MacBook Air M4 15-inch vs MacBook Pro M4 14-inch: Which Offers Better Value?

India Today

Transcript

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.

Category

Transcript

Recommended