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MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) vs MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)1MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro against MacBook Air
FigureMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Price£1,5993launch price£8494launch price
ChipCore i72.2GHz quad-core IntelCore i51.6GHz dual-core Intel
CPU4-coreCPU2-coreCPU
Memory16GBmemory, base4GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base128GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to9 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to12 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released19 May 20155Released9 March 20154Released
Security updates16 September 20246Security updates ended16 September 20246Security updates ended
Price
The MacBook Pro is £1,599 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Air is £849 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) · 358.9 × 247.1 mm footprintMacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) · 325 × 227 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 (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Dimensions18 x 358.9 x 247.1 mm3–17 x 325 x 227 mm
Weight2.04 kg1.35 kg
PortsMagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps), two USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, SDXC card slotTwo USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), Thunderbolt 2 port (up to 20 Gbps), MagSafe 2 power port, SDXC card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports21
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 2Thunderbolt 2
USB-A ports22
HDMIHDMI portNo HDMI port.7
SD card slotYesYes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted T arrangement)Full-size backlit keyboard
Touch IDNo Touch ID.8No Touch ID.7

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Display size15.4 in13.3 in
Resolution2880 x 18001440 x 900
Pixel density220 ppiNot available9
Display typeRetina displayLED-backlit glossy widescreen display
Brightness300 nitsNot available9
Wide colour (P3)No wide colour (P3) display.10Not available9

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Chip2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i71.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10Intel processor, not Apple silicon.11
CPU cores42
GraphicsIntel Iris Pro GraphicsIntel HD Graphics 6000
Chip options2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz; 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz; configurable to 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 or 2.2GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)16GB4GB
Memory (maximum)16GB8GB
Memory options16GB4GB or 8GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents12No, as Apple documents12
Storage (base)256GB128GB
Storage (maximum)1TB512GB
Storage options256GB, 512GB or 1TB128GB, 256GB or 512GB

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Battery capacity99.5 Wh54 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles131,000 cycles13
Video playback (claimed)9 h12 h
Wireless web (claimed)9 h12 h
Included power adapter85 W45 W
Fast chargingNo fast charging.8No fast charging.7

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth4.24.0
EthernetNo Ethernet port.8No Ethernet port.7
External displays (base)21

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Camera720p FaceTime HD camera720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakersStereo speakers
MicrophonesDual microphonesDual microphones

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Shipped withOS X Yosemite14OS X Yosemite15
Newest macOSmacOS Monterey16macOS Monterey17
Model identifierMacBookPro11,4 or MacBookPro11,516MacBookAir7,217
Model year20152015

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1MacBook Air2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)9561880718
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)3,371181,46318

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New £1,599 iMac with Retina 5K Display · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New £1,599 iMac with Retina 5K Display · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  6. endoflife.date — Apple macOS · third-party figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  7. MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015): No HDMI port. No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  8. MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015): No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  9. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015): No wide colour (P3) display. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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

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

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  14. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New £1,599 iMac with Retina 5K Display · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  15. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, refresh rate, nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) - Technical Specifications; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch Trackpad & New £1,599 iMac with Retina 5K Display, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, refresh rate, nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display & MacBook Air, 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 (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)?

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