MacBook Pro and MacBook Air which one is the king in 2020?

MacBook Pro and MacBook Air which one is the king in 2020?

Apple continues to roll out new products. The company, which introduced the 2020 iPad Pro and the new MacBook Air in March, also announced the iPhone SE in April. Announced the 13-inch MacBook Pro on the first business day of May.

The new MacBook Pro has been updated with the new Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience on a Mac laptop, Apple says. In addition, storage capacity doubled in all standard configurations.

According to the company, the new product line offers 10th generation Intel Core processors for up to 80 percent faster graphics performance and 16GB of faster 3733 MHz memory on certain configurations. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with features such as powerful quad-core processors, 13-inch Retina display, Touch Bar and Touch ID, stereo speakers, all-day battery life and macOS has been offered starting from 1,299.00USD.

On the other hand, the Macbook Air 2020 is undoubtedly a much higher specification than Macbook Air 2019 and a few steps ahead. Apple has put new components in the new Macbook Air 2020, achieved a good increase in performance and increased the minimum storage capacity, so you get twice the storage space of 128 GB.

This is not all. Our biggest problem with previous models was how low power they felt, especially compared to many Windows-based laptops with the same price tag. There was a lot of compromise, especially when it comes to computing power and storage space, and each annual update sounded like a small step rather than a revolutionary leap. In this article, we will make a compersion between the MacBook Pro 2020 and MacBook Air 2020 to see which one the king is.

Design & Display.

 Apple MacBook Pro 2020 and Apple Macbook Air 2020 are the best laptops form Apple so far. Macbook Pro 13 2020 is all made from aluminum. The Macbook 13 comes with dimensions as clarified:30.41cm x 21.24cm x 1.5cm ( 11.96 in x 8.36 in x 0.61 in ). The device comes with a 720p webcam. The Macbook Pro 13 has the Apple touch bar where you have extra shortcuts that automatically change depending on the application you open. The thickness of the device is 1.5cm and it weighs 1.4Kg  ( 3.1 pounds ).

On the other hand, MacBook Air doesn't have a radical redesign with the 2020 model (at least from the outside, at least), but many will argue that Apple doesn't need to have such a successful design. That's why the MacBook Air, as the name implies, remains impressively thin and light in dimensions of 11.47 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.61 cm). It's a little thicker than this 2019 model, and this year's MacBook Air 2020 weighs 2.8 pounds (1.29kg) slightly (compared to the 2019 model's 2.75 pounds (1.25kg).

There is not much to say about the appearance of the new MacBook: it has not changed at all. The same aluminum wedge-shaped case, glossy logo.

Many people love the design of the latest MacBook for its minimalism, and it's hard to argue with that. There are no unnecessary inscriptions and stickers, slots for cooling, and an abundance of connectors. The build quality and materials are the highest. The laptop will look good in five years, if you do not take into account the thick bezels around the screen: they already seem archaic.

The 720p webcam is also obsolete. In the era of telecommuting and video calls, this quality is simply indecent.

In the lower part, the space is used more efficiently. On the sides of the keyboard are stereo speakers, and in front of it is a huge touchpad. The front indent is wide enough for the palms. The keyboard is turned to the user at a slight angle, which also works for the convenience of typing.

There is an audio jack on the right, and two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort support are placed on the left side. Both support charging, but it would be better if they were spread on different sides, then it would be more convenient to connect the power cable.

As far as display is concerned, The Macbook Pro 13 comes with a 13.3-inch screen with a slimmer design but it could have been better. The screen now occupies more space of the front, but there is no accurate number as to how much it occupies of the front. The screen is IPS Retina Display with a 2560x1600 resolution, but 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 and 1024 × 600 pixels are also supported, with 16:10 aspect ratio. It has 227ppi and the display has a wide P3 color gamut, which makes greens and reds look more realistic than the standard sRGB color space. It also supports True Tone technology for more brightness. The Macbook Pro 13 supports DCL P3 colors for more color accuracy. As of that, the Macbook Pro shows about 25% more colors which will be useful if you are doing video editing. This laptop also has 500 nits, which will help you work easily in a bright room or in a place with lots of reflections.

