Versus Engine
Apple MacBook Air (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16" (M3 Max)
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Apple MacBook Air (M5) against Apple MacBook Pro 16" (M3 Max), side by side.
Cheaper to start
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Starts about $2,400 lower.
Rated higher
Apple MacBook Pro 16" (M3 Max)
9.8 vs 9.6 on our design scale.
Standout
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Completely silent under normal load
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
The fanless efficiency benchmark: desktop-class work in a silent chassis, from $1,099.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Completely silent under normal load
- Battery life that removes charger anxiety
- Very light for the performance on offer
Cons
- Throttles under sustained load — no fan to shed heat
- Not suitable for serious local model inference
- Memory and storage fixed at purchase
Specifications
- cpu_cores10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- DisplayLiquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch 500 nits brightness Color Support for 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
- memory_bandwidth153GB/s memory bandwidth
- architecture—
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- battery—
- Battery and PowerUp to 18 hours video streaming Up to 15 hours wireless web Built-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m) Fast-charge capable with 70W or higher USB PD power source
- battery_life_video_streamingUp to 18 hours video streaming
- battery_life_wireless_webUp to 15 hours wireless web
- battery_typeBuilt-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- Charging and ExpansionMagSafe 3 charging port 3.5 mm headphone jack Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) MagSafe 3 3.5 mm headphone jack Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) External Display Support Supports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz
- charging_portsMagSafe 3 charging port, Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
- ChipApple M5 chip 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 153GB/s memory bandwidth Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode engine Video encode engine ProRes encode and decode engine AV1 decode
- configurable_memory24GB or 32GB
- configurable_storage1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- display_brightness500 nits brightness
- display_colorSupport for 1 billion colors, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology
- display_size13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch
- expansion_ports3.5 mm headphone jack
- external_display_supportSupports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz, One display up to a native resolution of 8K at 60Hz or 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
- fabrication_process—
- gpu_cores—
- keyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor
- M1 Max chip—
- M1 Pro chip—
- M2 chip—
- M2 Max chip—
- M2 Pro chip—
- M2 Ultra chip—
- M3 chip—
- M3 Pro chip—
- M3 Ultra chip—
- M4 chip—
- M4 Max chip—
- M4 Pro chip—
- M5 Max chip—
- M5 Pro chip—
- M5 Ultra chip—
- M6 chip—
- media_engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- Memory16GB 16GB unified memory Configurable to: 24GB or 32GB
- neural_accelerators16-core Neural Engine
- neural_engine—
- power_adapter40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- Storage512GB 512GB SSD Configurable to: 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- unified_memory—
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
Apple MacBook Pro 16" (M3 Max)
Apple's 16-inch laptop with the M3 Max chip, a 40-core GPU and up to 128GB of unified memory at 400GB/s.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Equipped with a powerful M3 Max chip featuring a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU.
- Up to 128GB of unified memory running at 400GB/s for efficient data handling.
- Supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing for advanced graphics processing.
Cons
- The high price of $3499 may limit its appeal to a broader audience.
Specifications
- cpu_cores16-core (12 performance, 4 efficiency)
- Display16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR (3456x2234, 120Hz ProMotion)
- memory_bandwidth400 GB/s
- architectureARMv8.6-A (Apple Silicon)
- audio_playback—
- battery100-watt-hour lithium-polymer
- Battery and Power—
- battery_life_video_streaming—
- battery_life_wireless_web—
- battery_type—
- Charging and Expansion—
- charging_ports—
- Chip—
- configurable_memory—
- configurable_storage—
- display_brightness—
- display_color—
- display_size—
- expansion_ports—
- external_display_support—
- fabrication_process3nm (TSMC N3B)
- gpu_cores40-core (Hardware-accelerated ray tracing)
- keyboard—
- M1 Max chip10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores Up to 32-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 400GB/s memory bandwidth
- M1 Pro chip10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores 16-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 200GB/s memory bandwidth
- M2 chip8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 10-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 100GB/s memory bandwidth
- M2 Max chip12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores Up to 38-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 400GB/s memory bandwidth
- M2 Pro chip12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 19-core GPU 16-core Neural Engine 200GB/s memory bandwidth
- M2 Ultra chip24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores Up to 76-core GPU 32-core Neural Engine 800GB/s memory bandwidth
- M3 chip8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 100GB/s memory bandwidth
- M3 Pro chip12-core CPU with 6 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores 18-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 150GB/s memory bandwidth
- M3 Ultra chipUp to 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores Up to 80-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 32-core Neural Engine 819GB/s memory bandwidth
- M4 chip10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 120GB/s memory bandwidth
- M4 Max chipUp to 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores Up to 40-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine Up to 546GB/s memory bandwidth
- M4 Pro chip14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores 20-core GPU Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 273GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Max chip18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores Up to 40-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine Up to 614GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Pro chipUp to 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores Up to 20-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 307GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Ultra chipUp to 36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores Up to 80-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 32-core Neural Engine 1.2TB/s memory bandwidth
- M6 chip12-core CPU with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores 12-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing Dual 16-core Neural Engine Up to 170GB/s memory bandwidth
- media_engine—
- Memory—
- neural_accelerators—
- neural_engine16-core (18 TOPS)
- power_adapter—
- Storage—
- unified_memoryUp to 128GB LPDDR5
- video_playback—