Products
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Oct 28, 2025 06:45 PM
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Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Oct 31, 2025 08:11 PM
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Amazon.com
Size
16"
Operating System
macOS
Size
13.6"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024)
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024) are both premium laptops, but designed for different users. The MacBook Pro 16 is a workstation intended for demanding workloads like video editing and 3D modeling, while the MacBook Air 13 is an ultraportable intended for light, general productivity tasks. You get significantly more processing power on the MacBook Pro 16 as well as more premium features, like a 120Hz Mini LED display, a wider port selection, and better-sounding speakers.
Variants
- 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)
- MacBook Air 13 (MXCV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXW3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8-core CPU/8-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MXCT3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXR3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8-core CPU/8-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MXCR3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXP3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8-core CPU/8-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MXCU3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXU3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8-core CPU/10-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MRXT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8-core CPU/8-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.8
8.7
Portability
7.2
9.1
Ports
8.5
5.0
Battery
9.4
8.8
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
7.2
9.1
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
13.6"
Thickness
0.7" (1.7 cm)
0.5" (1.3 cm)
Width
14.0" (35.5 cm)
12.0" (30.4 cm)
Depth
9.8" (24.8 cm)
8.5" (21.5 cm)
Volume
91.3 in³ (1,496.7 cm³)
51.9 in³ (849.7 cm³)
Weight
4.8 lbs (2.2 kg)
2.7 lbs (1.2 kg)
Charger Size
13.3 in³ (218.3 cm³)
5.5 in³ (89.4 cm³)
Charger Weight
1.1 lbs (0.5 kg)
0.3 lbs (0.2 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
3456 x 2234
2560 x 1664
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
254 PPI
224 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
91%
86%
Refresh Rate
8.7
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Apple ProMotion
No
Contrast
10
7.6
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
51,150 : 1
1,518 : 1
Brightness
9.1
8.4
Maximum Brightness
601 cd/m²
453 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
3 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.8
9.2
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.83%
1.35%
Indirect Reflections
0.16%
0.4%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.67%
0.95%
Black Uniformity
10
9.4
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.179%
0.556%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
9.3
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.45
2.18
Avg. Gamma
2.24
2.25
Avg. Color dE
0.94
1.38
Avg. Color Temperature
6,718.9 K
6,821.3 K
Color Gamut
9.5
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.94%
99.98%
sRGB uv
99.76%
99.98%
Adobe RGB xy
89.32%
87.68%
Adobe RGB uv
94.31%
92.89%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.81%
99.31%
DCI P3 uv
99.59%
99.25%
Rec. 2020 xy
73.15%
72.02%
Rec. 2020 uv
74.31%
73.74%
Flicker
9.0
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
100%
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
62 gf
64 gf
Actuation Force
38 gf
39 gf
Pre-Travel
0.78 mm
0.76 mm
Total Travel
0.85 mm
0.86 mm
Touchpad
9.7
9.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)
15.8 in² (102.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
9.1
8.1
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
78 dB SPL
75 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
3.9 dB
3.7 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
0.6
0.1
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
112 Hz
236 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.6 dB
1.3 dB
Webcam & Microphone
9.1
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.5
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
8.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
3
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.1
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
SD UHS 2
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M3 Max
M3
Core Count
16
8
Thread Count
16
8
GPU
Brand
Apple
Apple
Model
M3 Max
M3
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
48 GB
8 GB
Modules
Unknown
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5
LP-DDR5
Speed
6,400 MHz
6,400 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
966 GB
214 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP1024Z
Apple SSD AP0256Z
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)
9.9
9.3
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,354 points
2,347 points
CPU Multi-Thread
22,973 points
10,793 points
GPU Compute
99,702 points
29,965 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
10
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,915 points
1,897 points
Multi-Thread
24,046 points
9,006 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
9.3
8.6
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
1.5 min
3.9 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
2.2 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
9.5
6.8
Basemark Image
Overall Score
99,985
36,620
Storage Drive Performance
9.2
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
5,626.4 MB/s
2,816.8 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,652.1 MB/s
2,702.2 MB/s
Random Write Speed
47.1 MB/s
40.0 MB/s
Random Read Speed
47.5 MB/s
64.2 MB/s
Battery
9.4
8.8
Capacity
100 Wh
53 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.2 hrs
11.6 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
12.8 hrs
11.6 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.9 hrs
3.3 hrs
Charge Time
2.0 hrs
3.0 hrs
Borderlands 3
6.5
3.2
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
65 fps
20 fps
1% Low
38 fps
7 fps
0.1% Low
21 fps
3 fps
1% Low Delta
11 ms
88 ms
0.1% Low Delta
32 ms
265 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
72 fps
37 fps
Civilization VI
7.3
4.4
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
66 fps
30 fps
1% Low
47 fps
17 fps
0.1% Low
43 fps
14 fps
1% Low Delta
6 ms
27 ms
0.1% Low Delta
8 ms
37 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
120 fps
92 fps
Avg. Turn Time
8.65 s
11.76 s
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
N/A
1% Low
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low
N/A
N/A
1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
9.0
4.3
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
134 fps
31 fps
1% Low
96 fps
11 fps
0.1% Low
73 fps
5 fps
1% Low Delta
3 ms
62 ms
0.1% Low Delta
6 ms
150 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
157 fps
41 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.2
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
25 °C (77 °F)
28 °C (83 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
38 °C (100 °F)
49 °C (119 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
45.5 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
10
5.7
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
93 °C
83 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
12% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
74 °C
83 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
16% 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
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023)
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Comments
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M3, 2024): Main Discussion
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