© Provided by T3 MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro
- Does The Macbook Air Have Fingerprint Cameras
- Does The Macbook Air Have Fingerprint Case
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In addition, the MacBook Air has a fingerprint reader for quick authentication and a pair of USB Type-C ports for external peripherals. Another highlight of this notebook is its massive, glass. Next, you'll have to repeatedly tap your finger on the power button, just like when you set up Touch ID with your first finger. When you're done, your finger is added! If you'd like to remove a finger, just hover over it with your mouse, then click the 'X' icon that shows up. If you have multiple user accounts on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you can register different fingerprints with each; once each account has been logged in once after initial boot, you can immediately return to that account by using the Touch ID sensor. Open your closed MacBook Air or MacBook Pro (or press the Touch ID button). Fingerprint scanner in power button: Touch ID: Surface Laptop Go vs MacBook Air: Price and value. On other aspects of hardware, the MacBook Air seems to have a clear lead. After you set up Touch ID, you can use your fingerprint to unlock MacBook Air and make purchases from the App Store, Apple TV app, and Book Store, and on websites using Apple Pay. Touch ID (power button): Press to turn on your MacBook Air (or just lift the lid or press any key). When you first start up or restart the computer, you need to log in by typing your password.
With both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro having been refreshed in 2020, it's a tempting time to buy – but which is the best balance for your needs?
We'll help you work out which is the better buy for an Apple laptop: the cheaper, lighter option or the more expensive, powerhouse option? We'll explain everything you need to know.
• Read our full Apple MacBook Air 2020 review
Of course what's right for one laptop buyer isn't necessarily right for another, and so we'll break down the differences between these two ranges so you know exactly what you're looking at. You'll also need to decide how you're going to be using your new computer, so you can make the best decision based on the information we'll give you.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Design & usability
The MacBook Air is the smaller and lighter laptop of the two... hence the name. When closed, at its thinnest point it's 0.41 cm thick, compared with 1.49cm (0.59 inches) for the 13-inch MacBook Pro and 1.62 cm (0.64 inches) for the 16-inch MacBook Pro. However, it's worth noting that the MacBook Air is actually 1.61cm (0.63 inches) at its thickest point, so it's actually slight thicker than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. But its tapered design leaves it feeling slimmer and more handle-able overall.
The MacBook Air weighs in at 1.29kg (2.8 pounds), compared with 1.37 g (3.02 pounds) for the 13-inch Pro and 2kg (4.3 pounds) for the 16-inch Pro. Again, note that the difference between the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro isn't huge.
All three models use Apple's latest generation of keyboard, which is a crucial improvement over previous models. You may have heard of reliability concerns around Apple's keyboards over the last few years, but now 100% of its laptops use a new design for the mechanics of the keys, and it's both more comfortable and (based on use so far) less likely to break than previous models.
The keys have a fairly short travel, but you can feel the movement, and there's great feedback, so accuracy is no problem.
All the models have excellent trackpads, too – this is one area Apple nailed a long time ago, and never missteps on.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro finds room for noticeably bigger and more impressive speakers than you get on either the MacBook Air or the 13-inch MacBook Pro… or almost any laptop we've tried, really. They're genuinely impressive, and not in a mealy-mouthed 'well, they're good for laptop speakers' way. They use an advanced design with two opposing drivers in each side, one facing up, one facing down, so that the vibrations from each will cancel each other out, so you get big noise levels without feeling any shake in the frame. Some high-end speakers use this setup, including the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Balance.
The MacBook Air and smaller MacBook Pro also have good speakers, but now we're back into for laptops territory. The stereo separation is impressive, though, and you certainly won't feel like you're missing out when it comes to sounds.
The MacBook Pro models also have new microphone arrays that Apple's calls 'studio quality', though we'd still probably suggest a real microphone for your hit podcast. However, in our new world of video-conferencing all the time, they're a big improvement over most built-in mics.
There are also some differences in terms of the ports you've got available, which will get on to shortly. Finally, while all these laptops come in either silver or space grey, only the MacBook Air offers a gold option – and it's a really nice colour.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: display
The comparison is really close when it comes to the display. Both the MacBook Air and the smaller MacBook Pro have a 13.3-inch screen running at a 2560x1600 resolution – though the Pro does use a wider P3 colour gamut, and is slightly brighter (500 nits versus 400 nits).
