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Looking for themost recentWordle answer?Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today'sWordle puzzlemight make you think of Halloween. People who use ADIEU as your first word, this is not your day. There's only one vowel and it's not in that word. If you need a new starter word, check outour list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Before we show you today'sWordleanswer, we'll give you some hints. If you don't want a spoiler, look away now.

Today's Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

There is one vowel in today's Wordle answer.

Today's Wordle answer begins with G.

Today's Wordle answer can refer to what happens when a person simply drops a friendship.

Today's Wordle answer can refer to a spooky Halloween figure.

Today's Wordle answer is GHOST.

Yesterday's Wordle answer, June 13, No. 1455, was VIXEN.

Legendary comedian Mel Brooks is approaching his 99th birthday later this month, and the spry filmmaker still has a few surprises up his sleeve, including a recent shocking announcement that the classic sci-fi parody Spaceballs would be releasing a sequel, Spaceballs 2.

If the news has your Schwartz tingling, you're not alone. The comedy icon dropped a teaser confirming that the long-rumored sequel is officially happening and will hit theaters in 2027.

The upcoming film will feature returning stars Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis, alongside a new cast that includes Keke Palmer and Josh Gad. It's described as a "non-prequel non-reboot sequel part two, but with reboot elements franchise expansion film," which feels perfectly on-brand for a movie that once sold branded toilet paper as a punchline.

If you're not willing to wait until 2027 to revisit Planet Spaceball, you canstream the original Spaceballsnow.

The Max streaming service, which willsoon reclaim the HBO Max name, has the 1987 sci-fi spoof available for your viewing pleasure. Spaceballs stars Brooks, Moranis, Pullman, John Candy, and the voice of Joan Rivers in a galaxy-sized send-up of Star Wars. It's the kind of throwback movie that isn't made much these days, even in the form of the silly Scary Movie franchise, so there are plenty of reasons to be appreciative that a sequel is on its way.

The original 1987 parody Spaceballs stars Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, the voice of Joan Rivers and John Candy.

The original film is now a cult classic thanks to its rapid-fire gags, absurd characters, hilarious takes on familiar sci-fi and the reverence we have for movies like Star Wars. And hey, it's a Mel Brooks creation, so you know it's full of laughs.

If it's been a while since you watched Lone Starr fly a Winnebago through space or you just want to hear Dark Helmet shout "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate" again, now's the perfect time to take the original Spaceballs for another spin. Or show it to someone for the very first time.

Did you know you can get ad-supported Max for free with aDoorDash DashPass annual subscription? You can also save on that version of Maxif you're a college student. Here's a roundup ofmore streaming dealsand ourreview of the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer.

This is probably not the page you’re looking for. Sorry about that.

Alaska just crossed a first off its bucket list with the first-ever heat advisory for Sunday, June 15. Temperatures in central Alaska are expected to reach 86 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 30 Celsius) through the weekend and into the week of June 16.

It's not as if Alaska never gets hot in the summer. However, as Jason Laney, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, Alaska, told CNET, "The frequency with which the heat is coming up is starting to be a bit of a concern."

This heat advisory seems pretty big, especially for an area where most people don't haveair conditioners. But there's an important caveat to keep in mind.

While this is the first heat advisory for Alaska issued by the National Weather Service, it's not the first time that Alaska has seen high temperatures. This is simply the first timeheat advisorieswere an option for offices in Fairbanks and Alaska's capital city of Juneau. Before a change that took effect on June 2, the National Weather Service announced heat risks through special weather statements. According to astatement, this change will allow offices in Fairbanks and Juneau to communicate heat information more effectively. Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, has opted out for now.

Residents of Fairbanks and surrounding areas need to prepare for these temperatures because this is a significant jump in heat, around 15 degrees above the area's average.

The average temperature for Fairbanks, central Alaska, is in the low 70s through the bulk of the summer. The forecast for the next few days predicts temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s. While some parts of the US may not bat an eye at the mid-80s (stop laughing, Arizona), Alaska is different. Many places don't have air conditioners, and many buildings are designed to trap heat to get through cold winters. That means serious heat-related risks are associated with these temperatures, even indoors

The criteria for a heat advisory in Alaska range between 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the location. Fairbanks's limit is 85 degrees, and the forecastexceeds that limit.

