The Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 received much acclaim when it started shipping on March 12, 2025, replacing the MacBook Air 15-inch M3 after just under a year.
However, for anyone trying to find the best MacBook in this size class, the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 that launched in October 2024 is an intriguing option too.
Make no mistakes: The Pro M4 beats the Air M4 in almost every metric. Our testing and reviews make that clear. But this is about showing you precisely what those differences are and whether they matter to you.
Pricing is a big part of this. Naturally, the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 is more expensive, but we track the best MacBook deals closely, and discounts make it a closer proposition for buyers who need more than the base MacBook Air 15-inch M4.
Let's take a look at how these MacBooks stack up in several key categories. Armed with everything you need to know about the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 vs. MacBook Air 15-inch M4, you'll find the best MacBook for you.
We'll start with the all-important price factor.
See also: Asus Zenbook 14 UX3405 vs. Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Pricing and configuration
Spec | MacBook Air 15-inch M4 | MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 |
|---|---|---|
CPU | Apple M4 (10-core) | Apple M4 (10-core) |
GPU | Apple M4 (10-core) | Apple M4 (10-core) |
RAM | 16GB | 16GB |
Storage | 256GB SSD | 512GB SSD |
Display | 15.3-inch, 2880 X 1864 Liquid Retina LCD at 60Hz | 14.2-inch, 3024 X 1964 Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED at 120Hz |
Battery life | 15:14 | 18:32 |
Dimensions | 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.44 inches | 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches |
Weight | 3.3 pounds | 3.4 pounds |
Price | $1,099 (Starting); $1,399 (As reviewed) | $1,599 (Starting); $1,949 (As reviewed) |
Every configuration of the MacBook Air M4 got a $100 price cut compared to their M3 counterparts for every configuration in 2025, bringing the starting price of the 15-inch Air down to $1,199.
Apple deserves some credit for this unlikely move: We've already seen some laptops announced at CES 2025 launch for $100 more than their original stated price, like the Asus ROG Flow Z13 2025.
The $1,199 base MacBook Air 15-inch M4 includes an M4 processor with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display at 2880 x 1864. We tested the $1,399 model, which increases the SSD storage to 512GB.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch starts at $1,599 with an M4 processor with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display at 3024 x 1964. Our review unit increased the storage to 1TB and added the nano-texture display option, which brought it to $1,949.
Those were launch retail prices, but now I want to consider the current pricing, as the MacBook Pro is deeply discounted after being on the market for several months.
As I write this, you can find the MacBook Air 15-inch M4 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for around $1,359, while the same configuration in the 14-inch Pro M4 is around $1,399. Now, if you don't need the added storage, the base MacBook Air 15-inch M4 with a 256GB SSD is around $1,180, but I wanted to look at an even playing field.
While the pricing is roughly even for matching configurations of these laptops, as you'll see in the following selections, the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 has quite a bit more to offer most users, so the value proposition tips in favor of the Pro.
Winner: MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Design
The 15-inch MacBook Air M4 retains the same design as both of its predecessors, which is a slightly smaller version of the MacBook Pro chassis that Apple has used since the M1.
I've said it in my recent reviews of the MacBook Air and Pro models, but there's nothing wrong with Apple sticking to this design. It's a solidly built aluminum clamshell laptop, and while I appreciate unique laptop designs, not every laptop needs to experiment in a new direction.
This does make declaring a winner in this category a little awkward, though, as they are virtually identical. The MacBook Air 15-inch M4 is 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.44 inches and 3.3 pounds, while the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 is 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches and 3.4 pounds.
I'll give the victory to the Air M4; it is thinner and just a hair lighter than its Pro counterpart, so as you are shopping for the best laptop bag, it may fit in options where the 14-inch Pro will not.
Winner: MacBook Air 15-inch M4
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Ports
The MacBook Air 15-inch M4 features a pair of Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports, a MagSafe 3 charger, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 matches that lineup but adds a third Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and an SD card slot.
Score this one an easy win for the Pro.
Winner: MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Battery life
Apple Silicon marked a turning point for MacBook battery life in 2020, which means both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops are marathon performers in this category.