The difference doesn't matter much if you're just doing document work (though the extra brightness makes the Pro easier to see in bright light conditions, such as sunlight), but the broader colours and boosted brightness matter for creative work.
The larger MacBook Pro sports a 16-inch screen running at a 3072x1920 resolution (with the wider colour gamut and extra brightness), which gives a lot more room to work.
The single most important thing (in our opinion) is that all three models support True Tone, which changes the colour balance of the screen to match the lighting of the room you're in, so you don't get that off-putting thing of a screen appearing blue when the light around you is yellow. This is kinder on the eyes in the evening – we wouldn't want to live without it.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: specs and options
Apple gives you a plethora of options when it comes to kitting out the latest MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros. The MacBook Air first: you start off with a 1.1GHz dual-core 10th-gen Intel Core i3 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz), 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. That's for the base version, which costs £999/$999/AUS$1,599.
There is a model that's a step up, though, giving you a quad-core 1.1GHz 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost to 3.5GHz), 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. That costs £1,299/$1,299/AUS$1,599 and we think it's a good option if you want a bit more head-room for your tasks. The base version is good for web browsing, document work and basic photo and video editing, for example, but if you wanted to get fancier with Photoshop, 4K video or programming then we'd suggest the quad-core version. Getting the extra power plus double the storage for that upgrade fee seems like a good deal to us.
You can configure your MacBook Air further – you can go up to 16GB of RAM and a maximum of 2TB of storage. Graphics are provided by integrated Intel Plus chips on all 2020 MacBook Air models, which is a significant step up over previous versions of the Air.
• Browse all MacBook Air options at the Apple Store UK
• Browse all MacBook Air options at the Apple Store US
• Browse all MacBook Air options at the Apple Store Australia
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is the next step up in power. At its cheapest, you get a 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz), 8GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of storage, and integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645, all from £1,299/£1,299/AUS$1,999. These lower-end versions of the MacBook Pro 13-inch haven't had a spec upgrade this year – only the keyboard was improved.
However, at the higher end, the MacBook Pro 13-inch has had a very nice upgrade in 2020. Starting from £1,799/$1,799/AUS$2,999, you get a 2.0GHz Intel 10th-gen Core i5 quad-core processor, the latest Intel Iris Plus graphics, 16GB of faster RAM, and 512GB or 1TB of storage.
• Browse all 13-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store UK
• Browse all 13-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store US
• Browse all 13-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store Australia
The top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations start out at a 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-gen Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz), 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB graphics. That'll cost you £2,399/$2,399/AUS$3,799.
The next model up gets you a 2.3GHz 8-core 9th-gen Intel Core i9 (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz), 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD and Radeon Pro 5500M 4GB graphics. This version costs £2,799/$2,799/AUS$4,399.
If you really want to trick the laptop out, you can go all the way up to a 2.4GHz 8-core 9th-gen Intel Core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz), 64GB of RAM, a massive 8TB of storage, and Radeon Pro 5600M 8GB graphics.
• Browse all 16-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store UK
• Browse all 16-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store US
• Browse all 16-inch MacBook Pro models at the Apple Store Australia
We should note that 16-inch MacBook Pro hasn't received a full upgrade in 2020, and is rumoured to get one in towards the end of the year.
That top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro is an absolute beast, but overkill unless you're rendering video or doing something equally demanding – for most casual computing use, the lower specs on the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro will do you just fine.
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MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: features and ports
All these MacBooks are going to come running the latest versions of macOS, Catalina. They'll also get all free updates for the foreseeable future, including the new OS, Big Sur, that we expect to land in October 2020 most likely. From a software point of view, they all have the same features and capabilities, and access to the same applications.
The less powerful components of the MacBook Air equal longer battery life: Apple quotes 12 hours of wireless web use and 13 hours of iTunes video watching. That beats out the quoted 10 hours of wireless web use and 10 hours of iTunes video watching for the MacBook Pro models.