That number was picked intentionally. Laney and the National Weather Service team worked with the state climatologist in Alaska to look at the last 10 to 20 years of temperatures, noting how frequently temperatures rose. Laney told me that it was important that the criteria temperature was met no more than three times a year.

"We wanted it to come out when it meant something," Laney said.

Although the criteria are final, Laney said it has the potential to change.

"If we end up issuing too many of these things this year, then we know we set our criteria too low," he said.

Aflood watchwas also issued on June 12 to warn people about river flooding from rapid snow melting.

Despite the heat advisory, these are not Alaska's highest temperatures. In June 1969, Fairbanks' record high was 96 degrees. Temperatures in Fairbanks generally rise to the mid-80s two to three times each year, though depending on how many days temperatures remain in the 80s, it could be one of the longest hot streaks on record for the area. The longest consecutive streak for the area was in 1991 with 14 days.

Alaska is an area of extremes. Winter is six months of snow on the ground with subfreezing temperatures but spring hits just as hard — and fast. According to Laney, it only takes four to six weeks to melt about three feet of snow. Trees turn green in 48 to 72 hours.

"The issue is that the body takes a while to acclimate to this," Laney said. "Because the swing is so rapid, most people who spend a winter in Alaska aren't used to the heat just yet."

Another thing to remember is that official temperatures are reported in the shade, not the sunlight. This brings us to a unique quirk of Alaska: the sunshine lasts 20 to 21 hours a day at this time of year. Only about 2% of houses have AC, Laney told me, and many have larger windows that let in as much sunlight as possible in the winter. This can backfire in the summer when they let in that sunlight, and the six- to eight-inch-thick walls that accommodate extra insulation trap in the heat.

Theclimate is warmingbecause of emissions from fossil fuels and extreme heat is becoming more common. TheWorld Meteorological Organizationpredicts that global heat will only worsen over the next five years. There's roughly an 80% chance that in the next five years, we'll surpass 2024, thehottest yearever recorded.

The effects ofclimate changeare felt everywhere. Alaska, however, is warmingtwo to three times fasterthan the rest of the globe, resulting in permafrost thawing, glaciers shrinking and transformations in Alaska's ecosystems.

The statewideaverage air temperaturehas increased by 3 degrees in the past 60 years, and winter temperatures are up 6 degrees. If global emissions continue at the current rate, annual precipitation is also expected to grow 15% to 30%.

It's challenging to quantify Alaska's rapid warming's impacts because they affect everything from people to roads to biodiversity in wildlife. For example, the permafrost soil under about85% of Alaska'ssurface could shift or shrink as it thaws because of continued extreme temperatures. In the long run, this could damage everything from pipelines to buildings, sewer systems and the water supply. And the change will be especially tough on groups more vulnerable to extreme temperatures, whether because of socioeconomic ormedical conditions.

Per the heat advisory from the National Weather Service, "Individuals and pets not accustomed to these unusually hot temperatures for this region may experience heat-related concerns."

It's essential to prepare where you can for the heat, especially because many people won't be able to escape thehigh temperatures. Small changes can go a long way.

Simple tipsto use when it's hot outside:

Signs ofheat-related illness, such as heat exhaustion orheatstroke, include confusion, heavy sweating, nausea, muscle cramps, a fast pulse and cold and clammy skin.

Apple appears to be making progress on a major update to its Siri software that would expand its capabilities and incorporate more AI features. According to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, thedelayed updatefor Siri now has aninternal release window of spring 2026.

The update, which could arrive with iOS version 26.4, would make good on features and updates Appleintroduced at 2024's WWDC. Since then, the updates to Siri that were supposed to incorporate many of the company's Apple Intelligence have failed to materialize and the company's AI efforts so farhaven't wowedtech enthusiasts.

New capabilities for Siri would allow it to have more controls over apps across different devices. But according to Bloomberg's report, internal development of Siri has been chaotic and the possibility of releasing a big update in the spring is not a sure thing. One scenario is that a preview version would be available at that time with a full release set for 2026's iPhone rollout later in the year.

Fortunately for Apple, AI isn't currently factoring heavily into people's phone-buying decisions. ACNET surveypublished this week suggests just 11% of people are driven to upgrade because of AI features.

A representative from Apple did not immediately return a request for information on the update. Apple has been vague in statements about Siri's next update, promising only that it would be available "in the coming year."

Amazon has had similar struggles with Alexa, its personal assistant software available on devices from Amazon and other companies. Its Alexa products have lost money and the company is in the process ofrolling out Alexa Plus, which also incorporates new AI-driven features and would require a fee for those who don't have Amazon Prime. That rollout has alsofaced delays.

Integrating AI into a speech assistant like Siri is much more complex than it seems, says Vikas Sharma, senior director of patent services at Quandary Peak Research.

"An AI-integrated speech assistant must not only perform accurate speech recognition and feed that input into large language models but also intelligently invoke the correct APIs to perform tasks on the device," Sharma says. "Hallucination and inconsistency are major concerns — these systems can potentially trigger the wrong APIs, leading to incorrect or unintended actions."

In typical Apple fashion, Sharma says, the company may be putting off release until it feels it has a more polished product.

"I believe Apple wants to avoid a repeat of the Apple Maps launch, which faced significant backlash for being released before it was fully ready," he says.

Sharma points to recentchanges in leadership on Sirias a sign that Apple Intelligence is still a major priority. But, he says, Apple might do well to acquire an AI company or partner with a high-profile AI firm to send a clear signal that it's serious about leading the space. It should also, Sharma says, create more messaging focused on Siri.

"To change the perception that it's lagging behind in AI, Apple needs to broaden its focus on AI and communicate its progress more frequently and transparently," he says.

I'm a creature of habit when it comes to food. At the restaurants I frequent I always know what I'm going to order, and at home I have a set rotation of meals. It's not that I'm unadventurous. It's just that I like knowing I'll love what I eat. And my creative abilities don't extend to the kitchen.

Ask me to write a short story before a recipe. My weapon of choice is the pen, not thepan.

To save money, I'm eating at home 90% of the time, and while I have my staple daily dishes, I love variety throughout the week, to keep my wandering tastebuds happy. (I blame all those years of travel. It spoiled my palate.) In the past, I've experimented with anartificial intelligencerecipegenerator, which can turn a photo of a restaurant meal into a recipe you can prepare in your own kitchen. Now I wanted to see what a tool called Recipe Remixes could serve up.

Recipe Remixes is a new AI-powered feature in food networkTasty's app, and it shows you several variations of classic Tasty recipes. You get three different renditions per recipe. You can also prompt it to make the recipe easier, more nutritious or more flavorful. Tasty is leaning into its community's tips and tricks to help others improve their cooking and amplify community submissions via AI.

The feature launched in March 2025, via the TastyiOSapp, and it's free to use. Recipe Remixes leveragesOpenAI's GPT-4o mini model.

First, I downloaded the Tasty app and created an account. It'll ask you a few questions, like whether you're a vegetarian and what's important to you when cooking.

You can scroll through the recipe recommendations or use the search bar if you're in the mood for something specific. Keep in mind, the app will prompt you to add ingredients to a cart to place an order via its grocery partner, Walmart. Simply ignore this if you're just playing around with recipes.

I clicked on a recipe I probably have once a week (honey soy-glazed salmon) to see the interface. The strength of this app is the community tips and comments, as there are approximately 600,000 monthly users of the Tasty app. Each recipe has a video, photos, an ingredients list, instructions, tips from other people using Tasty and, now, the Remixes feature.

Given that I didn't necessarily want to add more sweetness or citrus to my salmon, I prompted the feature to "make it more nutritious." Here's what Tasty's AI tool suggested:

It would be good to see the new nutrient information, like what's displayed in the original recipe. But I do like how it has a rationale for why it's made specific changes.

Next, I picked the simple scrambled eggs dish, to see how fancy Tasty's AI could make it. I selected the "surprise me" prompt.

The twist? Adding cheese. Not groundbreaking, but delicious, I'm sure. I would've been more impressed with something unexpected, like a drizzle of honey.

I explored the lunch recipes but realized they're probably too elaborate for me, especially on weekdays. Even though I work from home much of the time, I'm just not the kind of person who cooks a birria baked potato.

I have a current obsession with anything ube, so when I came across a purple sweet potato latte, I had to try it.

I chose to "make it more nutritious" because I know these colorful drinks can be a sugar bomb.

The feature added protein powder, which I liked, but it removed the star of the show: the sweetened condensed milk. It also switched whole milk for the almond milk, which will probably create a watery consistency instead of that creaminess. I'm not sure, either, if cocoa will overwhelm sweet potato or work well.