On the Laptop Mag battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Air 15-inch M4 lasted 15 hours and 14 minutes. This is an outstanding result that happens to be eclipsed by the Pro 14-inch M4's otherwordly 18 hours and 32 minutes in that same test.
It feels wrong to call a laptop that lasted over 15 hours in our testing a loser, but it's fighting out of its weight class.
Winner: Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 13-inch M4 | MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 |
|---|---|---|
Battery life (Higher is better) | 15:14 | 18:32 |
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Display
The MacBook Air 15-inch M4 features a 2880 x 1864 Liquid Retina LCD panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. That's compared to the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4's 3024 x 1864 Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate.
Higher resolution and a faster refresh rate are strong points in the Pro's favor already, but we go deeper than that with our testing. We tested both displays with a Klein K10-A colorimeter to measure their DCI-P3 and sRGB color gamut, brightness, and color accuracy.
The Pro M4 gets another decisive win when it comes to brightness with an 80-nit advantage over the Air M4; it's one of the brightest consumer laptops we've tested. However, the Air M4 comes out narrowly ahead on color gamut, while the Pro M4 achieves a similar victory in color accuracy.
If it were purely the test results, this would be close to a draw, but returning to that 120Hz refresh rate and higher resolution on a smaller display, the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 records another victory.
Winner: MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 15-inch M4 | MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 |
|---|---|---|
Display brightness (Higher is better) | 476 | 556.6 |
sRGB color gamut (Higher is better) | 118% | 113% |
DCI-P3 color gamut (Higher is better) | 83.5% | 80.2% |
Color accuracy (Lower is better) | 0.22 | 0.19 |
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 vs. MacBook Pro 14-inch M4: Performance and heat
We tested the base M4 10-core CPU configuration on both laptops, so why would performance differ? The MacBook Pro features a thermal advantage due to its larger size and fans, but let's see how big of a difference that makes.
On the Geekbench 6 overall performance benchmark, the MacBook Air 15-inch M4 produced a multicore score of 14,921, only about 1.2% less than the 15,114 score for the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4.
Benchmarks don't take long enough for that thermal advantage to come into play, though, so what about a real-world test?
On the HandBrake conversion test, which measures how fast each laptop can convert a 4K video to 1080p, the Air 15-inch M4 completed the task in 4 minutes and 57 seconds, which was 29 seconds slower than the Pro M4's time of 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
Looking more directly at the potential thermal impact, let's review our heat test results. After 15 minutes of video playback, the hottest temperature we recorded on the Air 15-inch M4 was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Pro 14-inch M4 hit only 85 degrees. Our comfort threshold is 95 degrees, so both are in the comfort zone.
I want to be clear that it's amazing that the MacBook Air 15-inch M4 comes this close to the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 in a smaller fanless chassis, but there's no question that the Pro wins this round.
If you do sustained tasks like video editing, photo editing, 3D design work, or anything along those lines, you will appreciate the Pro advantage.
Winner: Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
| Header Cell - Column 0 | MacBook Air 15-inch M4 | MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 |
|---|---|---|
Geekbench 6 (Higher is better) | 14,921 | 15,114 |
Handbrake conversion (Lower is better) | 4:57 | 4:28 |
BlackMagic Write (SSD speed) | 3,335.1 MBps | 3,318.6 MBps |
BlackMagic Read (SSD speed) | 3,012.5 MBps | 2,899.5 MBps |
Heat (Degrees Fahrenheit) | 90 | 85 |
Overall winner: Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
The MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 ran away with this face-off, given the current pricing. It is better in almost every regard, but there are a couple of things to consider.
If you are happy with the base configuration of the MacBook Air 15-inch M4, it is a little more than $200 cheaper than even the discounted Pro M4 pricing, so if that meets your needs, you're unlikely to miss the added features with the Pro M4.
If you are someone who likes or has dreamed of a whisper-quiet laptop, the fanless MacBook Air 15-inch M4 wins back some points for you. I rarely hear the fans on the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 spin up, but it does happen.
However, with only a modest size difference in favor of the MacBook Air 15-inch M4, the better value for most people is the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4.
Winner: Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4
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