Apple iBook 12-inch (Early 2003) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiBook 12-inch (Early 2003) | AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | April 2003 | March 2026 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 12.1″ | 13.6″ |
| Resolution | 1024 × 768 | 2560 × 1664 (better) |
| Panel | – | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | – | 60 Hz |
| Brightness | – | 500 nits |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | 12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display supporting millions of colours. Exact panel technology, brightness and refresh unpublished. | Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology |
| Pixel density | – | 224 ppi |
| Colour range | – | Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours |
| Display features | – | True Tone |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G3 800 MHz (iBook Early 2003) or PowerPC G3 900 MHz (iBook Early 2003) | Apple M5 |
| CPU cores | 1 | 10 |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 (32 MB video memory) | 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU |
| Memory | 128 MB or 640 MB | 16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better) |
| Storage | 30 GB to 40 GB | 512 GB to 4 TB (better) |
| CPU | 800 or 900 MHz PowerPC G3; 512 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor clock and 100 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/model omitted. | 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores |
| GPU | ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32 MB dedicated video memory and AGP 2 ×; configuration table names DDR SDRAM. | Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode |
| AI engine | – | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory type | 128 MB PC100 SDRAM onboard and one SO-DIMM slot, supporting a 512 MB module for 640 MB total. | Unified memory |
| Memory bandwidth | – | 153 GB/s |
| Storage type | 800 MHz stock: 30 GB Ultra ATA and 24 × CD-ROM.900 MHz stock:40 GB Ultra ATA and Combo drive (24 × CD-R write, 10 × CD-RW write, 8 × DVD read, 24 × CD read). Larger factory drive options mentioned without capacities; no unconfirmed matrix added. | SSD, configurable up to 4 TB |
| Cooling | – | Fanless |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 5 hours | Up to 18 hours |
| Battery capacity | 46 Wh | 53.8 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 2.2 kg | 1.23 kg (better) |
| Thickness | 34 mm | 11.3 mm (better) |
| Width × depth | 285 × 230 mm | 304.1 × 215 mm |
| Battery life detail | 46 Wh lithium-ion battery according to the exact maker sheet; up to five hours. EveryMac lists 47 Wh instead, so maker retained. Published 2.2 kg reference weight varies by configuration/manufacturing process. Dimensions use maker-published 28.5 × 23.0 × 3.4 cm. | Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery |
| Charger | – | Sold separately in the UK (30 W, 35 W dual-port or 70 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 30 W over USB PD |
| Fast charging | – | With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source |
| Materials | – | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall |
| Colours | – | Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | Optional AirPort 802.11b | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth | – | 6 |
| Webcam | – | 12MP Center Stage |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | Two 12 Mbps USB ports, one 400 Mbps FireWire port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, internal 56K V.92 modem and stereo headphone output. Optional 11 Mbps AirPort card; Bluetooth available through an optional external USB adapter, not built in. | 2 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40 Gb/s); MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support |
| External displays | VGA mirroring with included adapter; S-video and composite video through an optional Apple Video Adapter. | Up to two at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at up to 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz, alongside the built-in display |
| Keyboard | 77 US or 78 ISO keys, including 12 function keys, four arrows and embedded numeric keypad. | Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys |
| Trackpad | Tap, double-tap and drag support | Force Touch trackpad |
| Speakers | Built-in stereo speakers | Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos |
| Microphones | Built-in microphone; external USB audio devices supported | Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes |
| Biometrics | – | Touch ID |
| In the box | Apple VGA Display Adapter, modem cable, power adapter, wall plug, power cord and battery; Mac OS X, Mac OS 9 and bundled iLife/productivity software. MacRumors reported the exact new configurations live in the Apple Store on 22 April 2003; first delivery day unestablished, so release month retained. | 13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately |
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