Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) vs MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024): Which Laptop Is Better?

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) is much better for most uses than the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024). The MacBook Pro is a much more powerful device designed for the most demanding workloads, while the Air is an ultraportable designed for general productivity tasks. The Pro has a superior display that gets brighter and has a higher refresh rate, a wider port selection with Thunderbolt 5 ports, and fuller sound speakers. Also, since the Air relies on passive cooling, it doesn't perform as well during sustained workloads.

Variants

MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)

MacBook Pro 16 (MX2V3LL/A) (Silver - M4 Max (14-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU)/36GB/1TB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX2W3LL/A) (Silver - M4 Max (16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU)/48GB/1TB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX2T3LL/A) (Silver - M4 Pro (14-Core CPU, 20-Core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX2U3LL/A) (Silver - M4 Pro (14-Core CPU, 20-Core GPU)/48GB/512GB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX303LL/A) (Space Black - M4 Max (14-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU)/36GB/1TB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX313LL/A) (Space Black - M4 Max (16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU)/48GB/1TB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX2X3LL/A) (Space Black - M4 Pro (14-Core CPU, 20-Core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
MacBook Pro 16 (MX2Y3LL/A) (Space Black - M4 Pro (14-Core CPU, 20-Core GPU)/48GB/512GB)

Review

See Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) Review

See Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) Review

Check Price

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our laptops test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

School

8.8

No major differences between these laptops for school. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

School

8.8

General Productivity

8.2

8.6

Multimedia

8.2

9.2

Gaming

5.9

7.3

Workstation

8.1

8.4

Design

Style

Style Photo

Form Factor

Traditional (Clamshell)

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Build Quality

9.5

Build Quality Photo

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Hinge

9.1

Hinge Photo

Range

135°

Stability

Good

One Finger Lift

Yes

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Portability

8.7

7.0

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 (1,128.1 cm³)

91.3 in³ (1,496.7 cm³)

Weight

3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)

4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)

Charger Size

4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)

13.7 in³ (225.0 cm³)

Charger Weight

0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)

1.3 lbs (0.6 kg)

Serviceability

3.5

Internals Photo

Ease Of Access

6.0

RAM Slots

Storage Slots

Replaceable Battery

Yes

Replaceable Wireless Adapter

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In The Box

In The Box Photo

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Display

Screen Specs

Display Photo

Resolution

2880 x 1864

3456 x 2234

Aspect Ratio

16:10

Pixel Density

226 PPI

254 PPI

Panel Type

IPS

Touch Screen

Screen-To-Body Ratio

87%

90%

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Refresh Rate

5.9

8.7

Motion Blur

Refresh Rate

60 Hz

120 Hz

Variable Refresh Rate

Apple ProMotion

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Contrast

7.5

Contrast Photo

Native Contrast

1,412 : 1

53,450 : 1

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Brightness

8.7

9.1

Maximum Brightness

494 cd/m²

604 cd/m²

Minimum Brightness

2 cd/m²

3 cd/m²

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Reflections

9.1

8.8

Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish

Glossy

Total Reflections

1.47%

1.92%

Indirect Reflections

0.38%

0.18%

Calculated Direct Reflections

1.09%

1.74%

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Black Uniformity

7.3

Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.)

1.103%

0.088%

Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy

9.9

White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE

1.47

1.39

Avg. Gamma

2.24

2.21

Avg. Color dE

0.98

0.93

Avg. Color Temperature

6,742.3 K

6,331.2 K

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Color Gamut

9.4

9.5

Gamut SDR

sRGB xy

99.93%

99.99%

sRGB uv

99.72%

99.98%

Adobe RGB xy

87.43%

88.85%

Adobe RGB uv

92.34%

93.81%

Gamut HDR

DCI-P3 xy

99.05%

99.89%

DCI-P3 uv

98.72%

99.81%

Rec. 2020 xy

71.83%

73.27%

Rec. 2020 uv

73.49%

74.17%

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Flicker

9.0

Flicker Graph

Flicker-Free

Flicker Frequency

> 1000Hz

Flicker Active Below

100%

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Interface

Keyboard

8.0

Keyboard Photo

Typing Quality

8.0

Numpad

Backlighting

Adjustable

Key Switch Actuation Graph

See details

Operating Force

62 gf

60 gf

Actuation Force

40 gf

38 gf

Pre-Travel

0.80 mm

0.78 mm

Total Travel

0.91 mm

0.85 mm

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Touchpad

9.6

9.7

Touchpad Photo

Tracking Quality

9.5

Size

21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)

24.8 in² (160.0 cm²)

Material

Glass

Dedicated Buttons

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Speakers

8.9

8.8

Frequency Response Plot

See details

Max Volume

81 dB SPL

77 dB SPL

Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

5.9 dB

4.2 dB

Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)

2.2

0.4

Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)

155 Hz

122 Hz

Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)

20 kHz

Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.

