Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) vs Air (M2, 2022)
74
out of 100
VS
58
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 16 (2023)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Can run popular games at about 70-95% higher FPS
- Features a much bigger (~90%) battery – 100 against 52.6 watt-hours
- Around 84% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench R23 test
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Thinner bezels and 5% higher screen-to-body ratio
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 910 grams less (around 2.01 lbs)
- Much smaller footprint: 26% more compact case (101.4 vs 136.7 square inches)
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Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.15 kg (4.74 lbs) | 1.24 kg (2.73 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches |
| Area | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) | 654 cm2 (101.3 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~86.2% | ~82% |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | 5.6 mm |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 135° | 130° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Passive |
| Vapor chamber | No | - |
| Liquid metal | No | - |
| Number of fans | 2 | - |
| Noise level (max. load) | 43.2 dB | - |
Display
| Size | 16.2 inches | 13.6 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 225 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 pixels | 2560 x 1664 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, HDR10 |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Contrast | 504000:1 | 1384:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 99.9% |
| Adobe RGB profile | 88.5% | 87.6% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 99% | 98.4% |
| Response time | 63 ms | 29 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | 2:30 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 | 140 W | 30 / 35 / 67 W |
| Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
| Weigh of AC adapter | 353 grams | 174 / 189 / 250 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 3.5 GHz | 3.5 GHz |
| Cores | 12 (8P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
| Threads | 12 | 8 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M2 Pro GPU (19-core) | Apple M2 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 | 35 W | 15 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 450 MHz | 500 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1398 MHz | 1456 MHz |
| FLOPS | 6.8 TFLOPS | 3 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory bus | 256 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2432 | 1024 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 152 | 64 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 76 | 32 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 4x4 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 | 1x512 GB | 1x256 GB |
| Upgradable | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes | - |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.2 | 2.2 |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | 86.1 dB | 82.7 dB |
| Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v6 |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | No | No |
| USB Type-C | 3x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| 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 | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1 mm | 1 mm |
| Size | 15.5 x 9.9 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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Total votes: 10