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MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)

MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)1MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air M2 against MacBook Pro M2 Pro
FigureMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Price£1,3993launch price£2,6994launch price
ChipM2chipM2 Prochip
CPU8-coreCPU12-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU19-coreGPU
Memory8GB5unified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base512GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to22 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released13 June 20236ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.24 January 20234ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 17 January 2023.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air M2 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro M2 Pro is £2,699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) · 340.4 × 237.6 mm footprintMacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023) · 355.7 × 248.1 mm footprint

Footprints from above, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Dimensions11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm
Weight1.51 kg2.15 kg
ColoursSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, MidnightSilver, Space Grey
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jackThree Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 port, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports823
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 4
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.9No USB-A ports.10
HDMINo HDMI port.11HDMI port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.11Yes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes
Touch BarNot available12No Touch Bar.13

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Display size15.3 in16.2 in
Resolution2880 x 18643456 x 2234
Pixel density224 ppi254 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina displayLiquid Retina XDR display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Peak brightness (HDR)Not available141,600 nits
Refresh rateNot available15120 Hz
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.11No nano-texture display option.13

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
ChipApple M2 chipApple M2 Pro chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores812
Performance cores48
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores1019
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM2 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPUM2 Pro with 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU16
Memory (base)8GB516GB
Memory (maximum)24GB532GB16
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 24GB516GB or 32GB16
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents17No, as Apple documents17
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s200 GB/s
Storage (base)256GB512GB
Storage (maximum)2TB8TB16
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB16
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Battery capacity66.5 Wh100 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles181,000 cycles18
Video playback (claimed)18 h22 h
Wireless web (claimed)15 h15 h
Included power adapter35 W140 W
Fast chargingYesYes

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
EthernetNo Ethernet port.11No Ethernet port.13
External displays (base)12

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersSix-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate19macOS 27 Golden Gate19
Model identifierMac14,1520Mac14,6, Mac14,1021
Model year20232023

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Air M21MacBook Pro M2 Pro2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)2,343222,43122
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)9,5802216,64022
Geekbench 7 (Metal)42,6722282,98122

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M2 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Pro M2 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro are available today · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  7. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  8. Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Air M2: Thunderbolt 3. MacBook Pro M2 Pro: Thunderbolt 4.

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  9. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

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  10. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro

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  13. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M2 Pro, 2023): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  14. Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display

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  15. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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  21. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  22. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air M2. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Pro M2 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023) - Tech Specs; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M2 Pro (16-inch, 2023)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.