2.3 dB

1.8 dB

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Webcam & Microphone

8.7

9.1

Webcam Video Sample

Video Quality

9.0

9.5

Resolution

1080p

Position

Top Center

Privacy Cover

Face Unlock

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Connectivity

Ports

5.0

8.5

Ports Photo

USB-A Ports

USB-C Ports

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt 3

Thunderbolt 5

USB-C Charging

Yes

USB-C Display Out

Yes

HDMI

2.1

DisplayPort

3.5mm Jack

Combo mic/headphone

Card Reader

SD UHS 2

Ethernet

Proprietary Port

Apple MagSafe 3

Security Lock

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Wireless Communication

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)

Bluetooth

5.3

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Configuration

CPU

Brand

Apple

Model

M4 Max

Core Count

Thread Count

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GPU

Brand

Apple

Model

M4 Max

Dedicated/Integrated

Integrated

VRAM Size

N/A

GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)

N/A

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RAM

Capacity

8 GB

48 GB

Modules

Unknown

Type

LP-DDR5

LP-DDR5x

Speed

6,400 MHz

8,533 MHz

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Storage

Advertised Capacity

256 GB

1,000 GB

Usable Capacity

214 GB

958 GB

Drive 1

Apple SSD AP0256Z

Apple SSD AP1024Z

Drive 1 Type

SSD

Drive 2

No 2nd Drive

Drive 2 Type

No 2nd Drive

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Performance

Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)

9.4

Geekbench Image

CPU Single-Thread

2,322 points

CPU Multi-Thread

10,501 points

GPU Compute

33,403 points

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CPU/RAM Performance

8.9

Cinebench 2024 - Single Core

179 points

Cinebench 2024 - Multi Core

2,067 points

Geekbench 6 - Single Core

3,910

Geekbench 6 - Multi Core

26,053

Blender - CPU (Avg)

169 samples/min

PassMark PT - CPU Mark

43,766

PassMark PT - Memory Mark

6,039

PassMark PT - Memory Mark (Android)

N/A

Mozilla Kraken

253 ms

Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)

9.7

Cinebench R23 Photo

Single-Thread

1,892 points

Multi-Thread

9,179 points

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Low Tier Graphics

8.3

Geekbench 6 - GPU Compute

195,622

Basemark Web 3.0

2,461

PassMark PT - 2D Mark

N/A

PassMark PT - 2D Mark (Android)

N/A

PassMark PT - 3D Mark

N/A

PassMark PT - 3D Mark (Android)

N/A

Novabench 5 - GPU

812.0

mprep - Stress My GPU

39,837

Blender (3D Rendering)

8.7

Blender Image

CPU Render Time

4.0 min

GPU Render Time

1.6 min

GPU Render Time (Optix)

N/A

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High Tier Graphics

8.3

3DMark - Steel Nomad (DX12)

N/A

3DMark - Steel Nomad (Vulkan/Metal)

3,579

Basemark GPU (DX12)

N/A

Basemark GPU (Vulkan/Metal)

177,985

GFXBench - High Level Test (Vulkan/Metal)

15,515 Frames

Basemark GPU (Game Scene)

7.4

Basemark Image

Overall Score

44,950

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Professional 3D (GPU Accelerated)

6.6

Blender - GPU (Avg)

1,740 samples/min

Cinebench 2024 - GPU

16,676 points

CPU-Intensive Game Performance

8.3

Civilization VII - AI

14.0 s/turn

Civilization VII - Graphics (Avg)

239.4 fps

Civilization VII - Graphics (1% Low)

108.4 fps

Total War: Warhammer III (Avg)

82.1 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (Avg)

113.7 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (1% Low)

