Apple MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

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MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

	AppleMacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2012	November 2020
Display
Screen size
Screen size	11.6″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1366 × 768	2560 × 1600 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	400 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact-model review. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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 i5-3317U or Intel Core i7-3667U	Apple M1
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	64 GB to 512 GB	128 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core i5-3317U at 1.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.6 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache; the 128 GB base is configurable to Core i7-3667U at 2.0 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz and 4 MB cache. Exact identities confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld documents the higher-base-only processor upgrade.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics	7-core or 8-core GPU
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 8 GB	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	64 GB base with Core i5; 128 GB base configurable to 256 GB or 512 GB flash storage and either processor. Memory upgrade applies to either base. Configurations preserve the base-specific upgrade restrictions documented by Macworld.	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 5 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	35 Wh	49.9 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.08 kg (better)	1.29 kg
Thickness
Thickness	17 mm	16.1 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	300 × 192 mm	304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in 35 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5 hours wireless web or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
Charger	45 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management	30 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	Gold, Silver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.0
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, MagSafe 2 and headphone jack supporting the Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone; no card reader. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require separate adapters.	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	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring, HDMI audio and video through a compatible adapter	One external display at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone	Three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air, power adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Lion at launch, with a free upgrade to Mountain Lion when available; iLife and documentation	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)