The first Geekbench 5 results for the M2 chip in the MacBook Air have surfaced, indicating that users should see the same performance as the new 13-inch MacBook Pro for typical use. The initial wave of M2-equipped Apple Silicon devices, the updated MacBook Air and the upgraded 13-inch MacBook Pro have the potential to differ in performance due to variations in cooling. However, an early benchmark of the M2 MacBook Air seems to indicate that the difference may not be as noticeable to users. According to the Geekbench 5 result spotted by Twitter user “Mr. Macintosh”, the first M2 MacBook Air result has appeared in the benchmark tool’s web browser. Done on Friday, the result for “Mac14.2” indicates a single-core score of 1,899 and a multi-core score of 8,965. The results are in the same ballpark as AppleInsider in its review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Under the same tests, the MacBook Pro managed 1,928 on the single-core test and 8,990 on the multi-core test. While there is little difference in results between the two chips, the benchmarks show that there should be very little difference in performance between the models, at least when it comes to day-to-day use. Tools like Geekbench are specifically designed to introduce pauses into the workflow, which provide a closer simulation of everyday workflows than an extended processing run. Active cooling on the MacBook Pro means it will win longer editing sessions due to better thermal management than the passively cooled MacBook Air. At the same time, users looking for high performance with minimal throttling will tend to choose more powerful systems to begin with. For regular use in low-end work, the MacBook Air still remains the better choice of the two models.