60.0 fps

Previous Methodology Score

8.2

Previous Methodology Score Converted

7.7

GPU-Intensive Game Performance

6.7

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)

63.0 fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)

54.0 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)

31 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)

22 fps

GTA V (Avg)

N/A

GTA V (1% Low)

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)

N/A

Resident Evil 4 (Avg)

135.6 fps

Resident Evil 4 (1% Low)

101.2 fps

Previous Methodology Score

8.5

Previous Methodology Score Converted

7.0

Borderlands 3

3.1

Borderlands 3 Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

20 fps

1% Low

7 fps

0.1% Low

4 fps

1% Low Delta

89 ms

0.1% Low Delta

230 ms

Avg. FPS On Very Low

37 fps

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Ray Tracing Performance

4.4

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)

41.5 fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)

34.2 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)

22 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)

17 fps

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)

N/A

Civilization VI

5.6

Civilization VI Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

41 fps

1% Low

26 fps

0.1% Low

17 fps

1% Low Delta

14 ms

0.1% Low Delta

33 ms

Avg. FPS On Minimum

93 fps

Avg. Turn Time

10.24 s

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Storage Drive Performance

9.2

9.0

Storage Performance Image

Sequential Write Speed

2,738.0 MB/s

5,844.7 MB/s

Sequential Read Speed

2,834.7 MB/s

2,555.5 MB/s

Random Write Speed

41.1 MB/s

43.1 MB/s

Random Read Speed

62.5 MB/s

41.0 MB/s

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Battery

9.1

9.5

Capacity

67 Wh

100 Wh

Battery Life (Web Browsing)

12.7 hrs

13.0 hrs

Battery Life (Video Playback)

12.0 hrs

12.6 hrs

Battery Life (Gaming)

3.5 hrs

1.9 hrs

Charge Time

2.8 hrs

1.7 hrs

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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

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Thermals And Noise

8.1

6.5

Keyboard Temps Picture

Keyboard Temp While Idle

27 °C (81 °F)

30 °C (86 °F)

Keyboard Temp Under Load

50 °C (121 °F)

48 °C (119 °F)

Fan Noise While Idle

N/A

25.0 dBA

Fan Noise Under Load

N/A

51.6 dBA

Power & Fan Control App

Yes

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Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

4.3

SOTTR Graph

See details

Avg. FPS

32 fps

1% Low

15 fps

0.1% Low

8 fps

1% Low Delta

36 ms

0.1% Low Delta

90 ms

Avg. FPS On Lowest

44 fps

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Performance Over Time

7.1

Performance Over Time Graph

See details

CPU Temp (Cinebench)

90 °C

95 °C

CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)

6% loss

0% loss

GPU Temp (Heaven)

90 °C

80 °C

GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)

12% loss

0% loss

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Additional Features And Software

Software

Operating System

macOS

Additional Software

None

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Extra Features

Biometrics

Fingerprint Sensor

RGB Illumination

Touch Pen Support

No Stylus Support

Secondary Display

Show Text

Check Price

Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024)

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024)

Comments

Comparison

• Posted 1 year ago

Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024): Main Discussion

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Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) vs MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024)

Which Laptop Is Better?

Products

Our Verdict

Variants

Review

Check Price

Main Differences for School

Threshold

School

Full Comparison

School

General Productivity

Multimedia

Gaming

Workstation

Style

Style Photo

Form Factor

Build Quality

Build Quality Photo

Hinge

Hinge Photo

Range

Stability

One Finger Lift

Portability

Dimensions Photo

Size

Thickness

Width

Depth

Volume

Weight

Charger Size

Charger Weight

Serviceability

Internals Photo

Ease Of Access

RAM Slots

Storage Slots

Replaceable Battery

Replaceable Wireless Adapter

In The Box

In The Box Photo

Screen Specs

Display Photo

Resolution

Aspect Ratio

Pixel Density

Panel Type

Touch Screen

Screen-To-Body Ratio

Refresh Rate

Motion Blur

Refresh Rate

Variable Refresh Rate

Contrast

Contrast Photo

Native Contrast

Brightness

Maximum Brightness

Minimum Brightness

Reflections

Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish

Total Reflections

Indirect Reflections

Calculated Direct Reflections

Black Uniformity

Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.)

Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy

White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE

Avg. Gamma

Avg. Color dE

Main Differences for

School