MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro, Nov 2023) vs MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,0993launch price | £1,3994launch price |
| Chip | M3 Prochip | M2chip |
| CPU | 11-coreCPU | 8-coreCPU |
| GPU | 14-coreGPU | 10-coreGPU |
| Memory | 18GBunified memory, base | 8GB5unified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Up to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 7 November 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 30 October 2023. | 13 June 20236ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available8Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro M3 Pro is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air M2 is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
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
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm | 11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm |
| Weight | 1.61 kg | 1.51 kg |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Silver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe 3 port, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports9 | 3 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.10 | No USB-A ports.11 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | No HDMI port.12 |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.12 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Touch Bar | No Touch Bar.13 | Not available14 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 14.2 in | 15.3 in |
| Resolution | 3024 x 1964 | 2880 x 1864 |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | 224 ppi |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Liquid Retina display |
| Brightness | 600 nits | 500 nits |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | 1,600 nits | Not available15 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | Not available16 |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | No nano-texture display option.13 | No nano-texture display option.12 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M3 Pro chip | Apple M2 chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 11 | 8 |
| Performance cores | 5 | 4 |
| Efficiency cores | 6 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 14 | 10 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M3 Pro with 11-core CPU and 14-core GPU, or M3 Pro with 12-core CPU and 18-core GPU17 | M2 with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 18GB | 8GB5 |
| Memory (maximum) | 36GB17 | 24GB5 |
| Memory options | 18GB or 36GB17 | 8GB, 16GB or 24GB5 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents18 | No, as Apple documents18 |
| Memory bandwidth | 150 GB/s | 100 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 4TB17 | 2TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB17 | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 72.4 Wh | 66.5 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles19 | 1,000 cycles19 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 18 h | 18 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 12 h | 15 h |
| Included power adapter | 70 W | 35 W |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.13 | No Ethernet port.12 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 1 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro M3 Pro1 | MacBook Air M22 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | Three-mic array with directional beamforming |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro or M3 Max, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new MacBook Pro featuring M3 chips ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro are available today ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the 15-inch MacBook Air ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Pro M3 Pro: Thunderbolt 4. MacBook Air M2: Thunderbolt 3.
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro, Nov 2023): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Air (15-inch, M2, 2023): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port.
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro, Nov 2023): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro or M3 Max, Nov 2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro M3 Pro. 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 Pro or M3 Max, 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 Pro (14-inch, Nov 2023)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M2 (15-inch, 2023)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.