Apple iBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2003) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

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iBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2003) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

	AppleiBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2003)	ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	2003	March 2003
Display
Screen size
Screen size	14.1″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	1440 × 900 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Active-matrix TFT XGA display supporting millions of colours. Exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh rate are unpublished in the cited maker sheet.	17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 933 MHz (iBook Late 2003) or PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (iBook Late 2003)	PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 MB DDR)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	256 MB or 640 MB	512 MB or 1 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	40 GB to 60 GB	60 GB
CPU
CPU	PowerPC G4 at 0.933 GHz or 1 GHz, with Velocity Engine, 256 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor speed and 133 MHz system bus. Exact silicon model and supplier are not published in the cited maker sheets.	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted.
GPU
GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 with 32 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM and AGP 4× support.	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory.
Memory type
Memory type	PC2100 266 MHz DDR SDRAM; 128 MB soldered plus 128 MB in the single SO-DIMM slot as standard. Up to 640 MB total, requiring replacement of the installed module.	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations.
Storage type
Storage type	4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; 40 GB and 60 GB build-to-order options. Stock processor/drive ties are 800 MHz/30 GB (12-inch), 933 MHz/40 GB or 1 GHz/60 GB (14-inch). Slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive in the consumer stocks.	60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 6 hours	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	61 Wh (better)	55 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.7 kg (better)	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	34.2 mm	26 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	323 × 259 mm	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 61 Wh lithium-ion battery, with charge-indicator LEDs; maker claim up to six hours. Published 2.7 kg reference weight varies with configuration and manufacturing process. The current maker support sheet supplies the reference metric values; the older developer note gives slightly different depths and 2.6 kg for the 14-inch.	55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm.
Materials
Materials	White polycarbonate enclosure	Anodised aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	White	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Optional AirPort Extreme 802.11g	AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Optional Bluetooth 1.1	1.1
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, stereo headphone output and Mini-VGA video output. AirPort Extreme and internal Bluetooth are optional. The maker developer note specifies Bluetooth 1.1.	Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps.
External displays
External displays	VGA mirroring through the included Apple VGA adapter; S-video and composite TV output require the optional Apple Video Adapter. Extended desktop is unsupported.	Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size keyboard with 77 US or 78 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and an embedded numeric keypad.	Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Trackpad with a separate button; tap, double-tap and drag capabilities.	–
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	Internal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	iBook, rechargeable battery, power adapter, Apple VGA Video Adapter, software and documentation. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, iLife and Classic environment. Native Mac OS 9 startup unsupported. The 22 October 2003 maker notice promised the 14-inch for the following week. LowEndMac reports actual London receipt on 12 November; an exact first shipping month remains unverified, so the release uses year precision.	65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day.