I would've preferred a reduced amount of condensed milk, half the caffeine, and half-and-half instead of whole milk (maybe I'm better at remixing recipes myself than I thought).

I tried using AI to remix one more recipe: a homemade chicken shawarma wrap that I'd have for lunch. It's cool to see a recipe's popular tips for remix suggestions, like "make it garlicky," "make it thyme-based," "make it easier" and "make it more nutritious." They were good suggestions, but I wasn't about to make my lunch more garlicky. My poor wife.

I opted for "make it easy," as I like quick lunches.

This was the original ingredients list:

Then, the remixed version to make it easier:

I didn't love how it suggested a store-bought marinade, because the only thing that did was remove the need to use a bunch of different spices — most of which I already have at home. But it definitely made the white sauce part easier, by reducing the number of ingredients needed.

Though I enjoyed the user-generated tips, the range of recipes, and the various ways to mix up a meal, I would've loved a little more customization. It would be cool to have achatbotfeature, where I could give feedback on the remixed recipe and get it to a point where I was happy with it.

I was also hoping to be able to input common meals I make and have the AI remix them, rather than have to choose from a catalog of recipes, 95% of which I'd never cook.

As with most AI features, it's a handy tool to have for coming up with ideas, but I can certainly cook without it.

Looking for themost recentStrands answer?Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today's NYTStrandspuzzle honors Flag Day. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about therules for Strands in this story.

If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visitCNET's NYT puzzle hints page.

Today's Strands theme is:It's a banner day.

If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: O say can you see.

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

These are the answers that tie in to the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

The completed NYT Strands puzzle for June 14, 2025, #468.

Today's Strands spangram is  FLAGSYMBOL. To find it, start with the F that's four letters to the right on the bottom row, and head up.

Looking for themost recentregular Connections answers?Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today'sConnections: Sports Editionhas a whopper of a purple category, but since the other three categories aren't that tough, it kind of fills itself in. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut onSuper Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn't show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more:NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Drop the puck, and a letter.

Blue group hint: Over the bounding main.

Purple group hint: Transatlantic soccer.

Yellow group: NHL teams, minus the S.

Blue group: Olympic sailing events.

Purple group: Teams in the Club World Cup.

Read more:Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for June 14, 2025, #264.

The theme is NHL teams, minus the S. The four answers are Blue Jacket, Flame, Flyer and Hurricane.

The theme is stadium anthems. The four answers are Chelsea Dagger, Sandstorm, Seven Nation Army and We Will Rock You.

The theme is Olympic sailing events. The four answers are dinghy, kite, skiff and windsurfing.

The theme is teams in the Club World Cup. The four answers are Inter Miami, Juventus, Manchester City and River Plate.

The Indiana Pacers will face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday in Game 4 of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Pacers are leading the Finals 2-1 and have the home court advantage tonight.

The Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton led the team to another win in Game 3 Wednesday with 22 points, including a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Obi Toppin helped secure the Pacers' lead down the stretch, with the final score 116-107.

The 2025 NBA finals continue tonight at8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT). The game will air on ABC, but if you don't have astreaming subscription with live TV, there's a way to watch for free. Here's what you need to know.

Here's when and where the Pacers and Thunder will play for the 2025 NBA Finals.

You can watch the Pacers vs. Thunder series for free on theNBA's YouTube livestream, but you'll need avirtual private networksince the game is geo-locked to India. A VPN can get you access to the livestream by connecting to a server in India.

CNET recommendsExpressVPNfor the NBA Finals. It's apaid VPNthat costs $13 a month but there's a free trial to watch tonight's game.

We don't recommendfree VPNsfor streaming region-locked sports games because you generally can't choose the server location. Free VPNs also usually have less-than-ideal speed and no control of your privacy or data being shared.

ExpressVPN isour current best VPN pickfor people who want a reliable and safe VPN and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

You can catch the NBA Finals on ABC. That means if you have live TV through astreaming service like Sling or YouTube TV, you should be able to watch tonight's game. Another option is to use anover-the-air TV antenna, depending on where you live. Check outCNET's full list of ways to streamthe game.

You can get Sling TV's Blue plan for $46 a month. It includes ABC if you live in one of thefew markets where Sling offers ABC.

Sign up for YouTube TV for $83 per month and get access to ABC to watch the NBA Finals. Check to seeif ABC is availablein your area first.

