MacBook Air M4 15-inch vs MacBook Pro M4 14-inch: Which Offers Better Value?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So we're here to address this dilemma that is going around.
00:03We have a MacBook Pro, which is the 14-inch variant starts at Rs.1,70,000 with the M4 chip.
00:11But now Apple has launched a MacBook Air 13 and 15-inch with the M4 chipset.
00:17So performance-wise, you are kind of getting the performance of an M4 but at a relatively lesser price.
00:24So why should you go for the Pro?
00:26That's exactly what we are here to answer in this video.
00:29Should you buy the MacBook Air that comes with the M4 chip, all the performance capabilities?
00:33Or should you go for the Pro variant 14-inch which costs much more?
00:39Let's try find out.
00:40All right, so people who want to buy the 13-inch MacBook Air with the M4 should just definitely go and buy it
00:47because yes, under a lakh, M4 chip, all of the processing capabilities, a great, great laptop at that price
00:55and also 13-inch screen.
00:57So we'll keep that one aside.
00:58We'll just focus on the 15-inch versus the 14-inch Pro.
01:02In terms of color options, yes, you're getting full color options with the 15-inch laptop in the Air series
01:07while the Pro just gives you only two color options.
01:10So if color choices are a priority for you, then Air is what you should consider.
01:15Next up is the display.
01:16While you're getting a 15-inch Retina display here with the Air, the Pro offers a 14-inch Retina display
01:22but with XDR support.
01:25Now the advantage with XDR support is that you get better contrast, you get deeper blacks
01:30and viewing content is much more better, the viewing angles are better
01:34and people who edit stuff on their laptops, especially video content, images,
01:41they should consider this display, the Pro display because obviously you want better accuracy
01:47in terms of your color contrast and also the crispness, the clarity of your images.
01:52There is also a difference in terms of the peak brightness that you're getting on the Pro
01:56with better contrast, deeper blacks and a wider color gamut and also the pixels are much more on the 14.
02:01When you're getting around 3024x1964 pixels on the Pro, the Air variant offers 2880x1864 pixels.
02:10So yes, there is a difference but remember I spoke about peak brightness, that's where the game changes.
02:16Because the Pro variant gives you up to 1600 nits of peak brightness in HDR mode
02:23and in comparison, the Air offers you 500 nits of peak brightness.
02:27So yes, people who want that specific feature in terms of how bright your image is
02:33and your content is, definitely go for the Pro.
02:37And remember, the refresh rate is also a deciding factor because the ProMotion display on the Pro
02:42gives you 120Hz of refresh rate while the Air display gets you 60Hz.
02:47So yes, the content consumption, the experience definitely changes when you're getting variable refresh rates like this.
02:53So yes, professional people who want better, more immersive viewing, better content consumption, go for the Pro, definitely.
03:02Processing here again, got me a bit confused.
03:05When I saw the Air spec sheet, the new M4 processor with all of the processing capabilities of the Pro,
03:11I thought that this is a great option for people who want performance.
03:15Because if you consider what's inside, you get a 10-core CPU, that's 4 performance and 6 efficiency cores in the Air.
03:21You get ray tracing, 10-core GPU, you also get up to a 16-core neural engine.
03:27The other upgrade is 120Gbps of memory bandwidth, the memory being transferred from your core memory to your CPU.
03:35And that just changes the game, you're getting good performance with the Air as well.
03:40Not only that, 16, 24 and 32 gigs of RAM options, just like what you get in the Pro.
03:46And it's completely changed the game for people who are expecting more performance from the Air.
03:51Not only that, storage options also start with 256GB all the way up to 2TB.
03:56And on contrary, the Pro variant starts with 512GB of memory.
04:02So yes, you're not getting a 256GB variant and for people who don't want to spend a lot for storage,
04:10you're getting a better option with the Air.
04:11Also, both the laptops come with 12MP cameras on the front with center stage technology.
04:16But the speaker system, yes, both have 6 speaker systems.
04:20But a bit of an advantage with the Pro because you are getting a high fidelity speaker system with the Pro.
04:27With a wider stereo sound, studio quality, 3 mics and also HDMI port support for audio.
04:33So, somewhat differences are there if you dive deeper into it.
04:38Professionals might relate more in terms of what they are getting with the Pro series.
04:42But again, if you're for a general consumer, for people who generally want to watch a couple of Netflix
04:47or Amazon videos or just want to watch YouTube, I think the Air is excellent.
04:52Moving on to the inputs, where you get two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the Air.
04:58Contrary to that, you get three Thunderbolt 4 ports USB-C on the Pro with support for HDMI
05:04and also memory card slot.
05:06So again, you can see how this is more of a professional setup.
05:09People who consume or shoot a lot of media need these input sources.
05:13So, I think the Pro definitely speaks volumes of the kind of audience it caters to.
05:19The battery life also is a big deciding factor because people who want more battery should definitely
05:24pivot towards the Pro because you're getting 24 hours of video streaming with the Pro
05:30and 16 hours of wireless web surfing.
05:33Contrary to that, on the Air, you get 15 hours of wireless surfing and 18 hours of video streaming.
05:40So yes, there is a difference in terms of battery life.
05:43So, prioritize whichever you feel will, you know, serve you better.
05:48But this difference also lies because of what's on the inside.
05:50With the Air, you're getting a 66.5 Watt-hour battery.
05:54Compared to that, on the Pro, you're getting a 72.4 Watt-hour battery.
05:57So yes, the battery capacity in itself is different.
06:00But charging speeds are also very different on the two.
06:04When you're considering charging via the USB-C port, 35 Watt on the Air,
06:08while on the Pro, you're getting double of that.
06:1070 Watt charging with USB-C and it's the same when you consider the conventional charging port
06:18where on the Air, you're getting 70 Watt charging and on the Pro, you're getting 96 Watt charging.
06:24So, these are the differences, the major differences when you're buying the two laptops,
06:30you should consider which one is better for you.
06:32Now, just coming down to the price of these two laptops.
06:35Now, the starting price for the Air, the M4, for the 13-inch variant,
06:39is under Rs. 1,99,900 for the 256GB variant.
06:43But, the 15-inch variant starts at Rs. 1,24,900 for the 256GB model.
06:50Now, people would consider, okay, I'm getting a good deal here.
06:54But, the Pro starts at Rs. 1,69,900 and that to 512GB.
07:00So, more storage, more Pro performance, but again, the difference of almost Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000.
07:06I think, people should really think for a minute and consider what is the priority for them
07:11because, if you want, really, really want Pro performance,
07:15if you think that in the future, you'll be editing videos,
07:19you might be into content creation or you really want a good display,
07:24and I think the Pro would suit your needs.
07:26But again, if you want something of a daily driver that can also double as a performance driver for you,
07:34maybe you might end up editing smaller videos,
07:37might not be 4K, but maybe 1080p videos for your social media.
07:40I think the Air will serve your purpose.
07:43It's a capable laptop and now has the powerful performance of an M4 chip.
07:48So, why not? It's a great deal.
07:50Yes, of course, if you want more storage, you'll have to pay more Rs. 1,64,900 for the 512GB variant,
07:56which, by the way, comes with 24GB of RAM.
07:58So, definitely a major boost in performance and you can even consider buying that
08:03because the 1TB variant on the Pro, that costs around Rs. 2,00,000
08:08and I don't really think you should be going to that level.
08:11Yes, you are getting the Pro features, but I mean an M4, 24GB of RAM, 512GB of storage.
08:19Why wouldn't you go for this one?
08:21So, yes, again, this is a spec to spec comparison that we have given you.
08:25We haven't tested these devices yet,
08:28but we have been using older versions of the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro.
08:33Based on those, we're just giving our opinion of what we feel would be a better deal for you.
08:37But again, we strongly suggest you go to Apple's website,
08:40have a look, have a, you know, fair comparison of the two
08:44and then decide which one is a better deal for you
08:47because the price difference is a lot and I think the Air is really hitting the nail
08:52because under our lap, you're getting excellent performance.
08:55That's it for this video.
08:56Hope you found the information useful.
08:58Let us know in the comment section what you feel about this new MacBook Air.
09:00We'll be coming soon with a review when we get the device.
09:03Till then, stay tuned for other tech content.
09:06This is Syrus, signing off. Take care.