Comparison Apple MacBook Pro 13 2022 [MNEJ3] vs Apple MacBook Air 2022 [MLY03]

Diagonal size of laptop display.

The larger the screen, the more convenient the laptop for watching high-definition movies, modern games, working with large-format graphic materials, etc. Large screens are especially important for multimedia and gaming models. On the other hand, the diagonal of the display directly affects the size and cost of the entire device. So if portability is key, it makes sense to pay attention to relatively small solutions; especially since most modern laptops have video outputs like HDMI or DisplayPort and allow connection of large-format external monitors.

In light of all this, the actual maximum for laptops these days is 17"(17.3"); however larger devices (18") reappeared at the beginning of 2023. The standard option for general purpose laptops is 15"(15.6"), less often 16", a diagonal of 13"(13.3") or 14" is considered small by the standards of such And smaller screens can be found mainly in specific compact varieties of laptops — ultrabooks, 2 in 1, transformers, netbooks; among such devices there are solutions for 12 ", 11" and even 10" or less.

The resolution of the screen installed in the laptop — that is, the size of the screen in pixels horizontally and vertically.

Higher resolution, on the one hand, gives a sharper, more detailed image; on the other hand, it increases the cost of the laptop. The latter is connected not only with the cost of the displays themselves, but also with the fact that in order to work effectively at high resolutions, you need the appropriate filling (primarily a graphics card). This is especially true in games; so if you are looking for a laptop with a high-resolution screen that can effectively "run" modern games — you should pay attention not only to the characteristics of the display, but also to other data (the type and parameters of the graphics card, test results, the ability to work with certain games — see everything below). On the other hand, if the device is planned to be used for simple tasks such as working with documents, surfing the Internet and watching videos, you can not pay much attention to the “hardware” parameters: anyway, they are selected so that the laptop is guaranteed to be able to cope with such tasks on full resolution of the "native" screen.

As for specific numbers, the resolution options that are relevant today can be divided into 3 groups: Full HD (1080), Quad HD and UltraHD 4K. Here is a more detailed description of them:

...— Full HD (1080). Initially, the Full HD standard provides a frame size of 1920x1080, and it is this resolution that is most often used in laptop screens from this category. However, in addition to this, other resolution options are also included in this format, where the vertical size is at least 1080 pixels, but does not reach 1440 pixels. Examples include 1920x1200 and 2560x1080. In general, Full HD displays provide a good balance between cost, image quality and laptop hardware requirements. Because of this, nowadays they are extremely widespread; matrices of this standard can be found even in low-cost devices, although they are mainly used in more advanced technology.

— Quad HD. A transitional option between the popular Full HD 1080 (see above) and the high-end and expensive UltraHD 4K. The vertical size of such screens starts from 1440 pixels and can reach 2000 pixels. Note that QuadHD resolutions are especially popular in Apple laptops; most often, such devices have 2560x1600 screens, although there are other options.

— Ultra HD 4K. The most advanced standard used in modern laptops. The vertical size of such screens is at least 2160 dots (up to 2400 in some configurations); the classic resolution of a modern UltraHD matrix is 3840x2160, but there are other values. Anyway, a 4K display allows for high image quality, however, it costs accordingly — including due to the corresponding requirements for a graphics adapter; in addition, to work with high resolutions, it can be more convenient to connect an external monitor to the laptop. Thus, such screens are used relatively rarely, and mainly among premium laptops.

The resolution of the webcam installed in the laptop. Such cameras are usually placed above the display; Initially, their purpose was video communication (for example, via Skype), but other applications are also possible — recording videos, live broadcasts of certain events on the Internet, etc.

The resolution of the webcam in this case is indicated by the maximum video resolution that it supports. The most low-cost options give out only 640x480 and are not suitable for anything, except for the mentioned video communication; in the most advanced, this indicator can reach Full HD quality (1920x1080 pixels) and even Quad HD.

There are also laptops that do not have a built-in webcam. This solution allows you to protect the user from the threat of hacker attacks through the laptop's camera and minimizes the likelihood of personal data leaking.

The number of speakers installed in the laptop.

Theoretically, one speaker is enough to work with sound, but most entry-level and mid-range models (as well as many premium devices) provide two speakers — for stereo operation, which allows you to achieve some surround sound. And having more than two speakers usually means the laptop has enhanced audio capabilities.

The presence of the Touch Bar in the design of the laptop.

This feature was originally introduced by Apple in 2016 MacBook Pro laptops. The Touch Bar is a touch screen in the form of a "strip", usually located above the main keys and replacing the row of function keys F1 — F12. Various controls can be displayed on such a screen — buttons, sliders, strips of audio and video files during editing, and even animated images. Other functions may be provided, for example, operation in the fingerprint scanner mode. All this greatly expands the capabilities of the keyboard compared to the classical design, however, it is not cheap.

The capacity of the complete laptop battery in watt-hours.

Higher capacity allows the laptop to work longer on a charge, all other things being equal. However, keep in mind that the actual battery life will depend not only on the characteristics of the battery, but also on the power consumption of the laptop itself — and it is determined by both hardware characteristics and installed software. Therefore, only models with similar characteristics can be compared with each other according to this indicator. And if you need a “long-playing” laptop, you should choose it not by battery capacity, but by directly stated operating time.

As for watt hours, this is a less popular unit of capacity than milliamp hours, but more physically correct: it accurately describes the amount of energy stored by a battery. Thanks to this, in terms of capacity in Wh, it is possible to compare batteries with different nominal voltages (whereas this is not allowed for mAh — additional calculations must be carried out using special formulas). At the same time, Wh can be easily converted to mAh if the battery voltage is known: for this, the capacity in Wh must be divided by the voltage and multiplied by 1000.

Maximum laptop operating time on a single battery charge, without recharging. In this case, usually, the operating time in the maximum energy saving mode is implied: disabled wireless modules, minimum screen brightness, a small load on the processor, etc. Accordingly, the time of actual work on a charge is usually noticeably less than this indicator. Nevertheless, it can be used both for a general assessment of the battery life of a laptop, and for comparing it with other models. And choose work laptop ( from 7 operation hours) or with more powerful battery (from 11 operation hours).

The maximum power of the power supply in watts from which the laptop is supplied with power. Note that in this case the maximum power level is indicated, and this is achieved only when performing the most energy-intensive tasks, such as playing games, video rendering, etc. The rest of the time the power supply consumes an order of magnitude less power. This parameter may be useful when calculating the load when connecting a laptop computer to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or other means of autonomous power supply. When choosing a power supply yourself, you need to purchase it with parameters similar to the original unit or with a small power reserve on the larger side.

This feature means that the laptop uses only passive cooling systems. Such cooling is based on radiators, sometimes supplemented by heat pipes; it does not use fans — accordingly, it works absolutely silently. In addition, passive systems do not consume energy, which has a positive effect on battery life, and take up relatively little space, which allows you to reduce the thickness of the laptop. On the other hand, passive cooling is not as effective as active cooling, it is not suitable for powerful processors and discrete graphics cards. Therefore, laptops with this feature are either relatively low-power models or compact ultrabooks (see “Type”) that use low-heat components.