In practice, it's common for people to see lower battery life than that from the MacBook Pros, but not because of any deception with Apple's figures – it's just that those are the machines people use for more demanding software, and the more hardcore an app is, the more quickly it drains your power.
The MacBook Air features two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack. That matches the cheaper versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but if you buy the more powerful versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro (with the 10th-gen processors) you instead get four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and a headphone jack.
With the 16-inch MacBook Pro, all models come with four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, plus a headphone jack. You might need a dongle or a hub (or two) whichever model you opt for.
It's worth noting that all of the MacBook Pros include the Touch Bar, and the MacBook Air doesn't. The Touch Bar is a touchscreen that runs across the top of the keyboard in place of the function keys, and it can display custom controls depending on the app you're in – or it can display a set of standard controls of your choosing.
These can be quite handy when they're shortcuts or give you access to fine-grained sliders or other options that would normally be buried a couple of clicks deep. But we wouldn't call the Touch Bar essential by any means – a lot of people just don't use it.
Both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models include Touch ID fingerprint security. That makes life much easier for logging in, and for verifying your identity for online security.
MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: pricing and verdict
Both the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro will give you a top Apple laptop experience – it's just a question of how much power you're going to need (and how light you want your laptop to be while you're lugging it around).
At the top end, the 16-inch MacBook Pro can be kitted out with ludicrous amounts of power, memory and storage, and it gives you that extra screen real estate to work with as well.
The 13-inch model offers an impressive level of performance from its upper-tier models too, though you don't get the discrete graphics options that you do with the bigger laptop. The cheaper 13-inch models are certainly capable, but it's a shame that internals haven't been upgraded to newer options.
On the other hand, the MacBook Air is lightweight and a little bit cheaper too (check out the widgets on this page for the latest prices). If you're more of a casual computer user then you can save yourself some money with a cheaper option – remember the macOS software is the same on all these models.
The scale of price and performance is clear to see as you move up from the MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro, despite there being some potential crossover where the higher-tier MacBook Air has a quad-core processor that appears not far off the power of the base level 13-inch MacBook Pro's processor.
But the more constrained chassis of the new Air means that processor will hit its heat limits fairly quickly when taxed hard, while the MacBook Pro has more room to manoeuvre. And if you step up the higher-tier 13-inch MacBook Pro, you get a major boost in speed even while staying at quad-core.
But the good news is that there are plenty of configuration options along the way, so you should be able to find an Apple laptop that meets your needs.
You can find the lowest prices on any given model of MacBook Pro or MacBook Air using our price finders below – you can use the Filters to specify the specs you want.
Get started
Lift the lid of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air to turn it on, or press Touch ID. Every time you start up, restart, or log out, you need to type your password to log in to your user account. After setting up Touch ID, as long as you're logged in, you can use your fingerprint instead of typing when you're asked for your password.
With Touch ID, you can also use your fingerprint to make purchases from the App Store, Apple Books Store, and iTunes Store, as well as many of your favorite websites using Apple Pay.
MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
On MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar, the Touch ID button is on the right side of the Touch Bar at the top of the keyboard.
13- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar introduced in late 2019 or later
13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar introduced in 2016 through 2019
MacBook Air
On MacBook Air models introduced in 2018 and later, the Touch ID button is on the right side of the function keys.
Does The Macbook Air Have Fingerprint Cameras
MacBook Air (2020)
How to set up Touch ID
- Make sure that your finger is clean and dry.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Click Touch ID.
- Click the plus sign to add a fingerprint, type your user account password when prompted, then follow the onscreen instructions.
- Use the checkboxes to select the Touch ID features that you want to use on your Mac.
Tips for adding fingerprints:
- Place your finger on the Touch ID button — but don't press. Hold it there until you're asked to lift your finger.
- Lift and rest your finger slowly, making small adjustments to the position of your finger each time.
- Add up to three fingerprints.
You can also delete fingerprints:
- Hover the pointer over a fingerprint. A delete button appears.
- Click the delete button, then enter your password to remove the fingerprint.
Use Touch ID to unlock your Mac
After you set up Touch ID, you can use it to unlock your Mac. Wake up your Mac by opening the lid, pressing a key, or tapping the trackpad. Then place your finger lightly on Touch ID to log in.
