MacBook Air 13 (M1) vs MacBook Pro 15 (2018)

Apple MacBook Air 13.3" 1.8 GHz (2017) (MacBook Air Series) 256GB / 16GB

AED 2,199

Buy on Amazon UAE Full Specs

Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, Vega 20) (MacBook Pro 15 2018 Series) 512GB / 24GB

AED 1,799

Buy on Amazon UAE Full Specs

Best Battery

MacBook Pro 15 (2018)

Our Verdict

MacBook Air 13 (M1) vs MacBook Pro 15 (2018)

The i9-8950HK (6c/12t) and Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4GB HBM2) in the MacBook Pro 15 2018 crush the i5-5350U (2c/4t) and Intel HD 6000 in the 2017 Air, delivering 3x GPU performance and 50% more CPU cores. The MacBook Air, fanless and with 10.5 hours of video playback, suits students and writers needing all-day portability without thermal throttling. The MacBook Pro, with 32GB RAM and 512GB SSD, excels for video editors rendering 4K timelines in Final Cut Pro and coders running Docker containers across 12 threads. In UAE at AED 2199 vs AED 1799, the MacBook Pro wins because it offers 4GB more VRAM and 12 threads for under 400 AED less; in India at ₹59900 vs ₹39900, the MacBook Pro wins on value because it doubles RAM, triples storage, and adds 10 threads for ₹20000 less.

Full Specs Comparison

Spec

MacBook Air 13 (M1)

MacBook Pro 15 (2018)

Processor

Intel Core i5-5350U 2c/4t 2 x 1.8 - 2.9 GHz, Broadwell

Intel Core i9-8950HK 6c/12t 6 x 2.9 - 4.8 GHz, Coffee Lake-H

Graphics

Intel HD Graphics 6000

AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 - 4 GB VRAM, HBM2, Enduro

Screen Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 17 x 325 x 227 ( = 0.67 x 12.8 x 8.94 in)

height x width x depth (in mm): 15.5 x 349.3 x 240.7 ( = 0.61 x 13.75 x 9.48 in)

RAM

8 GB , 1600 MHz LPDDR3 onboard

32 GB , DDR4-2400, soldered, up to 32 GB

Storage

256

512

Battery

54 Wh Lithium-Polymer

83 Wh Lithium-Polymer

Ports

2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm headphone jack, Card Reader: SDXC card reader, Brightness Sensor

4 USB 3.1 Gen2, 4 Thunderbolt, 4 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm stereo jack, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor

Wi-Fi

Broadcom 802.11ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0

Broadcom 802.11ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0

Weight

1.35 kg ( = 47.62 oz / 2.98 pounds), Power Supply: 200 g ( = 7.05 oz / 0.44 pounds)

1.83 kg ( = 64.55 oz / 4.03 pounds), Power Supply: 369 g ( = 13.02 oz / 0.81 pounds)

Apple macOS 10.12 Sierra

Apple macOS 10.14 Mojave

Price Comparison

Market	MacBook Air 13 (M1)	MacBook Pro 15 (2018)	Difference
UAE	AED 2,199	AED 1,799	MacBook Pro 15 (2018) saves AED 400
India	₹ 59,900	₹ 39,900	MacBook Pro 15 (2018) saves ₹ 20,000

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