15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air — which is better?

The MacBook Air 15-inch is finally here, so it’s time to take a look at how it stacks up against the 13-inch MacBook Air with M2. 

If you are thinking that this is just the 13.3-inch MacBook Air blown up to 15.3-inches…well you aren’t entirely wrong, but there are some differences, so follow along and we’ll help you figure out which MacBook Air is right for you.

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Price and value

The 15-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299, $200 more than the base 13-inch MacBook Air. 

It’s a reasonable markup for the larger display and longer battery life of the 15-inch MacBook Air, so while it may be more expensive, I think when it comes to value this is a draw.

Winner: Draw

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Specs compared

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Design

With the exception of the size, the 15-inch MacBook Air looks identical to the 13-inch MacBook Air, featuring the same redesigned look from the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. The squared-off edges, uniform thickness, and utilitarian aesthetic should keep the MacBook Air feeling modern for years to come. 

Opening the lid, you’ll see the full-sized backlit keyboard at the top of the keyboard deck in a slight recess. Directly below sits a massive trackpad on both.

Given the larger display, it’s no surprise that the 15-inch MacBook Air outweighs the 13-inch at 3.3 pounds versus 2.7 pounds. The Air’s all-metal build keeps either one from approaching the lightest in their category, but the 15-inch Air is the thinnest 15-inch laptop at 11.2mm.

While arguably the 15-inch MacBook Air is slightly more impressive given its unprecedented thinness, overall this is a draw as well.

Winner: Draw

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Ports

Both MacBook Air models feature the same set of ports including a dedicated MagSafe port, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, alongside the 3.5mm headphone jack.  

Need more ports? Check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages. 

Winner: Draw

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Display

Finally a pretty big differentiator, the 15-inch MacBook Air features a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display (still waiting for confirmation on the resolution), with up to 500 nits of brightness and 5mm bezels.

That’s compared to the MacBook Air’s 13.6-inch, 2560 x 1664p Liquid Retina display, which we of course have tested thoroughly. We’ll have to see if the 15-inch Air performs any better in our lab testing. The 13-inch Air registered 75.9% of the DCI-P3 color gamut alongside an impressive average brightness of 489 nits. 

While a final determination will have to wait for our test results, for now the 15-inch Air earns a win here purely based on having the larger display.

Winner: 15-inch MacBook Air

15-inch MacBook Air vs 13-inch MacBook Air: Battery Life

This one is a bit of a head-scratcher as Apple only claims up to 18 hours of battery life on the 15-inch MacBook Air, which is exactly what it claims for the 13-inch MacBook Air. We haven’t seen an exact battery spec for the 15-inch Air yet, so it’s possible Apple shortchanged it a bit to hit that 11.2mm, but we would have expected at least a slight bump for the 15-inch Air.

The 13-inch Air lasted 14 hours and 6 minutes in our official testing, so we’ll find out soon enough if Apple is right about the 15-inch Air merely measuring up to its smaller counterpart.

Winner: TBD

Overall winner

It should come as no surprise that this race is going to come down to a photo finish. There is very little to differentiate the 15-inch MacBook Air from the 13-inch, outside of the obvious discrepancy in size.

It’s a little disappointing that Apple didn’t use all that extra space for anything, and yet we do now have a big-screen MacBook that starts at just $1,299, so it’s hard to be too disappointed.

If you have always wanted a larger MacBook, but didn’t want to part with $2,499 or more for that privilege, the 15-inch MacBook Air looks like an easy recommendation. If you aren’t ready to pre-order a 15-inch MacBook Air today, don’t worry we’ll have a full review soon to help you make a final decision.