Comparison: New 13" Mac Book Pro vs Air

Today, Apple announced a new version of their 13" MacBook Pro. You can read a pretty good summary of it at MacRumors or on Apple's product page. But the real important question (at least to me) is whether it is worth getting this computer or the 13" MacBook Air. Both are very lightweight and relatively inexpensive so it's not necessarily a clear-cut decision.

To help you make such a decision, here's a convenient table comparing features and prices. In order to try and provide a fair comparison, I am comparing three configurations of each:

• The minimal configuration
• The largest stock configuration
• A "maxed-out" configuration, which is the largest stock configuration, plus every possible build-to-order hardware option (but not software or external accessories)

And so, here are the configurations.

Series		2020 MacBook Air			2020 13" MacBook Pro
Config		minimal	largest	maxed-out	minimal	largest	maxed-out
Price		$999	$1,299	$2,249	$1,299	$1,999	$3,599
Display	Size	13.3" (16:10 aspect)
	Type	IPS (LED backlight)
	Resolution	Native: 2560x1600 (227 ppi) Scaled: 1650x1050, 1440x900, 1024x640
	Brightness	386 nits (measured by Tom's Guide)			500 nits (Apple's specs)
	Gamut	113% of sRGB (measured by Tom's Guide)			P3 (Apple's specs)
	True Tone	Yes
CPU	Model	10th gen i3 (1000NG4)	10th gen i5 (1030NG7)	10th gen i7 (1060NG7)	8th gen i5 (8257U)	10th gen i5 (1038NG7)	10th gen i7 (1068NG7)
	Cores (Threads)	2 (4)	4 (8)	4 (8)	4 (8)	4 (8)	4 (8)
	Clock (turbo)	1.1 (3.2) GHz	1.1 (3.5) GHz	1.2 (3.8) GHz	1.4 (3.9) GHz	2.0 (3.8) GHz	2.3 (4.1) GHz
	L3 Cache	4 MB	6 MB	8 MB	6 MB	6 MB	8 MB
GPU	Integrated	Intel Iris Plus			Intel Iris Plus 645	Intel Iris Plus
	Discrete	External GPU via Thunderbolt 3
RAM	Size	8 GB		16 GB	8 GB	16 GB	32 GB
	Speed	3733 MHz LPDDR4X			2133 MHz LPDDR3	3733 MHz LPDDR4X
SSD Size		256 GB	512 GB	2 TB	256 GB	1 TB	4 TB
External Video	Displays / Resolution	1 6K (6016x3384) 1 5K (5120x2880) 2 4K (4096x2304)			1 5K (5120x2880) 2 4K (4096x2304)	1 6K (6016x3384) 1 5K (5120x2880) 2 4K (4096x2304)
	Interface	Thunderbolt 3 Native DisplayPort (via USB-C) VGA, HDMI, Thunderbolt 2 (via adapters)
Camera		720p
Ports	Thunderbolt 3	2			2	4
	Headphone	Yes
Wireless	Wi-Fi	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Wi-Fi 5)
	Bluetooth	5.0
Input	Keyboard	Scissor-switch, backlight with ambient light sensor
	Top-row	Function keys			Touch Bar with mechanical ESC key
	Touch ID	Yes
	Trackpad	Force Touch
Power	Battery	49.9 WH (11 hours wireless web)			58.2 WH (10 hours wireless web)	58.0 WH (10 hours wireless web)
	Charger	30 W USB-C			61 W USB-C
Dimensions	Height	0.16-0.63 inch			0.61 inch
	Width	11.97 inch
	Depth	8.36 inch
	Weight	2.8 lbs			3.1 lbs

Note that we don't yet have solid information about the CPU model numbers used in the 2020 13" MacBook Pros. The models listed above are the results of searching Intel's specification database for CPUs that match Apple's published specs (generation, series, cores and clock speeds). They are probably correct, but we won't know for sure until people purchase actual systems and report the contents.

My analysis of all of the above? Clearly, the right choice depends on your requirements and your budget.

If you require the least expensive computer, then the Air is your only choice. It has the lowest price and that base configuration is quite usable. You might find the 8GB of RAM or dual core CPU a bit cramped if you try to use it for heavy-duty computing (e.g. video rendering), but it should still have no problem getting the job done, even if it takes a little longer than it would on a faster computer.

One very interesting comparison is between the stock high-end Air and the base 13" Pro because these sell for the same price ($1,299). The best choice appears to be the Pro, but maybe not decisively so. Significant differences between these two are:

• The Pro has a better screen (brighter, wider color gamut)
• The Air has a 10th generation i5 vs. the Pro's 8th generation. But the Pro runs it at a higher clock frequency (1.4/3.9 GHz on the Pro vs 1.1/3.5 GHz on the Air) producing higher overall performance despite being an older generation chip.
• The Air has a larger SSD
• The Pro has a touch bar instead of function keys. This is, of course only a benefit if you like the touch bar. If you don't, then the Air has the advantage in this category.
• The Air claims longer battery life, despite its lower capacity. It also weighs slightly less.

If you're interested in a high power laptop, a maxed-out Air appears comparable to the high-end stock Pro:

• The Pro costs $250 less
• The Pro has a better display (brighter, wider gamut)
• The CPUs are different, but probably comparable in terms of overall performance. The Air is an i7 vs the Pro's i5, but the Pro runs it at a significantly faster clock (2 GHz vs 1.2 GHz). Both are quad-core with hyperthreading. We don't yet know have benchmarks for these new chips, so we can only guess, but a 67% higher clock speed (and what is probably going to be a better cooling solution) can easily make up for the difference between an i5 and and i7 from the same generation.
• The Air offers twice the storage for its $250 higher price tag
• The Pro has two additional Thunderbolt 3 ports

And is it worth going all the way for a maxed-out Pro? At $3,599, that's one expensive laptop. Mostly due to the high prices that Apple charges for RAM ($400 to upgrade from 16 to 32 GB) and storage ($1000 to upgrade from 1TB to 4TB). If those parts were upgradable, I would recommend buying the stock model and upgrading them later, but they're not. Whatever you buy the computer with is what you've got. Keeping this in mind, my recommendation for the user who needs the most power is:

• Start with the high-end stock Pro ($1,999)
• Upgrade the CPU to the Core i7 (+$200)
• Upgrade the RAM to 32 GB. (+$400)
• Leave the storage at the stock 1TB.
• Total for this configuration: $2,599

The CPU and RAM upgrades are because they make a big difference if you're running apps that require a high powered system (e.g. audio/video editing, number crunching, etc.). And you can't upgrade them after the fact. If you don't get them and would like them later on, you need to buy a new computer.

For the storage, I see little reason to have more than the stock 1TB storage. Although it's always nice to keep everything available at once, Apple is charging far too much. You would be much better served by a high speed external SSD, attached either via USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt 3.

1TB is more than enough to hold macOS, your applications and most people's documents (not counting media collections). If you do a lot of work on video, then even 4TB won't be enough for more than a small number of projects (maybe not even one, depending on your project), so you're going to need external storage (USB, Thunderbolt or network-attached) anyway.

And that's my two cents. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Update May 11, 2020: Intel has added some new CPUs to their specification database that match the specs Apple published. I am assuming that these are the chips that Apple is using. I've updated the table and analysis accordingly.