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Benchmarks Show M1 MacBook Air Beats Even 2019 MacBook Pro

Danielle from Leaf and Core
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The MacBook Air running macOS 11The i9 2019 MacBook Pro is a mobile powerhouse. It features Intel’s 9th generation, 8-core processor, which is no slouch. But the 2020 MacBook Air still beats it in early Geekbench benchmarks. These benchmarks measure CPU, not GPU power, but they show great promise for everyday performance. In this, Apple’s cheapest MacBook model is beating their most expensive MacBook Pro. While that MacBook Pro may see an update as early as this or next week, it’s unlikely to be enough to exceed Apple’s incredible performance in the MacBook Air.

Benchmark Scores

Benchmarks don’t tell us everything. The MacBook Pro, for example, has dedicated AMD graphics and can use eGPU graphics. These can give last year’s MacBook Pro a serious edge over the modern M-series powered MacBook Air. Still, the processor performance alone makes the MacBook Air a device that competes with professional hardware, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro will score even better. Apple’s consumer MacBooks are as powerful as their currently on sale MacBook Pro models.

The “late 2019” 16-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-core i9 Intel processor scored 1095 on Geekbench’s single-core test. On its multi-core test, it scored a 6869. Compare that to these results from Apple’s M1 MacBooks. The MacBook Air scored 1687 and 7433 on the single-core and multi-core, respectively. That’s not an insignificant speed bump, especially on single-core performance.

Apple may still release a new Intel-based MacBook Pro before the end of 2020. An update to macOS in October discussed a 2020 model of the MacBook Pro. With the Apple Silicon Macs out now, Apple may give a spec bump to the MacBook Pro this month, as the previous version was released in November. Apple usually doesn’t go this long between updates, so this MacBook Pro update could be the last Intel-based MacBook Pro. Currently, trying to order a MacBook Pro through Apple’s website shows shipping estimates starting in late November, early December, with some configurations pushed out to mid-December. This could mean that Apple’s planning on updating the MacBook Pro before December, with current models completely out of stock. Order a new MacBook Pro now, and you might just get that new one.

However, for the time being, the MacBook with the most powerful processor starts at just $999. That’s an incredible deal. Pro-level power in a consumer device for a grand. Apple’s paving the way to new technologies and incredible computing power with their new M-series processors. The next few years are going to be an exciting time in technology.

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