The release of the M5 MacBook Air means that Apple once again has two laptops featuring the standard M5 chip. Apple first used the standard M5 chip in the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Both devices fall into the "under $2000" price range in Apple’s laptop series. Here’s a comparison of the two MacBooks that share the same chip.

14-inch M5 MacBook Pro vs. 13-inch M5 MacBook Air

Despite both devices using the standard M5 chip, there is a $600 price difference between them.

The M5 MacBook Air starts at $1099, while the M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1699.

The base model MacBook Air offers a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, while the MacBook Pro comes with a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display. XDR refers to the ability to display high dynamic range content such as HDR photos and videos.

Additionally, there is a difference in the M5 chip used in each laptop's base model. Each M5 chip has a 10-core CPU. The MacBook Air version starts with an 8-core GPU compared to the 10-core GPU in the M5 MacBook Pro.

Both devices can be configured with 4TB SSD storage. However, the MacBook Pro starts with 1TB storage, while the MacBook Air offers 512GB storage.

Each starts with 16GB and options for 24GB and 32GB RAM are available.

Portability and Battery Life

The MacBook Air is lighter at 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg), while the MacBook Pro weighs 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg). Being lighter also means being thinner. The MacBook Air is 0.44 inches (1.13 cm) thick, while the MacBook Pro is 0.61 inches (1.55 cm) thick.

The difference in screen size also applies in terms of width and depth. The MacBook Air measures 11.97 inches (30.41 cm) in width and 8.46 inches (21.5 cm) in depth. The MacBook Pro measures 12.31 inches (31.26 cm) in width and 8.71 inches (22.12 cm) in depth.

Battery life is another difference. The thicker and heavier MacBook Pro offers up to 24 hours of battery life, while the MacBook Air provides up to 18 hours of battery life.

This six-hour battery life difference is calculated based on video streaming. The MacBook Pro offers only one hour more battery life at 16 hours in wireless web browsing compared to 15 hours on the MacBook Air.

Air and Pro I/O

Both devices come with a 12MP Center Stage camera and can record 1080 HD video with Desk View support.

The speaker system is more impressive on the MacBook Pro with its high-quality six-speaker audio system; this system features subwoofers that cancel sound waves and provides wide stereo sound. Apple only advertises a four-speaker audio system for the MacBook Air.

Apple uses better integrated microphones in the MacBook Pro; this model offers a studio-quality three-microphone array with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The MacBook Air is described as having only a three-microphone array.

Both have a 3.5 mm headphone jack that offers advanced support for high-impedance headphones, while the MacBook Pro adds an HDMI port that supports multi-channel audio output.

Other port differences include three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports and an SDXC card slot on the MacBook Pro, while the MacBook Air has no HDMI, no SD card, and only two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports.

One area where the M5 MacBook Air is more modern than the standard M5 MacBook Pro is wireless connectivity. The more expensive MacBook Pro offers Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3, while the MacBook Air comes with Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6.

The MacBook Pro's Display Shows the Differences Clearly

However, the MacBook Pro definitely stands out in terms of display quality.

The 14.2-inch display of the MacBook Pro has a 3024 x 1964 pixel resolution and uses mini-LED backlighting for much deeper blacks and better contrast.

The 13.6-inch display of the MacBook Air lacks mini-LED backlighting and has a 2560 x 1664 pixel resolution.

Both support the P3 wide color gamut standard and include True Tone technology to automatically adjust color temperature based on ambient lighting.

However, the MacBook Pro offers a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz with ProMotion technology. The MacBook Air’s display is limited to 60Hz.

The MacBook Pro also offers 1000 nits brightness compared to the 500 nits brightness of the MacBook Air. The brightness of the MacBook Pro can peak at 1600 nits for HDR content.

Which One is Best for You Depends on Your Needs (and Perhaps Your Color Preference)

Finally, the MacBook Air comes in four colors: sky blue, silver, starlight (light gold), and midnight (dark blue). The MacBook Pro only offers two colors; one of which is space gray (the other is silver).

The M5 MacBook Air is a solid device that balances performance with portability. On the other hand, the M5 MacBook Pro pays the price of being thin and light by offering more ports, a much better display, and slightly more battery life in mixed usage.

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