Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M1)

	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	November 2020
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	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	LED-backlit glossy widescreen display; TN panel confirmed by Notebookcheck; 16:10 aspect ratio	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Millions of colours	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Glossy (Notebookcheck)
Display features
Display features	Scaled 16:10 resolutions of 1280 × 800, 1152 × 720 and 1024 × 640; 4:3 resolutions of 1024 × 768 and 800 × 600	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5350U or Intel Core i7-5650U	Apple M1
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 512 GB	128 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 1.8 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache, or Core i7 at 2.2 GHz with up to 3.2 GHz and 4 MB shared L3 cache. Exact i5-5350U and i7-5650U identifiers confirmed by Notebookcheck. Intel's current i7 specification table says 3.1 GHz, while its heading and Apple's sheet say 3.2 GHz; the chip record omits the conflicting maximum.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 6000	7-core or 8-core GPU
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	PCIe-based SSD; 128 GB or 256 GB standard, configurable to 256 GB or 512 GB as appropriate	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 12 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	54 Wh (better)	49.9 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.35 kg	1.29 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	17 mm	16.1 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 12 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and up to 30 days standby; lithium-polymer. Apple's May 2017 test used 1.8 GHz Core i5, 8 GB memory and 256 GB storage. Chassis tapers from 3 to 17 mm; 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	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	Gold, Silver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt 2, MagSafe 2, SD card slot, 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	720p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 3 USB-A ports up to 5 Gb/s; one Thunderbolt 2 port up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort; MagSafe 2; SDXC card slot; 3.5 mm headphone jack	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 60 Hz alongside the built-in display, at millions of colours; VGA, HDMI, DVI and dual-link DVI through separate adaptors	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, inverted-T arrow keys and an 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 scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, tap and drag gestures; no Force Touch (Notebookcheck)	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 Air; power adapter; AC wall plug; power cord	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)