Apple iBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2004) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

iBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2004) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M5)
AppleiBook G4 (14-inch, Late 2004)AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)
Overview
ReleasedOctober 2004March 2026
Display
Screen size14.1″13.6″
Resolution1024 × 7682560 × 1664 (better)
Panel–IPS LCD
Refresh rate–60 Hz
Brightness–500 nits
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeActive-matrix TFT XGA display supporting millions of colours. Exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh rate are unpublished in the cited maker sheet.Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology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
ProcessorPowerPC G4 1330 MHz (iBook Late 2004)Apple M5
CPU cores110
GraphicsATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 MB DDR)8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory256 MB or 1.25 GB16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage60 GB512 GB to 4 TB (better)
CPUPowerPC G4 at 1.33 GHz, with Velocity Engine, 512 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.10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
GPUATI Mobility Radeon 9200 with 32 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM and AGP 4× support.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 typePC2100 266 MHz DDR SDRAM; 256 MB soldered and one empty SO-DIMM slot. Factory totals 512 MB, 768 MB or 1.25 GB; maximum 1.25 GB.Unified memory
Memory bandwidth–153 GB/s
Storage type4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive; 60 GB and 80 GB factory upgrades. The 12-inch starts at 30 GB with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive. Both 1.33 GHz 14-inch stocks have 60 GB: M9627 has a Combo drive and M9628 a 4× DVD-R SuperDrive. These optical variants share one set of processor/memory/storage configurations.SSD, configurable up to 4 TB
Cooling–Fanless
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 6 hoursUp to 18 hours
Battery capacity61 Wh (better)53.8 Wh
Weight2.7 kg1.23 kg (better)
Thickness34.2 mm11.3 mm (better)
Width × depth323 × 259 mm304.1 × 215 mm
Battery life detailRemovable 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.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
MaterialsWhite polycarbonate enclosure100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall
ColoursWhiteSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-FiAirPort Extreme 802.11gWi-Fi 7
Bluetooth–6
Webcam–12MP Center Stage
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo 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 is included according to the stock configurations and UK launch notice; a generic technical paragraph still calls it optional. Internal Bluetooth is optional; version unpublished.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 displaysVGA mirroring through the included Apple VGA adapter; S-video and composite TV output require the optional Apple Video Adapter. Extended desktop is unsupported.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
KeyboardFull-size keyboard with 77 US or 78 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and an embedded numeric keypad.Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys
TrackpadTrackpad with a separate button; tap, double-tap and drag capabilities.Force Touch trackpad
SpeakersBuilt-in stereo speakersFour-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
MicrophonesBuilt-in microphoneThree-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics–Touch ID
In the boxiBook, rechargeable battery, power adapter, Apple VGA Video Adapter, software and documentation. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’04 at launch. Later review units bundled Tiger and iLife ’05.13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately

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