The Macbook Air 2020 comes with a 13.3-inch screen. The screen is surrounded by a black bezel, and the MacBook Air lettering on the lower edge of this frame looks very nice. The screen is IPS Retina Display with a 2560x1600 resolution, which is equivalent to QHD with 16:10 aspect ratio. By the way, such a screen is more convenient for surfing the web, working with text and code than widescreen displays.  The display is perfectly calibrated, the colors are natural, and the viewing angles are maximum. It has 227ppi, with this PPI achieved - higher than most competitors on Windows if you do not take into account the 4K model. However, at this diagonal, UHD resolution would be overkill, so Apple found the perfect balance of performance. The display supports True Tone technology, which adjusts the picture to the lighting.

Regarding the keyboard, as expected, Apple stopped experimenting with improvements to the butterfly keyboard that was introduced back in 2015 and returned to the proven Magic Keyboard scissor mechanism. But last year's MacBook Pro models received the fourth generation of the "butterfly", but this, apparently, did not particularly help the design - complaints forced to return to the proven solution.

The key travel on the MacBook Pro 13 2020 is only 1mm. There is a TouchBar, which allows you to quickly launch your favorite functions and applications, and the Touch ID sensor provides quick authentication.

This bundle of solutions is aimed at the most productive work.

There are other changes to the MacBook Pro 2020 keyboard. It now has a separate Esc key, which in last year's model was present only on the Touch Bar.

Apple has heard the wishes of users to return a convenient button. The block of arrow keys also began to look different - now it is not rectangular but in the form of an inverted "T" key. Engineers find this arrangement makes it easier to work with tables and games.

The MacBook Pro trackpad has long been a hallmark and a recognized standard. It is large enough to support Force Touch technology for touch recognition and precise cursor control. The trackpad reacts to the force of pressing, supports multitouch gestures.

Conversely, the new MacBook Air features a scissor keyboard that replaces the butterfly. The button travel is now deeper, which greatly improves the typing experience. It's too early to talk about the reliability of the new keyboard, but the MacBook Pro 16  presented last year with the same mechanism does not have any problems, and this is a good sign.

We actually liked Apple's keyboard with a butterfly mechanism button. Typing on this keyboard was really enjoyable. However, Magic Keyboard, which has a scissor-switch, does not cause any difficulties while typing. The keys are higher than the old-style keyboard, and the hardness is well adjusted. The keys seem to be slightly wider between them. It is also possible to write quickly on this keyboard. Of course, it was not difficult to get used to it, as we have previously experienced a similar keyboard with my iMac on the Magic Keyboard. However, we don't think those who will be using a MacBook Air for the first time will have much trouble either.

Trackpad, on the other hand, is in Apple's familiar standards. The surface friction of the glass surface trackpad is low, your finger will move easily on the surface. The responsiveness is also good, the reflection of your finger movements on the pointer happens quickly. Force Touch feature is also available, so you can take different actions when you press lightly. However, it should be noted that sometimes when we want to drag and drop, the dictionary is unintentionally opened and the meaning of the word we scanned is shown.

Operating System and Process.

Both laptops offer pretty good processors for daily use. Apple MacBook Pro comes with the Ice Lake CPU. It comes with two choices: the first one is 1.4GHz quad-core 8th generation Intel Core i5 with a Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz. It has a 128MB of eDRAM. This CPU can be configurable to 1.7GHz quad-core 8th generation Intel Core i7 with a Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz and it has also a 128MB of eDRAM. The second one is 2.0GHz quad-core 10th generation Intel Core i5 with a Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz. It has a 6MB shared L3 cache. This CPU can also be configurable to 2.3GHz quad-core 10th generation Intel Core i7 with a Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz. It has an 8MB shared L3 cache.

 On the other hand, Apple MacBook Air comes with the Ice Lake CPU. It comes with two choices: the first one is 1.1GHz duad-core 10th generation Intel Core i3 with a Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz. It has a 128MB of LPDDR4X . The second one is 1.1GHz quad-core 10th generation Intel Core i5 with a Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz. It has an 8MB LPDDR4X .

