Apple iBook (1999) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5)

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iBook (1999) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M5)

	AppleiBook (1999)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)
Overview
Released
Released	September 1999	March 2026
Display
Screen size
Screen size	12.1″	13.6″
Resolution
Resolution	800 × 600	2560 × 1664 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	12.1-inch active-matrix TFT SVGA display; exact size confirmed by SFGate's full original-model review. Panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	224 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Display features
Display features	–	True Tone
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G3 300 MHz (iBook 1999)	Apple M5
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	10
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Rage Mobility (4 MB)	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	32 MB or 288 MB	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	3.2 GB	512 GB to 4 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	300 MHz PowerPC G3; 66 MHz data path, 64 KB L1 cache and 512 KB L2 cache. Exact supplier and silicon model omitted because the maker sheet does not publish them.	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	ATI Rage Mobility with 4 MB video memory and AGP 2× support (SFGate and Macworld exact-model reviews).	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	32 MB onboard and one SO-DIMM slot. The retained maker sheet supports 288 MB total for the original; contemporary reviews described the earlier 160 MB maximum.	Unified memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	153 GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	3.2 GB IDE hard drive and 24× CD-ROM drive; the 6 GB stocks belong to the February 2000 refresh.	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB
Cooling
Cooling	–	Fanless
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 6 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	45 Wh	53.8 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	–	1.23 kg
Thickness
Thickness	–	11.3 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	–	304.1 × 215 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	45 Wh lithium-ion battery; Apple’s six-hour claim is reported in the exact SFGate review. The maker publishes 6.7 pounds and dimensions 11.6 H × 13.5 W × 1.8 D inches; ambiguous axes and unpublished metric figures are not converted.	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
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
Fast charging	–	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source
Materials
Materials	Coloured clamshell enclosure with rubber bumpers, translucent plastics and retractable handle (Macworld).	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Blueberry and white; Tangerine and white	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
Connections
Ports
Ports	USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Optional AirPort 802.11b	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	6
Webcam
Webcam	–	12MP Center Stage
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	One USB port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, internal 56K modem and stereo headphone output. No FireWire, video-out, PC Card slot or audio input. AirPort requires an optional internal card.	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
External displays	No built-in external display output	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
Keyboard	Full-size keyboard and embedded numeric keypad; lift-out keyboard provides memory access (Macworld).	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys
Trackpad
Trackpad	Built-in trackpad with a separate button	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Single built-in speaker	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	No built-in microphone	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 8.6 at launch. Apple’s spokesperson confirmed September 1999 shipping in Bryan Chaffin’s Mac Observer report; the July 1999 introduction is not the on-sale date. Macworld’s retail test is labelled January 2000 in the article despite its incorrect migrated webpage date.	13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately