MacBook Air 15-inch vs MacBook Air 13-inch: Which laptop could win?
The MacBook Air 15-inch is real, making a MacBook Air 15-inch vs MacBook Air 13-inch a matter of pressing concern if you're in the market for a new laptop and want one of the best MacBooks.
Announced during WWDC 2023, Apple’s newest laptop is a super-sized version of the MacBook Air M2 — sporting a similar design and features such as a Liquid Retina display, MagSafe charging and an Apple M2 chip. Given what we know so far and with a MacBook Air 15-inch M2 hands-on now under our belt, it's safe to call this a candidate for the best laptops title.
For that reason, deciding which MacBook Air to purchase has become a bit more challenging. Is this new laptop worth getting over its smaller counterpart? Below, we’ll detail what we know about the MacBook Air 15-inch and compare that to the MacBook Air M2.
What should you get when faced with a MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch? Read on to find out.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Specs
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Price
You can pre-order the MacBook Air 15-inch right now for $1,299 from the Apple store. That's $200 more than the entry-level 13-inch in MacBook Air M2, which costs $1,099 — a price that’s now lower than the original $1,199.
That makes the MacBook Air 13-inch is the more affordable option. But in all fairness, the 15-inch Air’s $1,299 is a fairly good deal. Some analysts predicted it might have cost more. Still, if you’re on a budget and don’t need a 15-inch laptop, the 13-inch MacBook Air is your best bet.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Design
The MacBook Air 15-inch has the same basic design as the 13-inch MacBook Air — which itself shares a similar design introduced with the 2021 MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch.
Apple says the new MacBook Air 15-inch is 11.5mm thin (0.45 inches), which would make it the world's thinnest 15-inch laptop, according to the company. The notebook is only 3.3 pounds, which is heavier than the 2.7-inch MacBook Air M2 but still very light. Apple also says the new MacBook Air is nearly 40% thinner and half a pound lighter than a comparable PC laptop.
Like the 13-inch MacBook Air M2, the 15-inch MacBook Air features MagSafe charging, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Thunderbolt ports allow you to connect up to a 6K external display.
The 15-inch MacBook Air comes in four finishes — Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver. These are the same color options offered for the 13-inch model.
Since both MacBook Air models offer the same design, it all comes down to size. The 15-inch MacBook Air is ideal for those who want a larger display and a roomier keyboard. Conversely, if you require a smaller laptop that weighs less, then the 13-inch Air is the better option.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Display and audio
The new MacBook Air features a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display. According to Apple, the display can achieve up to 500 nits of brightness and supports 1 billion colors. The company also claims the display has twice the resolution and is 25% brighter than a comparable PC laptop.
In our lab tests, the 13-inch MacBook Air’s display averaged 489 nits of brightness and peaked at 495 nits with HDR content. In terms of color reproduction and accuracy, the Air M2’s display registered 107% of the sRGB color gamut and 75.9% of the more demanding DCI-P3 color space. We’d need to put the new Air’s display through our lab testing, but we expect similar results to its 13-inch counterpart.
The MacBook Air 15-inch features an all-new six-speaker sound system compared to the four-speaker system of the 13-inch MacBook Air. This should provide richer, fuller sound — though we’ll need to go ears-on with this laptop to hear how much better it might sound.
We can’t yet determine if the 15-inch MacBook Air provides a better viewing and audio experience compared to the 13-inch model. But given its larger display size and additional speakers, we’d be surprised if that wasn’t the case.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Performance
Like the 13-inch MacBook Air, the new 15-inch model packs an Apple M2 processor. Apple claims the MacBook Air 15-inch is up to 12x faster than the fast Intel-based MacBook Air. The company also says the new MacBook Air is up to twice as fast as a 15-inch Windows laptop with a Core i7 processor and that its battery can last up to 18 hours.
Any direct performance comparison between the MacBook Air models will have to wait until we’ve put the 15-inch model through our lab tests. Given how the new MacBook Air packs an M2 chip, we suspect to see results similar to the MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 we benchmarked. We’re especially interested to see if the claimed 18 hours of battery life is true given how the 13-inch Pro lasted for 18 hours and 20 minutes.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Battery life
As with performance comparisons, we’ll need to run the MacBook Air 15-inch through our slew of battery tests to see how its power management stacks up against the 13-inch MacBook Pro. With that said, this extra-sized Air seems like a compelling device for those who want a MacBook with a larger screen that’s more affordable than the $1,999 MacBook Pro 14-inch and $2,499 MacBook Pro 16-inch.
MacBook Air 15-inch vs. MacBook Air 13-inch: Bottom line
The MacBook Air 15-inch arrives next week so it won’t be long until we go hands-on with the laptop. At that time, we’ll be able to see whether or not it’s a better alternative than the 13-inch model. Stay tuned!