Regarding the GPU, the Macbook Pro with the 8th-generation CPU has Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645GPU. While the same laptop with the 10th-generation CPU has Intel Iris Plus Graphics. The new 10th generation processor will provide up to 80% faster graphics processing over its predecessor.
  
the GPU, the Macbook Air with the 10th-generation CPU has Intel Iris Plus Graphics.

 In Geekbench 5, the 8th-generation CPU scored 925 for single-core and 3928 for multicores. Whereas, the 10th-generation CPU scored 1214 for single-core and 4385 for multicores. We notice that the 10 gen processor is about 30% faster than the 8 gen processor.

In a different case, Macbook Air GPU scored 1086 for single-core and 2404 for multicores.

According to the operating system, The Macbook runs on macOS Catalina. This OS provides you with all apps you want to have a nice time during your use of the laptop.

MacBook Air 2020 comes with macOS Catalina 10.15 installed. This version, released by Apple in autumn 2019, is the most current desktop operating system version currently available. With Catalina, a feature like Sidecar is offered. If you have an iPad with iPadOS 13, you can use it as a second screen with MacBook Air. Apart from that, we see three different applications such as Music, TV, and Podcasts instead of iTunes.

Catalina also has positive contributions to performance. We've seen this when we switched to Catalina on iMac and MacBook Pro we've used for work and are quite old. The same is true with the MacBook Air. On top of that, if you install an app that controls the apps and services running in the background, like App Tamer, you can get better performance results as well.

You can download applications offered from the Mac App Store, as well as download applications from different sources. However, Apple is very sensitive about running such applications. You may be asked for your permission to open applications offered from unknown sources, maybe they may not be allowed to open at all. As a result, in terms of security, what MacBook Air has to offer will benefit the targeted mainstream user base.

Storage, Price, and available colors.

Apple MacBook Pro 2020 and Apple Macbook Air price depends on the selected variant. The basic variant of the MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 256GB variant and 8th generation processor, it will cost you about 1,299.00USD on Apple. The same variant but with 512GB SSD, it will cost you 1,499.00USD on Apple. While the variant with 16GB RAM and 512GB variant and 10th generation processor, it will cost you around 1,799.00USD on Apple. The same variant but with 1TB SSD will cost you about 1,999.00USD on Apple. Keep in mind that you can configure any variant with more SSD, RAM, and even processor but it will cost you much more money each. It is available in Silver and Gray colors.

Meanwhile, the basic variant of the MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and 256GB variant and 10th generation processor core i3, it will cost you about 999.00USD on Apple. While the variant with 8GB RAM and 512GB variant and 10th generation processor core i5, it will cost you around 1,299.00USD on Apple. It is available in Silver, Gold, and Gray colors.

Security and Ports.

For security, The Macbook Pro 13 2020 not only the Touch ID sensor is responsible, touching which instantly unlocks the laptop and makes it possible to make payments, view protected documents.

The MacBook Pro features a second-generation Apple T2 Security chip, which allows you to safely and quickly boot the system and store encrypted data.

On the other side, the MacBook Air supports the same unlocking methods that Macbook Pro 13 supports. The device supports unlocking using the Touch ID button which doubles as the power button. you can add a fingerprint during the initial setup, or you can do it later. You just need to add the index finger of the right hand and this is the best for practical use. The fingerprint reader also works very quickly. You can log in using the passcode as well. It also comes with the T2 chip, which immediately encrypts data. It also encrypts the SSD and Touch ID.

As of ports, in addition to the 3.5 headphone jack, the base model of the MacBook Pro supports Bluetooth 5 and NFC. It also supports 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 3. The higher model comes with 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 3. So the more money you pay, the more USB-C thunderbolt 3 you get. Through them, you can charge the laptop itself, connect external monitors, and transfer data at speeds up to 40 GB / s. At the same time, the ports are symmetrical reversible, so that the cable can be connected from either side. You can connect a wide variety of devices to your MacBook Pro 13 using adapters or cables.

