Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) vs Air 15 M5 (2026)
70
out of 100
VS
65
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 (M3, 2023)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Can run popular games at about 31-42% higher FPS
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Features a much bigger (~50%) battery – 100 against 66.5 watt-hours
- Thinner bezels and 3% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Provides 20% higher max. screen brightness: 600 vs 500 nits
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
- Significantly easier to carry: weighs 630 grams less (around 1.39 lbs)
- Around 11% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- Smaller footprint: 8% more compact case (125.4 vs 136.7 square inches)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 2.14 kg (4.72 lbs) | 1.51 kg (3.33 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
340.4 x 237.6 x 11.5 mm 13.4 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches |
| Area | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) | 809 cm2 (125.3 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~86.2% | ~83.9% |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | 5.4 mm |
| Colors | Black, Gray | Black, Silver, Gold, Blue |
| 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) | 42.8 dB | - |
Display
| Size | 16.2 inches | 15.3 inches |
| Type | Mini LED | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (24-120 Hz) | No |
| PPI | 254 ppi | 224 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 pixels | 2880 x 1864 pixels |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
15.3″ (16:10 ratio) = 105.2 in2
~12% more screen space
| Contrast | 1000000:1 | 1223:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 86.3% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 100% | 97.5% |
| Response time | 58 ms | 27 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | - |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 140 W | Yes, 70 W |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Left |
| Charge power | 140 W | 35 / 40 / 70 W |
| Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | 347 grams | 116 / 80 / 167 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 4.05 GHz | 4.61 GHz |
| Cores | 12 (6P + 6E) | 10 (4P + 6E) |
| Threads | 12 | 10 |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) | Apple M5 GPU (10-core) |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 30 W | - |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| GPU base clock | 500 MHz | - |
| GPU boost clock | 1380 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| FLOPS | 6.4 TFLOPS | 4.1 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory bus | 192 bit | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | 9.6 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2304 | 1280 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 144 | 80 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 72 | 40 |
| GPU performance | 6.4 TFLOPS | 4.1 TFLOPS |
| Blender GPU | 1661 | 1964 |
| Solar Bay | 23170 | 22390 |
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 3x6 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | 9600 MHz |
| Type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Upgradable | No | No |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | Custom | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 2x256 GB | 2x256 GB |
| Upgradable | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) | 2.4 (2 tweeters and 4 woofers) |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | ~84.3 dB | ~84.8 dB |
| Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v7 |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v6.0 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | No | No |
| 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 4 |
| 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 (M3, 2023):
- Lower-end M3 Pro and M3 Max SoCs with fewer CPU and GPU cores are also available. Our tests are conducted on the maxed-out variants.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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Total votes: 7