60% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Thinner bezels and 9% 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 13 (M1, 2020)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 860 grams less (around 1.9 lbs)
- Much smaller footprint: 27% more compact case (100.1 vs 136.7 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.15 kg (4.74 lbs) | 1.29 kg (2.84 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
304.1 x 212.4 x 16.1 mm 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches |
| Area | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) | 646 cm2 (100.1 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~86.2% | ~79.4% |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | 8.8 mm |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | Silver, Gold, Gray |
| Material | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 135° | 130° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Passive |
| Vapor chamber | No | No |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 2 | - |
| Max. fan speed (RPM) | 6000 RPM | - |
| Noise level (max. load) | 43.2 dB | - |
Display
| Size | 16.2 inches | 13.3 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (24-120 Hz) | No |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 227 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 pixels | 2560 x 1600 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, HDR10 |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
13.3″ (16:10 ratio) = 79.5 in2
~48% more screen space
| Contrast | 504000:1 | 1069:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 99.8% |
| Adobe RGB profile | 88.5% | 85.9% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 99% | 98.6% |
| Response time | 63 ms | 35 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Voltage | - | 11.4 V |
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | 2:23 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 100 W | Yes, 65 W |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Left |
| Charge power | 140 W | 30 W |
| Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | 353 grams | 172 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 3.5 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Cores | 12 (8P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M2 Pro GPU (19-core) | Apple M1 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 | 35 W | 15 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 450 MHz | 450 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1398 MHz | 1278 MHz |
| FLOPS | 6.8 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) | 2432 | 1024 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 152 | 64 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 76 | 32 |
| GPU performance | 6.8 TFLOPS | 2.6 TFLOPS |
| Blender GPU | 901 | 235 |
| Solar Bay | 15563 | 6004 |
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x8 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 | 2x256 GB | 2x128 GB |
| Upgradable | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) | 2.0 |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | ~86.1 dB | ~79.6 dB |
| Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v6 |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | No | No |
| 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 2.1 | 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 | 15.5 x 9.9 cm | 12.1 x 8.1 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | No | No |
Further details
Notes on MacBook Pro 16 (2023):
- Entry-level configuration includes a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, contrasting the 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU we tested, resulting in roughly a 15% multi-core performance reduction.
- Entry-level configuration featuring 512 GB storage uses slower single-channel SSD, whereas 1 TB or larger versions incorporate dual-channel SSDs.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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