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MacBook Air (2022)
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MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
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Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2022)
  • Excellent for general use
  • Excellent portability
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
  • Good for gaming and AI
  • Excellent overall display quality
  • Best in class battery life

Key differences

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Gaming and AI

6.7
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
7.5
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.2/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is only fair.

Engineering and Design

8.2
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
8.9
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.2/10
24.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is somewhat better.

Screen Quality

7.6
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
9.3
13.6in
SIZE
16.2in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, AI, and engineering and design.

Battery

15.0 Hours
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
17.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life.

Portability

Excellent
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
Good
13.6in
SIZE
16.2in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.7 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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Key similarities

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General Use

9.2
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
8.8
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
17.5 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air (2022) to be excellent for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good.

Content Creation

8.8
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
8.9
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
24.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for content creation.

Software Development

8.7
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
8.9
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
24.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for software development.

Build Quality

10.0
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
10.0
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) both have best in class build quality.

Cost

$2,199
MacBook Air (2022)
MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
$2,299
Product imageProduct image

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $2,199 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) costs $2,299.

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How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Apple MacBook Air (2022)Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
Apple MacBook Air (2022)Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)

GENERAL

Price
$2,199
$2,299
Release Date
July 1, 2022November 1, 2023
Overall Dimensions
12'' x 8.5'' x 0.44''14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66''
Weight
2.7 lbs4.7 lbs
Width
11.97"14.01"
Depth
8.46"9.77"

INTERNAL

Processor
Apple M2Apple M3 Pro (12C)
RAM
24 GB18 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
00
Storage
2048 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
15 Hours17.5 Hours
Battery Capacity
52.6 Wh99.6 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
13.6"16.2"
Display Technology
IPSMini LED
Resolution
2560 x 16643456 x 2234
Refresh Rate
60Hz120Hz
Display Brightness
486 nits487 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
10/1010/10
Portability Score
9.4/107.6/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoNo
Premium Business Laptop
YesYes
Fan Noise Score
10/108.8/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
10/109.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
10/1010/10
Webcam
1080p1080p
Fingerprint Reader
YesYes
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
NoNo

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
00
USB-C ports
23
USB-C Charging
YesYes
Display Outputs
12
Thunderbolt Version
34

Shopping

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Apple MacBook Air (2022)

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."

Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)

About Apple

Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.

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Why trust us

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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.

By the numbers

380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
119,895
Recommendations made
25,978
Consumer hours saved

About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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