The MacBook Air M3 delivers 33% less performance than the MacBook Pro with the same chip

Since the beginning of the Air line of MacBooks, Apple has always claimed to value the portability of these models, leaving maximum performance reserved for the Pro line.

But with the arrival of the brand's processors with the announcement of the M1 family chipsets, the distance between the lines has diminished. After all, since then, both the MacBook Air and the (entry-level) MacBook Pro have exactly the same processor. In the current generation, the M3 has 8 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores.

But the design of the models still seems to leave an impact Performance gap between them.

At the launch of the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air at the beginning of this week, Apple maintained the line's proposition, and neither model, in any model, has a cooler to cool the hardware — unlike the Pro version.

Since its launch, dozens of tests have spread online commenting on the performance of the new laptops, revealing their superiority relative to the previous generation chip, but with some modesty regarding games.

Now, the models have undergone another test. In a video by the Max Tech channel, YouTuber Vadim Yurkey decided to put the MacBook Air M3 and MacBook Pro M3 head-to-head in a stress test to compare the performance of the two devices.

Despite having the exact same processor, the… The MacBook Air was 33% slower than the MacBook Pro in testing. When reaching a temperature of 114°C for the CPU and 102.9°C for the GPU, the built-in M3 reduced the power input, preventing the device from heating up further, resulting in performance loss.

The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, was able to withstand all the stress for much longer, giving you a huge advantage in performance. This is because it has an active cooling system and fan, which is superior to the Air model's passive cooling system (as expected).

So, even though they carry the same processor, the Pro's casing design is able to ensure top-of-the-line performance – Which perhaps justifies his signing as targeting professionals.

With the high temperatures recorded for the processor, the Air's aluminum chassis reached temperatures of between 45 and 46 degrees Celsius, which can be quite uncomfortable for those who intend to perform heavier tasks while holding the computer on their lap.

Watch the full video in English: