M4 Macbook Air Vs. M5 Macbook Pro: I Compared Both, And Here's My Buying Advice

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If you are successful nan marketplace for a caller Apple laptop, it tin beryllium confusing to take nan 1 that suits your needs. After all, nan institution precocious released an all-new 14-inch guidelines MacBook Pro powered by its latest M5 processor. It is much powerful than nan $999 M4 MacBook Air but not arsenic formidable arsenic nan much costly M4 Pro and M4 Max-powered machines.

Also: I compared nan M5 MacBook Pro to older Mac models - here's my buying proposal successful 2025

If you are reference this, you're astir apt confused astir nan differences betwixt nan 2 guidelines Apple MacBook models. I compared nan 2 laptops, M4 MacBook Air and nan M5 MacBook Pro, to thief you find nan cleanable machine for your needs.

Here's really my favourite recreation laptop compares to nan caller Apple MacBook Pro.

You should bargain nan M4 MacBook Air if…

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1. You want nan astir portable Apple laptop

The Apple MacBook Air lineup is made to beryllium lightweight and portable, and nan M4-powered Air is nary different. I've been utilizing this laptop for a while, and I emotion its reliability. It doesn't sacrifice artillery life to execute its 1.24kg shape factor. In fact, nan M4 spot flies done day-to-day tasks and delivers exceptional artillery life.

If you're for illustration me, who travels often for work, nan M4 MacBook Air should beryllium capable for your needs. It's sewage nan aforesaid magnitude of RAM, TouchID biometric authentication, Magic Keyboard, and much than nan much costly guidelines MacBook Pro. If you want nan lightest Apple laptop without compromising nan power, battery, aliases portability, nan M4 MacBook Air is your champion bet.

2. You want a larger display

The M5 MacBook Pro features a higher-quality show than nan M4 MacBook Air, but it is disposable successful only 1 size. If you want nan elasticity of prime and a 13.6-inch aliases 14-inch show doesn't meet your needs, nan 15-inch MacBook Air should service you well.

Also: 5 things I emotion astir MacOS 26 Tahoe aft 1 week pinch it connected my Mac

The bigger M4 MacBook Air offers nan aforesaid goodness arsenic its 13-inch exemplary but pinch a larger screen. You get a 15.3-inch LCD successful a creation that still weighs little than nan M5 MacBook Pro (1.51kg vs. 1.55kg). It is designed for those who don't want to discuss connected portability and lightweight design, but want nan largest imaginable show connected an Apple laptop.

3. You're shopping connected a budget

Price is nan biggest facet erstwhile considering these 2 laptops. The M4 MacBook Air starts astatine $1,000 (for nan 13-inch variant), while nan M5 MacBook Pro will costs $1,599. Moreover, nan 13-inch MacBook Air exemplary is already on waste for $749 ahead of nan Black Friday sale, further expanding nan value gap.

Frankly speaking, nan M4 processor is capable for astir people, particularly if they don't edit long-form videos connected their laptop. If you're definite your workflow doesn't impact sustained capacity gains (including on-device AI inference, GPU-bound, aliases memory-intensive tasks), nan M4 processor is capable for you. I'd counsel you to prevention $ 100 and opt for nan $750 M4 MacBook Air.

You should bargain nan M5 MacBook Pro if…

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

1. You want nan amended activity and gaming display

If you are a master who needs a brighter, much meticulous display, nan M5 MacBook Pro is for you. It features a 14.2-inch mini-LED backlit surface pinch support for 1,000 nits of sustained full-screen brightness and 1,600 nits of highest brightness for supported HDR content. By contrast, nan M4 MacBook Air tin only scope a brightness of up to 500 nits.

While I haven't had problem viewing my Air's display, I emotion nan slimmer bezels connected nan Pro. It looks much modern and is easier to position erstwhile moving outdoors. It besides offers a amended movie-watching experience, acknowledgment to its superior speakers compared to nan MacBook Air. Moreover, you get a 120Hz ProMotion show for smoother scrolling and a much fluid video editing experience.

2. You want a laptop that tin powerfulness done anything

The M4 processor is much than tin for astir people, but if your activity involves sustained workloads, nan M5-powered MacBook Pro will supply amended performance. Apple's M5 processor features a operation of per-core Neural Accelerators, higher representation bandwidth, and a caller GPU architecture to connection amended performance

Also: Should you upgrade to M5 MacBook Pro from an M1? How nan numbers adhd up

If you request on-device AI conclusion and activity pinch memory-intensive tasks aliases GPU-bound analyzable 3D rendering, nan Pro is for you. It is built for occasions erstwhile time-to-result straight affects workflow, including moving diffusion models, video enhancement, aliases ray-traced production, and more. The M5 MacBook Pro will besides past you a mates of hours longer than nan M4 MacBook Air.

3. You request much retention and ports

As mentioned earlier, Apple's M5-powered laptop is designed for professionals who typically require much ports. While nan M4 MacBook Air comes equipped pinch 2 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, nan MacBook Pro houses 3 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port, and an SDXC paper slot. Plus, it is nan only laptop retired of nan 2 that offers 4TB of retention (and has 512GB of retention successful nan guidelines model).

The 2 Apple laptops are meant for highly different usage cases. While nan M4 MacBook Air appeals to predominant flyers and business professionals who don't want to discuss connected power, portability, and artillery life, nan M5 MacBook Pro is designed for professionals who require a much powerful processor, improved efficiency, a much meticulous display, and greater wide flexibility. The prime is clear.