Apple MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

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MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

	AppleMacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)
Overview
Released
Released	April 2016	November 2020
Display
Screen size
Screen size	12″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	2304 × 1440	2560 × 1600 (better)
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	400 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; 16:10 aspect ratio; millions of colours	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	226 ppi	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Glossy (Notebookcheck)
Display features
Display features	Scaled resolutions of 1440 × 900, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core m3-6Y30, Intel Core m5-6Y54 or Intel Core m7-6Y75	Apple M1
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 515	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 512 GB	128 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core m3 at Apple's configured 1.1 GHz, up to 2.2 GHz; Core m5 at 1.2 GHz, up to 2.7 GHz; or Core m7 at 1.3 GHz, up to 3.1 GHz. All have 4 MB L3 cache. Exact m3-6Y30, m5-6Y54 and m7-6Y75 identifiers confirmed by Notebookcheck; Apple's configured base clocks differ from Intel's nominal frequencies.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 515	7-core or 8-core GPU
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 1866 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	PCIe-based onboard flash storage; 256 GB with the Core m3 base or 512 GB with Core m5; either can be ordered with Core m7	SSD; consumer models started at 256 GB, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB. Apple's US education price list also lists an 8 GB / 128 GB model with a 7-core GPU.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless design with no moving parts or vents	Fanless
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 11 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	41.4 Wh	49.9 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	0.92 kg (better)	1.29 kg
Thickness
Thickness	13.1 mm (better)	16.1 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	280.5 × 196.5 mm	304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 10 hours wireless web, 11 hours iTunes movie playback or 30 days standby; lithium-polymer. Maker specification sheet says 41.4 Wh; TechRadar's spec table says 39.4 Wh. Chassis tapers from 3.5 to 13.1 mm; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
Charger	29 W USB-C Power Adapter	30 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Rose Gold, Space Grey, Gold, Silver	Gold, Silver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	USB-C, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5	Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.0
Webcam
Webcam	480p FaceTime	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	USB-C supports charging, USB 3.1 Gen 1 up to 5 Gb/s and native DisplayPort 1.2; VGA and HDMI through separate multiport adaptors. The 3.5 mm jack supports iPhone headsets with remote and microphone. No Thunderbolt support (Macworld).	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack
External displays
External displays	One display up to 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz alongside the built-in display, at millions of colours	One external display at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO individually backlit keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and an ambient light sensor; shallow butterfly mechanism (Macworld)	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch with pressure sensing, Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing and Multi-Touch gestures	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	MacBook; 29 W USB-C Power Adapter; USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)