Products
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Oct 29, 2025 02:45 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Oct 28, 2025 06:45 PM
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Size
15.3"
Operating System
macOS
Size
16"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023) are both premium laptops; however, the MacBook Pro 16 is a significantly more powerful device designed for demanding workloads, while the MacBook Air 15 is best suited for lighter productivity tasks. The MacBook Pro 16 is better overall; it has a bigger and brighter display with a 120Hz refresh rate, better-sounding speakers, a wider port selection with multi-monitor support, and longer battery life. On the other hand, the MacBook Air 15 is more portable, and unlike the MacBook Pro 16, it has a fanless design.
Variants
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKW3LL/A) (Midnight - M2/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKX3LL/A) (Midnight - M2/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKR3LL/A) (Silver - M2/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKT3LL/A) (Silver - M2/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKP3LL/A) (Space Gray - M2/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKQ3LL/A) (Space Gray - M2/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKU3LL/A) (Starlight - M2/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MQKV3LL/A) (Starlight - M2/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW73LL/A) (Silver - M3 Max/14-core CPU/36GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MUW73LL/A) (Silver - M3 Max/16-core CPU/48GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW43LL/A) (Silver - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/18GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW63LL/A) (Silver - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/36GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW33LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Max/14-core CPU/36GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MUW63LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Max/16-core CPU/48GB/1TB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW13LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/18GB/512GB)
- MacBook Pro 16 (MRW23LL/A) (Space Black - M3 Pro/12-core CPU/36GB/512GB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.2
8.8
Battery
7.2
9.4
Portability
8.7
7.2
Ports
5.0
8.5
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.7
7.2
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.3"
16"
Thickness
0.6" (1.4 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.0 cm)
14.0" (35.5 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.7 cm)
9.8" (24.8 cm)
Volume
68.8 in³ (1,128.0 cm³)
91.3 in³ (1,496.7 cm³)
Weight
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
4.8 lbs (2.2 kg)
Charger Size
4.6 in³ (75.0 cm³)
13.3 in³ (218.3 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1864
3456 x 2234
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
226 PPI
254 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
86%
91%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
Apple ProMotion
Contrast
7.4
10
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,371 : 1
51,150 : 1
Brightness
8.4
9.1
Maximum Brightness
450 cd/m²
601 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
2 cd/m²
3 cd/m²
Reflections
9.0
8.8
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.63%
1.83%
Indirect Reflections
0.49%
0.16%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.14%
1.67%
Black Uniformity
8.5
10
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.754%
0.179%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.5
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
26°
Color Washout From Right
27°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
30°
Color Shift From Right
34°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
28°
Brightness Loss From Right
30°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
27°
Gamma Shift From Right
27°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.6
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
27°
Color Washout From Above
25°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
30°
Color Shift From Above
33°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
Brightness Loss From Above
28°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
31°
Gamma Shift From Above
30°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.8
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.55
1.45
Avg. Gamma
2.23
2.24
Avg. Color dE
1.41
0.94
Avg. Color Temperature
6,309 K
6,718.9 K
Color Gamut
9.2
9.5
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.72%
99.94%
sRGB uv
99%
99.76%
Adobe RGB xy
84.48%
89.32%
Adobe RGB uv
89.73%
94.31%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
96.02%
99.81%
DCI P3 uv
96.3%
99.59%
Rec. 2020 xy
70.93%
73.15%
Rec. 2020 uv
71.98%
74.31%
Flicker
10
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
64 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
38 gf
38 gf
Pre-Travel
0.76 mm
0.78 mm
Total Travel
0.84 mm
0.85 mm
Touchpad
9.6
9.7
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
9.3
9.1
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
81 dB SPL
78 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.2 dB
3.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.5
0.6
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
135 Hz
112 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.7 dB
2.6 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
9.1
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.5
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
5.0
8.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
2
3
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.1
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
SD UHS 2
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M2
M3 Max
Core Count
8
16
Thread Count
8
16
GPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M2
M3 Max
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
48 GB
Modules
Unknown
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5
LP-DDR5
Speed
6,400 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
206 GB
966 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP0256Z
Apple SSD AP1024Z
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.2
9.9
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,948 points
2,354 points
CPU Multi-Thread
9,020 points
22,973 points
GPU Compute
30,082 points
99,702 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.4
10
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,591 points
1,915 points
Multi-Thread
8,242 points
24,046 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.5
9.3
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.5 min
1.5 min
GPU Render Time
1.8 min
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.3
9.5
Basemark Image
Overall Score
43,752
99,985
Storage Drive Performance
8.9
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,301.4 MB/s
5,626.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
1,345.8 MB/s
2,652.1 MB/s
Random Write Speed
42.3 MB/s
47.1 MB/s
Random Read Speed
59.3 MB/s
47.5 MB/s
Battery
7.2
9.4
Capacity
67 Wh
100 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
8.6 hrs
13.2 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
8.1 hrs
12.8 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.9 hrs
1.9 hrs
Charge Time
2.7 hrs
2.0 hrs
Borderlands 3
3.2
6.5
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
20 fps
65 fps
1% Low
8 fps
38 fps
0.1% Low
3 fps
21 fps
1% Low Delta
79 ms
11 ms
0.1% Low Delta
241 ms
32 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
40 fps
72 fps
Civilization VI
5.8
7.3
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
42 fps
66 fps
1% Low
28 fps
47 fps
0.1% Low
19 fps
43 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
6 ms
0.1% Low Delta
28 ms
8 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
93 fps
120 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.31 s
8.65 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
8.8
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
108 fps
1% Low
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
180 fps
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
1% Low
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
4.5
9.0
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
29 fps
134 fps
1% Low
18 fps
96 fps
0.1% Low
12 fps
73 fps
1% Low Delta
20 ms
3 ms
0.1% Low Delta
51 ms
6 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
58 fps
157 fps
Thermals And Noise
9.4
8.2
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
27 °C (80 °F)
25 °C (77 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
36 °C (96 °F)
38 °C (100 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
45.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
8.4
10
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
80 °C
93 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
1% loss
0% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
78 °C
74 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
8% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
macOS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
Touch Pen
No
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Comments
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M2, 2023) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023): Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.
Not sure why MBA 15 is marked to have a better speaker than MBP 16…Sounds ridiculous to me but if true, I’m satisfied and will upgrade from my MBP 14 to a MBA 15.