 The MacBook Air supports Bluetooth 5 and NFC.  As with modern MacBooks, MacBook Air (2020) doesn't come with a lot of ports, so you're stuck with just two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and an audio jack. Thunderbolt 3 ports are the least versatile and offer transfer rates up to 40Gb / s and allow you to transfer up to 6K video to a compatible monitor and can be used for charging.

So you don't need a special charger to increase the battery of the MacBook Air, which is nice, but when you need to charge it means you have lost one of these Thunderbolt 3 ports.

 

Sound System.

According to sound quality, both choices of the MacBook Pro come with Stereo Speaker with perfect sound quality. The audio system built into a compact body sounds incredible! Music can literally fill an entire room. Accurate voice transmission for calls or Siri is provided by three microphones at once.

While With speakers placed on either side of the keyboard, the MacBook Air offers stereo sound. It has a sound output above the standards of a laptop. The intensity is loud, the bass is strong, and the treble at high volume is not uncomfortable. It also offers a full sound output. You don't need to connect another speaker while watching a movie.

We see that the performance is high on the microphone side. When Apple introduced the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the microphone system this computer has was lauded. The MacBook Air also has a microphone system beyond what we expect in a laptop. In this way, you can get your notes in clear and high quality with Voice Memos. If you want, you can even record podcasts with your MacBook Air's microphone. Similarly, you can use the built-in microphone for teleconferencing calls.

Battery and charging.

The MacBook Pro comprises a powerful Li-Po battery with a capacity of 58W for better performance. The USB-C power adapter is capable of delivering 61W of power. While Apple claims that MacBook Air (2020) has 11 hours of battery life, but in our daily usage and comparison tests, we found that it was managed a little under that. A 30W USB-C charging adapter and USB-C cable are included in the box. In about 50 minutes, 40 percent of the battery is charged. If you want to use the computer and charge it on the one hand, it will be possible to fully charge the battery in two and a half to three hours.

The Pro 13 gives you up to 10 hours on normal use. The battery also can last for 8 and a half hours on watching a 1080p video.

With our battery life test, where we played 1080p video until the battery runs out, MacBook Pro(2020) managed to be shy for only 8 hours. Also, while using MacBook Pro, we found that this year's model lasts about 7 hours, using Apple's own apps and other apps that consume more batteries. This definitely means that a whole work/school day will last, and you can be happy to play videos during long flights, but unless you really reduce the type and number of apps you use and reduce the screen brightness, it won't hit the promised 11 hours.

In our battery test for MacBook Air, we can say, the laptop has a 49.9 watt-hour battery. According to Apple, this battery offers a standby time of up to 30 days. Up to 11 hours of internet surfing with wireless connection and up to 12 hours of watching movies from the Apple TV app are also among the values given for the battery. When we look at the practical situation, when the screen brightness is at maximum and a considerable number of applications and the Chrome tab are open together, this computer can provide up to 4 hours of use. If you are a workload-intensive user and spend most of your time outdoors, if you dimming the screen brightness and behave a little more controlled in open applications, this laptop will be enough to take a day off from morning to night. We think that normal users will also have the opportunity to take a day off with a single charge.

Conclusion.

Apple squeezed all the juice out of the MacBook Pro in five years. The result is a very powerful compact laptop with a great screen, a new keyboard, and the best touchpad on the market. Corresponding price - 1,99.99 USD for the 1 TB version. However, this is a model for those who are willing to invest such amounts in a working tool.

Should we wait for the next version on ARM? Most likely not, because when you change the architecture, you will need to completely rewrite all the software. As a result, the transition will stretch over several years, and the current MacBook Pro will be relevant throughout that time.

Switch to the opposite side, the MacBook Air 2020 can be praised for its build quality, good screen, new keyboard, great touchpad, and best-in-class speakers. But it can also be criticized for its mediocre webcam, limited multitasking performance, and inefficient cooling system.  What do you think? Do you recommend these laptops? Feel free to tell us your thoughts.