The biggest difference between the new MacBook Air and the new MacBook Pro is the fan

It’s a bit odd for Apple to simultaneously launch the new 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, because these two MacBooks, priced at $ 999 and $ 1,299 respectively, seem nearly identical. They have the same M1 processor based on Apple’s latest ARM architecture, same memory and storage options, the same ports and display.

According to The Verge, it’s no joke to say that the biggest difference between the MacBook Air and the new MacBook Pro is the fan. And this fan is exclusive to the MacBook Pro. Meanwhile, the MacBook Air does not use a heatsink.

This difference results in the MacBook Pro being able to stay at high performance levels for longer. Because today’s CPUs get better performance when they are cooler. The TDP thermal design power measured in watts is a better predictor of performance than the GHz clock speed, as there are a lot of CPUs that can boost clock speeds to many GHz until they get hot.

In a small space without a fan, these CPUs will have to slow down their clock speeds when the temperature gets too high. But they’ll be able to stay at high clock rates longer, if cooled.

The heatsink fan in the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Basically, that’s what differentiates the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, as confirmed by Apple with The Verge. The two MacBooks are powered by the same processor, but the MacBook Pro adds a fan that helps maintain high performance for longer.

Of course, Apple tried to advertise both of its designs. The first is to praise the fanless design of the MacBook Air, then talk about the “active cooling” solution in the MacBook Pro.

The dimensions of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The dimensions of the new 13-inch MacBook Air.

While the fan might be the biggest one, there are still a few other minor differences between the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro.

At $ 999, the MacBook Air is equipped with 7 GPU cores instead of the 8 cores like the MacBook Pro.

But at $ 1,249, the MacBook Air has eight CPU cores and eight GPU cores just like the $ 1,299 MacBook Pro.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro has a slightly larger battery (58.2Wh vs 49.9Wh), which makes the battery last 2 hours longer than the 13-inch MacBook Air.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro’s display is slightly brighter at the maximum (500 nits versus 400 nits).

The MacBook Pro 13 comes with the Touch Bar instead of physical function keys. Although both are equipped with fingerprint sensor Touch ID.

It is noted that both new MacBooks only support up to 16GB of RAM, which is a current limitation of Apple’s M1 processor.

Reference: theverge