Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M1) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M1) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M1)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2020	March 2015
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1600	2560 × 1600
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	400 nits (better)	300 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density
Pixel density	227 ppi	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); millions of colours	Standard colour gamut (sRGB)
Screen finish
Screen finish	Glossy (Notebookcheck)	–
Display features
Display features	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)	Apple specifies a 900:1 contrast ratio; scaled resolutions of 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 or 1024 × 640
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M1	Intel Core i5-5257U, Intel Core i5-5287U or Intel Core i7-5557U
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU	Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 2 TB (better)	128 GB to 1 TB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz, Core i5 at 2.9 GHz with up to 3.3 GHz, or Core i7 at 3.1 GHz with up to 3.4 GHz. Exact i5-5257U, i5-5287U and i7-5557U identifiers confirmed by Notebookcheck; Core i5 processors have 3 MB shared L3 cache and Core i7 has 4 MB.
GPU
GPU	7-core or 8-core GPU	Intel Iris Graphics 6100 integrated graphics
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory, configurable to 16 GB	8 GB of 1866 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	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.	PCIe-based flash storage; Apple lists 128 GB and 256 GB bases with 2.7 GHz processors, each configurable to 2.9 GHz Core i5 or 3.1 GHz Core i7. The 512 GB base has a 2.9 GHz processor, configurable to Core i7 and 1 TB storage. Its general configure-to-order list also says up to 1 TB without specifying every processor/storage combination.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	49.9 Wh	74.9 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.29 kg (better)	1.58 kg
Thickness
Thickness	16.1 mm (better)	18 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 212.4 mm	314 × 219 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web, 12 hours iTunes movie playback or 30 days standby. Apple tested 2.9 GHz Core i5 systems for web and movie playback, and 2.7 GHz Core i5 systems for standby. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	30 W USB-C Power Adapter	60 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Gold, Silver, Space Grey	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, headphone jack, SD card slot, MagSafe 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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	Two Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort video, two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 2 power and 3.5 mm headphone jack with digital/analogue line output and iPhone headset support; separate Thunderbolt Ethernet and FireWire adaptors available
External displays
External displays	One external display at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display	Two external displays up to 3840 × 2160 alongside the built-in screen; HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. Mini DisplayPort adaptors provide DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 function keys and inverted-T arrow keys; ambient light sensor	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, inverted-T arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; wide stereo sound; Dolby Atmos playback	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming	Dual microphones
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air, 30 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	MacBook Pro; MagSafe 2 Power Adapter; power cord; AC wall plug