Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1) vs Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M1) compared with MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)	AppleMacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2020	June 2017
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1600	2560 × 1600
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	400 nits	500 nits (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density
Pixel density	227 ppi	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours	Wide colour (P3)
Screen finish
Screen finish	Glossy (Notebookcheck)	–
Display features
Display features	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)	Scaled resolutions of 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 or 1024 × 640
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M1	Intel Core i5-7360U or Intel Core i7-7660U
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 2 TB (better)	128 GB to 1 TB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz, configurable to dual-core Intel Core i7 at 2.5 GHz with up to 4 GHz; both have 64 MB eDRAM. Exact i5-7360U identifier and optional i7-7660U confirmed by Notebookcheck.
GPU
GPU	7-core or 8-core GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 integrated graphics
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB	8 GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB (Apple specification); Intel's processor sheet lists LPDDR3 up to 1866 MHz
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; consumer models started at 256 GB, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB. Apple's US education price list also lists an 8 GB / 128 GB model with a 7-core GPU.	SSD; 128 GB base configurable to 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB, and 256 GB base configurable to 512 GB or 1 TB
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	Single cooling fan (Notebookcheck)
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	49.9 Wh	54.5 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.29 kg (better)	1.37 kg
Thickness
Thickness	16.1 mm	14.9 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 212.4 mm	304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's May 2017 test used the 2.3 GHz Core i5, 8 GB memory and 1 TB SSD. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	30 W USB-C Power Adapter	61 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	Silver; Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	4.2
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack	Two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack. VGA, HDMI, DVI and Thunderbolt 2 require separate adaptors.
External displays
External displays	One external display at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display	Built-in screen plus one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with over a billion colours, two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, or two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback	Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming	Two microphones
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	13-inch MacBook Pro; 61 W USB-C Power Adapter; 2 m USB-C Charge Cable