Apple MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) vs Apple MacBook Air (Late 2008)

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MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) compared with MacBook Air (Late 2008)

	AppleMacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)	AppleMacBook Air (Late 2008)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2008	November 2008
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1280 × 800	1280 × 800
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen display with millions of colours; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished by Apple.	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 or Intel Core 2 Duo P8600	Intel Core 2 Duo SL9300 or Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	2
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR3)	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB (better)	2 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 320 GB (better)	120 GB to 128 GB
CPU
CPU	2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 or 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo P8600, with 3 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz front-side bus. Exact chip identities are confirmed by Geekbench’s contemporary tested-machine configurations and Notebookcheck.	Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo SL9300 at 1.6 GHz or SL9400 at 1.86 GHz, 6 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz frontside bus. Exact identities confirmed by EveryMac.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR3)	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
Memory type
Memory type	Two SO-DIMM slots for 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-8500); 2 GB standard, configurable to 4 GB.	2 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 onboard memory, not upgradeable
Storage type
Storage type	5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive: 160 GB standard at 2.0 GHz or 250 GB at 2.4 GHz, with 250 GB or 320 GB hard drives and a 128 GB solid-state drive available to order. 8x SuperDrive; the 160 GB base drive is not included for the higher-clocked model.	The 1.6 GHz base has a 120 GB 4200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; the 1.86 GHz base has a 128 GB solid-state drive. Configurations preserve these published combinations. Optional external USB MacBook Air SuperDrive; no built-in optical drive.
Battery and size
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	45 Wh (better)	37 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.04 kg	1.36 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	24.1 mm	19.4 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	325 × 227 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 45 Wh lithium-polymer battery. Maker reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Battery-life hours omitted because the archived maker specification does not publish them.	Built-in 37 Wh lithium-polymer battery. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; no runtime figure on the current maker technical sheet.
Charger
Charger	60 W MagSafe Power Adapter	45 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 4 to 19.4 mm
Colours
Colours	Aluminium	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	USB-A, MagSafe, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme draft 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11n draft; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Webcam	iSight camera	Built-in iSight camera
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output. No FireWire; display adapters sold separately.	One USB 2.0 port up to 480 Mb/s, Mini DisplayPort video output, headphone jack and MagSafe. DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI adapters are sold separately; Ethernet requires an optional USB adapter.
External displays
External displays	One external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen; Mini DisplayPort adapters sold separately.	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function/media keys and four arrow keys; backlit at 2.4 GHz, unlit at 2.0 GHz	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with integrated button; supports scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe and four-finger swipe.	Multi-Touch trackpad with two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger and four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Mono speaker
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in omnidirectional microphone	Omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	MacBook, display cleaning cloth, removable battery, 60 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and iLife ’08 at launch.	MacBook Air, 45 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, install/restore DVDs, display cleaning cloth and documentation; Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’08