Although the M1 Pro debuted in 2021 and is still a “performance monster” with 33.7 billion semiconductor balls, more than M4’s 28 billion figure, but, “quantity” is not always in parallel with “quality”. M4 is produced on the 3nm TSMC N3E process more advanced than the 5nm process of M1 Pro. This allows M4 to achieve significantly higher energy efficiency.
Specifically, M4 owns 4 high -performance and 6 energy -saving cores, while M1 Pro has 8 high -performance cores and 2 energy -saving cores. Regarding the maximum clock, M4 reached 4.41 GHz, higher than the 3.2 GHz of M1 Pro. M4 is also equipped with an improved cache system, although the L2 cache capacity is reduced to 16 MB compared to 24 MB of M1 Pro, but the use efficiency increases, decreasing by 12%.
Although not officially sold, MacBook Air M4 has appeared in the Geekbench database, allowing us to evaluate performance objectively. The test shows that the M4 shows significant superiority compared to the M1 Pro. In the Cinebench R23 Multi-Core test, M4 scored 18795, up to 54% higher than 12187 points of M1 Pro. In the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test, M4 is also superior with 3810 points, 64% compared to 2328 points of M1 Pro.
M4 achieved higher performance scores than M1 Pro (Photo: Websosanh).
These figures show that, despite less efficiency, M4 can still bring better single and multi -core performance thanks to advanced architecture and modern production process. But not only that, its energy efficiency is also significantly better. M4 consumes up to 20W, while M1 Pro can consume up to 42W. In the Cinebench R23 test, M4 achieved 939.8 points/watt, three times higher than the number of 290.2 points/watt of M1 Pro.
This means that the MacBook Air M4 will have a significant longer battery life than the MacBook Pro M1 Pro, although the battery capacity is smaller (49.9 where compared to 58.2 WH). According to Apple, the MacBook Air M4 can watch the video continuously for 18 hours, while this figure in the MacBook Pro M1 Pro is only 14 hours.
In general, for those who prioritize battery life and do not require too “terrible” performance, MacBook Air M4 is clearly a brighter choice. However, if you need a machine that can “plow” continuously heavy tasks without worrying about running out of battery, MacBook Pro M1 Pro is still a worthy choice.
2. GPU power: Will MacBook Air M4 catch up with MacBook Pro M1 Pro?
On the nanoreview performance evaluation site, the MacBook Air M4 is equipped with a 10 -core GPU that is considered to have 4.6 TFLOPs performance, while the MacBook Pro M1 Pro has a stronger 16 -core GPU with 5.3 TFLOPs performance. At first glance, it seems that M1 Pro has a clear advantage. However, it should be noted that practical performance not only depends on the number of multiplication and theoretical performance. GPU architecture, software optimization and heat dissipation efficiency also plays an important role.
According to leaked information, M4’s metal score score is 55.516, higher than 41.045 of M1 Pro. This shows that the MacBook Air M4 can handle tasks such as 3D editing and video editing at the same level, even better than MacBook Pro M1 Pro.
Although there is no active heat sink, MacBook Air M4 still has equal professional performance, even equivalent to MacBook Pro M1 Pro (Photo: Apple).
But the better point is that the MacBook Air M4 has a cooling fan design, while the MacBook Pro M1 Pro has a active radiator system. In theory, this means that the GPU of M4 will be limited in performance when operating for a long time to avoid overheating. However, in fact, the opposite, the graphic core of the M4 only eats about 15W of electricity, while the M1 Pro eats up to 30W of electricity. Lower power consumption is synonymous with less heat generation, helping the new MacBook Air laptop can maintain a stable performance even without a cooling fan. Also according to an article on Vice, MacBook Air M4 can render an 8K project in Davinci Resolve faster than 22% faster than the MacBook Pro M1 Pro.
3. RAM: Speed and capacity
Although M1 Pro has the advantage of the number of semiconductor balls in the CPU, Air M4’s LPDDR5X-7500 RAM standard helps to compensate for this difference. Higher bandwidth and optimized algorithm allows laptops to use resources more effectively. This is especially noticeable when working with large files and in tasks that require intensive data exchange between RAM and CPU. In addition, this year’s MacBook Air M4’s consolidated RAM capacity has also been pushed to 32GB, creating a more balanced position with MacBook Pro M1 Pro.
The test shows that RAM LPDDR5X-7500 on the MacBook Air M4 works more effectively than the LPDDR5-6400 RAM on the MacBook Pro M1 Pro. In the 7-Zip test, the MacBook Air M4 reached the 1490 MB/s file compression speed, while the MacBook Pro M1 Pro only reached 1230 MB/s. This shows that the MacBook Air M4 has the ability to process data faster than 21%faster, directly affecting performance in practical tasks such as compressing and extracting large projects, processing media files or translating software codes.
MacBook Air M4 is an extremely perfect choice for basic to advanced jobs (Photo: Apple).
The ability to connect is also an important factor when evaluating a laptop. MacBook Air M4 is equipped with Thunderbolt 5 port with 120 Gbps bandwidth, double that of the ThunderBolt 4 port on the MacBook Pro M1 Pro. In the context of data processing, this means that the MacBook Air M4 can effectively use external resources, offset the hidden limitations of integrated memory.
4. Should upgrade to MacBook Air M4 from MacBook Pro M1 Pro or not?
The answer depends on your current use situation with MacBook Pro M1 Pro. If you feel the current performance has met the needs, the battery life is long enough and has no problem in size or weight, the upgrade to the MacBook Air M4 laptop may not be necessary.
However, if you often have to move, need a softer computer and longer battery life, and want to experience the latest Apple technologies, MacBook Air M4 can be a considerable choice.
In short, the MacBook Air M4 is not only a simple upgrade, but also a definition of what a modern laptop should have. Consider the above factors to make the most suitable decision with your needs.