Fubo's Pro Package for $85 a month comes with ABC. Firstcheckto see which local channels you get.

DirecTV Stream's Entertainment plan costs $85 a month and comes with access to ABC. Check to seeif ABC is availablewhere you live.

Read our DirecTV Stream review.

If you're having trouble deciding between the cheaper and lighter MacBook Air or spending more for the more powerful MacBook Pro, you've come to the right place. The MacBook Air and Pro don't look all that different from one another, but there are key differences  — from cost and components to performance and battery life — that you need to know to pick the right one.

The15-inch M4 MacBook Airis thebest laptopfor most people, but there are some good reasons to spend more for aM4 MacBook Proor less on the13-inch Air. Let's break down the MacBook Air against the MacBook Pro to see where and how these two laptop lines differ and which one is the best MacBook for you.

No one wants to buy a laptop only to see it get updated a week or a month after you pull the trigger on a purchase. So, it's important to know which MacBook is newer. The MacBook Air was most recently updated, getting an M4 upgrade in March to bringing it up to date with the MacBook Pro, which was first to offer the M4 chip at the end of last year. It's a good time to buy either MacBook, but the Pro model is a good bet to be first with an M5 chip at some point near the end of 2025.

Read more:Best MacBook for 2025

Now that you know where each line stands in its refresh schedule, let's take a look at the current pricing of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

The current MacBook Air features Apple's M4 processor and is available in 13- and 15-inch sizes.

The MacBook Air is available with a 13.6- or 15.3-inch display. The 13-inch Air starts at $999, and the 15-inch Air starts at $1,199. Both entry-level models feature Apple's latest M4 processor along with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. There is a slight difference in GPU cores between these two starting models — the 13-inch Air's M4 chip has eight GPU cores, and the 15-inch Air's M4 chip has 10 GPU cores.

The MacBook Pro is available with a 14.2- or 16.2-inch display. The 14-inch Pro starts at $1,599, and the 16-inch Pro starts at $2,499. The 16-inch model has such a higher starting price because it has a more powerful M4 Pro chip, while the base model of the 14-inch Pro features an M4 (non-Pro) chip.

The M4 Pro chip in the 16-inch MacBook Pro is truly a pro-level processor, with 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores, while the M4 chip in the 14-inch model has 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores.

You can, however, get the M4 Pro chip in the 14-inch Pro. The step-up model in the 14-inch MacBook Pro series costs $1,999 and features an M4 Pro chip with 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores. The next model in the series costs $2,399 and features the same 14-CPU, 20-GPU M4 Pro found in the entry-level MacBook Pro 16.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 with an M4 processor and $1,999 with the upgraded M4 Pro chip.

For system memory, the baseline 14-inch MacBook Pro offers the same 16GB of RAM as you get with the MacBook Air, but the higher-end 14-inch models and every 16-inch model has a minimum of 24GB of RAM.

You also get more storage with the Pro models. The entry-level models for both the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air offer only a 256GB SSD. Even if you've embraced cloud storage, that's an underwhelming amount of local storage. With any MacBook Pro, you start with at least a 512GB SSD. Doubling the meager storage to a 512GB SSD with a MacBook Air adds a hefty $200 to the bill.

The Air wins on weight, but the Pro takes the battery life crown.

The 13.6-inch MacBook Air weighs 2.7 pounds, and the 15.3-inch Air weighs 3.3 pounds.

Despite giving up an inch in display size, the 14.2-inch MacBook Pro at 3.4 pounds weighs more than the larger Air. And it weighs appreciably more than the smaller Air, whose display is only 0.6 inches smaller.

I use a 14-inch Pro for work, and my daughter has a 13-inch Air for school. The difference in weight between the two is striking. I'm always jealous of the lighter carrying weight of the Air whenever I pack up my Pro for travel or just to take it down to my local coffee shop. The MacBook Air also takes up less space in a backpack. It's just 0.44 inches thick, and the MacBook Pro is a chunkier 0.61 inches thick.

The added weight and thickness, however, allow Apple to pack a bigger battery inside the MacBook Pro. On CNET's YouTube streaming battery drain test, the 14-inch MacBook Pro lasted one minute shy of 22 hours, which is among thebest battery-life laptops.

The MacBook Air is also a long-running laptop, but its runtime is hours shorter than that of the MacBook Pro. In testing, the 13-inch Air lasted 15 hours, 50 minutes, and the 15-inch Air ran for 16 hours, 41 minutes.

Given the long runtimes for both the MacBook Air and Pro (both offer all-day battery life) the difference in weight between the two is the larger factor if mobility is a chief concern. The MacBook Air is thinner and lighter — better for students crisscrossing campus every day and those who commute daily or travel regularly. Even the larger 15-inch Air is a better travel companion than the smaller 14-inch Pro.

MacBook Pro models have a slightly higher-resolution display and a higher pixels-per-inch count (224ppi on the Air to the Pro's 254ppi), but the bigger differences between the displays are their brightness, HDR support and refresh rate.

The Macbook Pro's Liquid Retina XDR display is a mini-LED panel rated for 1,000 nits in SDR and 1,600 nits in HDR. The MacBook Air's Liquid Retina display is rated for 500 nits, which is bright enough for most lighting environments but lacks the range and contrast to make HDR content pop.

You'll also get smoother movement in videos and games on the MacBook Pro's 120Hz ProMotion panel. The MacBook Air offers a standard 60Hz refresh rate.

The MacBook Air and Pro each offer good audio output for a laptop, but the Pro's sound is better. The MacBook Pro features a six-speaker array, and the Air has four speakers.

The MacBook Pro has more ports and speakers than the MacBook Air.

The MacBook Pro features more external connections. It has an HDMI port and SD card slot — neither of which you'll find on the Air — along with an extra Thunderbolt port. The M4 Pro-based models also support Thunderbolt 5 for faster data and support for more external monitors than you get with Thunderbolt 4 on an Air.

The MacBook Air has the advantage in acoustics. It lacks a cooling fan and operates in complete silence.

So, what do those extra CPU and GPU cores get you with the M4 MacBook Pro? We've tested both sizes of the M4 MacBook Air released last March and a pair of M4 MacBook Pro models from last November — the 14-inch Pro with the M4 chip and a loaded 16-inch Pro with an M4 Pro chip and a whopping 48GB of RAM.

On our Geekbench 6 test that measures overall CPU performance across a mixed workload, the 16-inch MacBook Pro put more distance between it and the 14-inch MacBook Pro than the smaller Pro could between it and the two MacBook Airs. And that makes sense when you consider the M4 Pro processor has four more cores than the M4 chip, and the same M4 chip is featured in the 14-inch Pro we tested and both Airs.

We saw similar results on the multicore CPU test for Cinebench 2024, and the even greater number of GPU cores of the M4 Pro allowed the 16-inch MacBook Pro to enjoy an even greater lead on the Cinebench 2024 GPU test over the 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Our benchmark results show that the baseline 14-inch MacBook Pro is somewhat in the awkward middle ground between a MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip and the M4 MacBook Air.

Creative pros and hobbyists who need to run demanding graphics applications would be better served by investing in a MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro processor. The superior CPU and GPU performance will allow such power users to complete creative workloads more quickly. The cheapest MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro processor costs $1,999, however, which is considerably more expensive than a MacBook Air.

The added memory you get with the MacBook Pro models that cost $1,999 and up helps justify the higher cost. You might not need the 48GB of RAM of the M4 Pro-based MacBook Pro we tested, but the 24GB of RAM you get with any M4 Pro-based MacBook Pro will certainly serve you well compared with the 16GB of RAM offered on the MacBook Air or baseline 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro.

The only compelling reason for the $1,599 M4-based MacBook Pro I can see is the HDR ProMotion display — I reallywant one for the Air– if you watch or work with a lot of HDR content. Or you are sensitive to video stutter on a 60Hz display. If neither of these characteristics describes you, then you are better off spending more for the greater performance of an M4 Pro-based MacBook Pro or saving some money and getting the more affordable and portable MacBook Air.

For general home use, where you primarily use Chrome, Gmail, Google Docs and Sheets with perhaps the occasional project in iMovie or Garage Band, the M4 MacBook Air offers ample performance and is the better deal. The 15-inch MacBook Air provides a ton of value at $1,199. For most people,it's the best laptop. It gives you a big display without needing to spend a premium on a MacBook Pro. And despite its larger screen, the 15-inch Air is still thinner and lighter than the 14-inch Pro, while costing hundreds less.

Meanwhile, the cheaper and more portable 13-inch MacBook Air at $999 — $899 with Apple's education discount — remains thebest laptop for students.