Apple MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

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MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

	AppleMacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2009	November 2020
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1280 × 800	2560 × 1600 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	400 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Glossy TFT widescreen display with millions of colours; exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished by Apple.	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Glossy (Notebookcheck)
Display features
Display features	–	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo P7450	Apple M1
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR2)	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory
Memory	2 GB or 4 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	160 GB to 500 GB	128 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7450, with 3 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz front-side bus; exact processor identity confirmed by Notebookcheck. Apple’s MC240 environmental report identifies introduction on 27 May 2009; month precision is retained because an exact first-delivery day is unestablished.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256 MB shared DDR2)	7-core or 8-core GPU
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	Two SO-DIMM slots for 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-6400); 2 GB standard, configurable to 4 GB.	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	160 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 250 GB, 320 GB or 500 GB; slot-loading 8x SuperDrive.	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
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	–	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	55 Wh (better)	49.9 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.27 kg	1.29 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	27.5 mm	16.1 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 55 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.	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
Charger	60 W MagSafe Power Adapter	30 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Polycarbonate enclosure	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	White	Gold, Silver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme draft 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	5.0
Webcam
Webcam	iSight camera	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini-DVI, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output. Display adapters sold separately.	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 external display up to 1920 × 1200 alongside the built-in screen; Mini-DVI adapters support DVI and VGA.	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 keys, 12 function/media keys and four arrow keys	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Scrolling trackpad with a separate button; supports two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag.	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in omnidirectional microphone	Three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
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 ’09.	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)