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

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

	AppleiBook (FireWire)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2000	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 display, 800 × 600 native resolution. Exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.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 366 MHz (iBook FireWire 2000) or PowerPC G3 466 MHz (iBook FireWire 2000)	Apple M5
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	10
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Rage Mobility 128 (8 MB SDRAM)	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	64 MB or 320 MB	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	10 GB to 20 GB	512 GB to 4 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	366 MHz PowerPC G3 standard, 466 MHz Special Edition; 256 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor clock and 66 MHz system/memory buses. Exact silicon supplier and model omitted.	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	ATI Rage Mobility 128 with 8 MB SDRAM and AGP 2×.	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	64 MB onboard PC100 SDRAM and one SO-DIMM slot; maker-supported maximum 320 MB total.	Unified memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	153 GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	10 GB IDE drive, optional 20 GB. Standard models have 24× CD-ROM; Special Edition has 6× maximum DVD-ROM according to the maker sheet. EveryMac lists 4× instead; maker retained.	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	50 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	50 Wh lithium-ion battery; maker claim up to six hours. Maker weights are 3.0 kg standard and 3.1 kg Special Edition, so no single main weight is selected. Maker labels: width 34.4 cm, height 29.4 cm, average depth 4.6 cm (range 3.15–5.2 cm). No main axis reinterpretation or computed metric dimensions.	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	Rubber-coated translucent clamshell with carrying handle and latchless lid.	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Indigo standard, Graphite Special Edition; Key Lime available for both through the Apple Store.	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 12 Mbps USB port, one 400 Mbps FireWire port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, internal 56K V.90 modem and stereo headphone/composite AV output. Optional AirPort 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	Composite video output via the AV port; no built-in VGA 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	76 US or 77 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
Trackpad	Tap, double tap and drag support	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Single built-in mono speaker	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	No built-in microphone; optional USB microphone supported	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	Mac OS 9, iMovie 2, AppleWorks and QuickTime; power adapter, power cord, battery and modem cable. All configurations available immediately in the maker release.	13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately