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MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) vs MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023)1MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro M3 against MacBook Air M2
FigureMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Price£1,6993launch price£1,3994launch price
ChipM3chipM2chip
CPU8-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory8GBunified memory, base8GB5unified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to22 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released7 November 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2023.13 June 20236ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The MacBook Pro M3 is £1,699 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air M2 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) · 312.6 × 221.2 mm footprintMacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) · 340.4 × 237.6 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 Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Dimensions15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm
Weight1.55 kg1.51 kg
ColoursSpace Gray, SilverSilver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight
PortsTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.9No USB-A ports.10
HDMIHDMI portNo HDMI port.11
SD card slotYesNo SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes
Touch BarNo Touch Bar.12Not available13

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Display size14.2 in15.3 in
Resolution3024 x 19642880 x 1864
Pixel density254 ppi224 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayLiquid Retina display
Brightness600 nits500 nits
Peak brightness (HDR)1,600 nitsNot available14
Refresh rate120 HzNot available15
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.12No nano-texture display option.11

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
ChipApple M3 chipApple M2 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores88
Performance cores44
Efficiency cores44
GPU cores1010
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM3 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU16M2 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU
Memory (base)8GB8GB5
Memory (maximum)24GB24GB5
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 24GB8GB, 16GB or 24GB5
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents17No, as Apple documents17
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s100 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB2TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB or 2TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Battery capacity70 Wh66.5 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles181,000 cycles18
Video playback (claimed)22 h18 h
Wireless web (claimed)15 h15 h
Included power adapter70 W35 W
Fast chargingYesYes

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
EthernetNo Ethernet port.12No Ethernet port.11
External displays (base)11

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofersSix-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming19Three-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate20macOS 27 Golden Gate21
Model identifierMac15,322Mac14,1523
Model year20232023

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M31MacBook Air M22
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)2,770242,34324
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)11,546249,58024
Geekbench 7 (Metal)47,7562442,67224

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Pro M3 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. 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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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new MacBook Pro featuring M3 chips · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. 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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  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 2 Oct 2026

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

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  9. MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  10. 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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  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. MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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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 (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 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) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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  22. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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

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

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Pro M3. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new MacBook Pro featuring M3 chips; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.

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.

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 Pro M3 (14-inch, Nov 2023)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)?

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