You must type your password to log in after you start up, restart, or log out of your Mac. When you're logged in, you can quickly authenticate with Touch ID whenever you're asked for your password.
You can also use Touch ID to unlock these features on your Mac:
- Password-protected Notes
- The Passwords section in Safari preferences
- System Preferences
If you have FileVault turned on, you must type your password to unlock the Security & Privacy pane and the Users & Groups pane.
If multiple users set up Touch ID and log in to the same Mac, they can use Touch ID to switch accounts. Just press Touch ID, and your Mac switches to the logged-in user account associated with the fingerprint.
Make iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store purchases with Touch ID
Use Touch ID instead of your Apple ID password to make purchases on your Mac:
- Open the iTunes Store, App Store, or Apple Books Store.
- Click the buy button for something you want to purchase. A Touch ID prompt appears.
- Place your finger on Touch ID to complete the purchase.
You might be prompted to enter your password on your first purchase or if you've made changes to the fingerprints that you've enrolled in Touch ID.
Use Touch ID for Apple Pay
You can make easy, secure, and private purchases on websites using Apple Pay on your Mac. Apple Pay never stores your credit or debit card information and never shares it with the merchant.
Apple Pay is not available in all regions.
Set up Apple Pay
On Mac notebooks with Touch ID, you're prompted to configure Apple Pay during setup. If you don't choose to set up Apple Pay when you first start up, you can set it up later in the Wallet & Apple Pay section of System Preferences. You can also check your transaction history and manage your payment cards there. For example, you can add or delete cards and make updates to contact or shipping information.
You can add payment cards to only one user account on your Mac. If you set up Apple Pay in your main user account and then log in under another account, Touch ID and Apple Pay are unavailable. In this situation, you can use an eligible iPhone or Apple Watch to complete Apple Pay transactions that you begin in Safari on your Mac.
Make a purchase in Safari with Apple Pay
On websites that offer Apple Pay, click the Apple Pay button during checkout. When prompted, complete the payment by placing your finger lightly on Touch ID.
Turn on, restart, sleep, and shut down
Press Touch ID to turn on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air if it's open and turned off. If your Mac is closed and turned off, simply open it to turn it on.
Unlike with older Mac notebooks, holding down Touch ID on your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air doesn't display a dialog with options to Sleep, Restart, or Shut Down. You can find these options in the Apple menu. If your Mac is unresponsive, you can hold down Touch ID for six seconds to force a shut down. Note that you'll lose any unsaved work if you do this.
Pressing Touch ID won't put your Mac to sleep. Instead, choose Apple menu > Sleep. If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can also add a Sleep button to the Control Strip:
- Click Finder.
- Select View > Customize Touch Bar.
- Touch the Control Strip region of the Touch Bar to switch to Control Strip customization.
- Use your pointer to drag items that you want, such as the Sleep button, from the main display down into the Touch Bar. You can also drag items left and right within the Touch Bar to rearrange them, or drag them up and out of the Touch Bar to remove them.
- Tap Done in the Touch Bar or click Done on the screen when you finish.
Learn more about Touch ID
Does The Macbook Air Have Fingerprint Case
You can use Touch ID to control accessibility features on your Mac:
- Triple-press Touch ID to display the Accessibility Options window.
- Hold the Command key and triple-press Touch ID to toggle VoiceOver on and off.
In some situations, you need to enter your password instead of using Touch ID:
- If you've just restarted your Mac
- If you've logged out of your user account
- If your fingerprint isn't recognized five times in a row
- If you haven't unlocked your Mac in more than 48 hours
- If you've just enrolled or deleted fingerprints
Macbook Air 13 Inch
If you still need help unlocking your Mac with Touch ID, follow these tips. Try again after each one:
Macbook Air Best Buy
- Make sure that your fingers are clean and dry.
Moisture, lotions, sweat, oils, cuts, or dry skin might affect fingerprint recognition. Certain activities can also temporarily affect fingerprint recognition, including exercising, showering, swimming, or cooking. - Your finger should cover Touch ID completely. While Touch ID is scanning, don't press down or move your finger.
- Try setting up a different fingerprint.