Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) vs Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M4)

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MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) compared with MacBook Air 13″ (M4)

	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M4)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2015	March 2025
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.6″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	2560 × 1664 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit widescreen LCD; TN panel confirmed by Macworld and Ars; millions of colours	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	224 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	Glossy	–
Display features
Display features	Native 1440 × 900; other supported modes include 1280 × 800, 1152 × 720 and 1024 × 640 at 16:10, or 1024 × 768 and 800 × 600 at 4:3	True Tone
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5250U or Intel Core i7-5650U	Apple M4
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	10
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 512 GB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 1.6 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache, configurable to Core i7 at 2.2 GHz with 4 MB cache. Apple UK specifies up to 3.2 GHz for the i7; Intel's current ARK title also says 3.2 GHz but its turbo table says 3.1 GHz. Macworld confirms the i5-5250U and i7-5650U identifiers.	10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 6000 integrated graphics	8-core or 10-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB or 8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory; 8 GB maximum. The launch configuration had 4 GB with an 8 GB option; Macworld records the move to 8 GB as standard in spring 2016.	Unified memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	120 GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	128 GB or 256 GB PCIe-based flash storage; configurable to 512 GB	SSD, configurable up to 2 TB
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)	53.8 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.35 kg	1.24 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	17 mm	11.3 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	304.1 × 215 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 12 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback, or 30 days standby. Apple's February 2015 tests used preproduction 1.6 GHz Core i5 systems. 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 adapter with the 8-core GPU model; 35 W Dual USB-C Port adapter with the 10-core GPU model
Fast charging
Fast charging	–	With the 70 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; more than 55% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt 2, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.3
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	12MP Center Stage
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s; Thunderbolt 2 up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output; MagSafe 2 power port; SDXC card slot; 3.5 mm headphone jack supporting Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI need separate adaptors.	2 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40 Gb/s); MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support
External displays
External displays	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 3840 × 2160, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring	Up to two 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 and four arrow keys in an inverted T layout; ambient light sensor	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, tap, double-tap and drag; no Force Touch	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air; power adaptor; AC wall plug; power cord	13-inch MacBook Air, 30 W or 35 W Dual USB-C Port power adapter (by model), USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)