Apple iBook G4 (14-inch, Mid 2005) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

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iBook G4 (14-inch, Mid 2005) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

	AppleiBook G4 (14-inch, Mid 2005)	ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	July 2005	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 Exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh rate are unpublished in the cited maker sheet.	17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.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 1420 MHz (iBook Mid 2005)	PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon 9550 (32 MB DDR)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 1.5 GB (better)	512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	60 GB	60 GB
CPU
CPU	PowerPC G4 at 1.42 GHz, with Velocity Engine, 512 KB on-chip L2 cache at processor speed and 142 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 9550 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	PC2700 333 MHz DDR SDRAM; 512 MB soldered and one empty SO-DIMM slot. Factory totals 768 MB, 1 GB or 1.5 GB; maximum 1.5 GB.	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; factory 60 GB, 80 GB and 100 GB options. The 12-inch starts at 40 GB with a DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo drive; the 14-inch starts at 60 GB with a DVD-writing SuperDrive. The retained maker sheet specifies 8× SuperDrive, while the launch-period Macworld review describes 4×. Sudden Motion Sensor protects the hard drive.	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.	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	AirPort Extreme 802.11g	AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	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.	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. Two-finger scrolling.	–
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 10.4 Tiger and iLife ’05 at launch; the retained support sheet later lists iLife ’06.	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.