Pavel Jelic This year's second conference was recently held by Applu. Specifically, it was a developer conference WWDC, on which Apple introduces new versions of its operating systems every year. Rarely does it WWDC we will see the introduction of hardware innovations, but as they say – Exceptions prove the rule. In WWDCOn the 22nd, two new Apple computers were introduced, namely MacBook Air at 13″ MacBook Pro with M2 chips. In "full fire" the new MacBook Air The M2 costs almost 76 thousand crowns and in this article we will compare it with the 14″ MacBookem Pro, which we will configure for a similar price, and we will decide which machine is better to buy.
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Adam Kos Right from the start, it is necessary to mention that there are several ways in which 14″ MacBook Pro for a price of approximately 76 thousand crowns to configure. In this case, everything is based solely on preferences. Personally, I know from my own experience that with computers with Apple Silicon It is important to have sufficient RAM, which is what I am also betting on. Of course, you can then decide between better variachip, or you can go for larger storage.
CPU and GPU
As for the CPU and GPU, the new MacBooku Air in full configuration you get the M2 chip, which has 8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores and 16 cores Neural Engine. As for 14″ MacBookfor the Pro, I would choose the M1 Pro chip with 8 CPU cores, 14 GPU cores and 16 cores Neural EngineBut as I mentioned above, if you are able to sacrifice storage or RAM, you can easily go for the top-of-the-line variathe M1 Pro chip. However, it is certain that on the M1 Max you won't get, due to the need to automatically deploy 32 GB of RAM. Both the M2 chip and the M1 Pro chip have a media engine for hardware acceleration, decoding and encoding of video and ProRes.
The M2 chip
RAM and storage
In the case of RAM, the new one has MacBooku Air, or rather, with the M2 chip, a maximum of 24 GB is available. Basically, it offers 14″ MacBook Pro only 16 GB of RAM, which is not enough even compared to AirFor this reason, I would not hesitate and, according to the opening paragraph, I would choose better RAM, even at the cost of worse varianty M1 Pro chip. So I would specifically use 32 GB of RAM, which would take us over 24 GB on the new Airin full fire. The memory throughput of the M2 chip is 100 GB/s, while the M1 Pro chip has twice that, i.e. 200 GB/s.
MacBook Air M2
Full configuration MacBooku Air with M2 chip offers a maximum storage capacity of 2 TB. In 14″ configuration MacBookI would choose 1TB storage for the Pro, so in this one sector the 14″ Pro could be a good choice for a new Air simply lose. In my opinion, the basic 512 GB of SSDs these days is simply borderline. However, if you don't need the storage, or if you are used to using external SSDs, you can ideally invest the saved money in a better configuration of the M1 Pro chip, while keeping the aforementioned 32 GB of RAM. If you absolutely want 2 TB of storage, you will have to compromise on RAM and use 16 GB, which is already Airin full configuration less.
14 '' MacBook Pro
Connectivity
Apple decided to MacBooku Air to keep connectivity as simple as possible. It added only the popular new power connector to the existing two Thunderbolt 4 connectors and a headphone jack MagSafe third generation, which is definitely pleasing. However, there are no additional connectors on AirDon't expect anything else - everything else will have to be solved through hubs and reductions. 14″ MacBook Pro is much better in the field of connectivity. You can look forward to three Thunderbolt 4 ports, along with a headphone jack and a power connector. MagSafe third generation. In addition, the 14″ Pro also offers an SDXC card slot and a connector HDMI, which again may come in handy for a certain group of users. In terms of wireless connectivity, both machines offer Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.0.
Connectivity 14'' MacBook Pro (2021)
Design and display
At first glance, an unfamiliar eye can certainly confuse the appearance of a new Airwith redesigned design MacBooků Pro. And there is nothing to be surprised about, since the main distinguishing feature of MacBooku Air there was a body that gradually became slimmer – but that is gone now. Nevertheless, the body remains Airu compared to 14″ Pro narrower, so new Air is not such a prominent "brick", on the contrary it is still a very elegant machine. As for the exact dimensions (H x W x D), MacBook Air The M2 is 1,13 x 30,41 x 21,5 centimeters, while the 14″ MacBook Pro It measures 1,55 x 31,26 x 22,12 centimeters. The weight of the new AirThe u is 1,24 kilograms, while the 14″ Pro weighs 1,6 kilograms.
Nový MacBook Air In addition to the design overhaul, it also received a new display. The 13.3″ display of the previous generation has been increased to 13.6″ Liquid Retina display that offers a resolution of 2560 x 1664 pixels, a maximum brightness of 500 nits, support for the P3 color gamut and True Tone. 14″ display MacBookHowever, the Pro is a few levels further from these specifications. It is therefore 14.2″ Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlight, 3024 x 1964 pixel resolution, peak brightness of up to 1600 nits, support for the P3 color gamut and True Tone, and most importantly, we must not forget ProMotion technology with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
Gallery
Keyboard, camera and sound
The keyboard is exactly the same on both machines compared – it is Magic Keyboard without the Touch Bar, which was killed off for good with the arrival of the 14″ Pro and is currently only found on the 13″ MacBookfor the Pro, which makes absolutely no sense to buy. Of course, both machines have Touch ID, which can be used for simple login and authentication. Air The redesign also improved the camera, which has a resolution of 1080p and uses the ISP within the M2 chip to improve the image in real time. However, the 14″ Pro is not afraid of these figures, as it also offers a 1080p camera and ISP within the M1 Pro. As for the sound, Air offers four speakers, while the 14″ Pro boasts a Hi-Fi system of six speakers. However, both devices can play wide stereo and surround sound Dolby AtmosMicrophones are available for both AirWell, there are three 14″ Pros, but the latter should be of slightly better quality, especially in terms of noise reduction.
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Battery
It's up to the battery. MacBook Air a little better. Specifically, it offers a 52,6 Wh battery that can handle up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing or up to 18 hours of movie playback. 14″ MacBook Pro It has a 70 Wh battery that can last up to 11 hours of wireless web browsing or up to 17 hours of movie playback. When charging, you get the ultimate MacBooku Air 67W fast charging adapter included (standard is 30W). For 14″ MacBookThe Pro has the same 1W charging adapter with the base M67 Pro chip, even if you get 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. If you want the more powerful 96W adapter, you either have to buy it separately or upgrade to a more powerful chip, just one level up.
14 '' MacBook Pro
záver
You are deciding between MacBookem Air in full configuration and 14″ MacBookem Pro in your own configuration? If so, I personally think that in 90% of cases you will do better with the 14″ Pro. It is primarily important to mention that with the 14″ Pro you have more configuration options, so you can set it exactly to your taste. Whether you need better computing power, RAM, or storage, in all cases you can configure this computer exactly as you need. In addition, the basic M1 Pro chip is already better in terms of performance, i.e. in terms of GPU cores.
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Vratislav Holub As I mentioned above, I personally would rather MacBooku Air with M2 in a configuration of 8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores, 24 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD, he reached 14″ MacBookin the Pro configuration with 8 CPU cores, 14 GPU cores, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD, mainly because the RAM is very important – and I am counting on this configuration in the comparison table below. With a limit of 77 thousand crowns, you can in any case with the 14″ configuration MacBooku Play for repair. MacBook Air I would only choose the M2 in its full configuration if you are looking for the most compact machine with the longest battery life at all costs. Otherwise, I think it simply doesn't make sense to buy it in the most expensive configuration.
Table crunching
| MacBook Air (2022, full configuration) | 14" MacBook Pro (2021, custom configuration) | |
| Chip | M2 | M1 Pro |
| Number of cores | 8 CPUs, 10 GPUs, 16 Neural Engine | 8 CPUs, 14 GPUs, 16 Neural Engine |
| Operation memory | 24 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage | 2 TB | 1 TB |
| Connectors | 2x TB 4, 3,5mm, MagSafe | 3x TB 4, 3,5mm, MagSafe, SDXC reader, HDMI |
| Wireless connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 1,13 x 30,41 x 21,5 cm | 1,55 x 31,26 x 22,12 cm |
| Weight | 1,24 kg | 1,6 kg |
| Display | 13.6 " Liquid Retina | 14.2 " Liquid Retina XDR |
| Display resolution | 2560 x 1664 px | 3024 x 1964 px |
| Other display parameters | brightness up to 500 nits, P3, True Tone | brightness up to 1600 nits, P3, True Tone, ProMotion |
| Keyboard | Magic Keyboard (scissors) | Magic Keyboard (scissors) |
| Touch ID | year | year |
| camera | 1080p ISP | 1080p ISP |
| Speakers | four | Hi-Fi six |
| Battery capacity | 52,5 Wh | 70 Wh |
| Battery life | 15 hours web, 18 hours film | 11 hours web, 17 hours film |
| The price of the selected model | 75 990 CZK | 76 990 CZK |
A bug has crept in… there should probably be an M2 :)
"As I mentioned above, I personally would rather MacBooku Air with M1 in a configuration of 8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores, 24 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD, he reached 14″ MacBook"For"
Thank you, you are right :)
I would also mention that the AirYou can only connect one external monitor. I have 2 external monitors at work and at home, I'm probably in a very small minority, but it's important to mention it.
Sorry... but that's really an article.
First of all, regarding the RAM. Currently, the price/performance ratio is clearly the PRO with 16Gb of RAM and a larger SSD. The larger SSD is faster and has a longer lifespan = it doesn't matter that macbook will swap into it. The performance penalty when swapping is MacFor very small and the benefit from the higher SSD speed is significant in other operations.
And further... none of us have really tried the M2 yet and we don't know how it will behave. I assume that this is just a small evolution, but it may turn out not to be the case.
Practical tests show that working memory in MACIt's not important. For example, the difference between 8 and 16GB is zero in the vast majority of activities, around 10 percent in demanding tasks like compilation, and only in extreme cases like rendering 8K video is the difference really noticeable.
Has the author ever tried an M1 MBP with 8GB RAM? It's nonsense, isn't it Apple Silicon requires more operating memory. It's the exact opposite. Compared to Intel MacBookme, half the RAM is enough even for really demanding tasks. I'm surprised the author doesn't know about it.
Yes, Air with M1 and Pro with M1. And in both cases, 8 GB of RAM is not enough for me, and I don't do anything particularly complex. Prioritizing RAM is important, since it is shared by both the CPU and GPU. But as I write in the article, this is how I would MacBook Pro configured by me. Whoever prefers a better chip, gets a better chip, whoever wants a bigger disk, gets a bigger disk. In practically all cases it depends MacBook Pro better.
But what does "not enough" mean? If there is not enough RAM, Mac swaps to SSD.
The larger the capacity of the SSD, the faster it is and has a longer lifespan = swapping is less of a hassle.
For the vast majority of tasks, it is currently not worth going beyond 16 GB when you can invest in a larger SSD. Yes, with 8 GB it can probably be felt at higher resolutions for rendering... but tests so far say that Air M1 8Gb 512 vs 16Gb 256Gb, the one with the larger SSD wins in most tasks.
I would go to Airfor M1 with 16GB of memory, 1TB SSD and a 14″ PRO display. :-)