Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3 vs Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max (2026)

Which is better? We compared both on score, owner ratings, pros and cons.

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3

9.2/10 Excellent

4.7★ (3,600 owners)

M3 chip, 15.3" Liquid Retina, 18hr battery, 1.51kg, fanless. The big-screen MacBook Air.

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Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max

9.6/10 Outstanding

4.8★ (2,400 owners)

M3 Max chip, 128GB unified RAM, 22hr battery, 16.2" Liquid Retina XDR, 16-core GPU. The creative workstation.

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At a Glance

	Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3	Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max
247Verdict Score	9.2/10	9.6/10
Owner Rating	4.7★ (3,600)	4.8★ (2,400)
Verdict	Excellent	Outstanding
Chip	M3	M3 Max
Battery	18 hours	22 hours
Weight	1.51kg	2.15kg

Quick Verdict

Both are strong choices, but the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max edges ahead with a 9.6/10 vs 9.2/10. M3 Max chip, 128GB unified RAM, 22hr battery, 16.2" Liquid Retina XDR, 16-core GPU. The creative workstation. That said, the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3 is worth considering if M3 chip, 15.3" Liquid Retina, 18hr battery, 1.51kg, fanless. The big-screen MacBook Air..

Pros & Cons Side by Side

Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3

15.3-inch Liquid Retina display provides significantly more working space than 13-inch for coding, design and documents
M3 performance identical to 13-inch MacBook Air — same battery life, same silence, bigger screen
18-hour battery handles extended travel days without charger anxiety
Fanless design maintains silence even on demanding tasks unlike Intel alternatives
macOS Continuity: AirDrop, Universal Clipboard, iPhone mirroring, Handoff across Apple devices

£1,400 — £300 more than 13-inch MacBook Air M3 for screen size only
1.51kg is heavier than 13-inch at 1.24kg — noticeable daily commute difference
Same two-port limitation as 13-inch — hub required for USB-A or HDMI

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max

M3 Max with 128GB unified RAM handles simultaneous 4K video exports, ML training and Xcode compilation without throttling
22-hour battery while running M3 Max tasks — no power cable on international flights
16.2-inch ProMotion 120Hz Liquid Retina XDR display is the finest laptop display available
Hardware-accelerated ML processing for ProRes video and Neural Engine workloads outperforms x86 competitors at 3x the power consumption
The laptop that Apple sells to production studios, research labs and professional developers worldwide

£4,500+ requires absolute professional justification — MacBook Pro 14 covers 90% of workflows
16-inch at 2.15kg is heavier than 14-inch M3 Pro for daily carry