Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M3) vs Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M3) compared with MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M3)	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2024	July 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.6″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1664 (better)	1440 × 900
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	TN LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel confirmed by AppleInsider's exact-model review. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Pixel density
Pixel density	224 ppi	–
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	–
Display features
Display features	True Tone	–
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3	Intel Core i5-2557M or Intel Core i7-2677M
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	Intel HD Graphics 3000
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)	4 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	128 GB to 256 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	Dual-core Intel Core i5-2557M at 1.7 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz with 3 MB shared L3 cache; the higher storage base is configurable to Core i7-2677M at 1.8 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz and 4 MB cache. Exact identities confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld documents the base-specific upgrades.
GPU
GPU	8-core or 10-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode engine	Intel HD Graphics 3000; 384 MB shared with main memory
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 onboard memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 2 TB	128 GB flash storage with Core i5; 256 GB base supports Core i5 or Core i7. Configurations preserve the base-specific upgrade restrictions; memory cannot be upgraded after purchase.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	52.6 Wh (better)	50 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.24 kg (better)	1.35 kg
Thickness
Thickness	11.3 mm (better)	17 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 215 mm	325 × 227 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Built-in 50 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	30 W USB-C adapter with the 8-core GPU model; 35 W Dual USB-C Port Compact adapter with the 10-core GPU, 512GB model	45 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm
Fast charging
Fast charging	With the 70 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Colours
Colours	Silver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	FaceTime camera
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gb/s) and USB 4 (up to 40 Gb/s); MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support	Two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, MagSafe, SD card slot and headphone jack supporting the Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone. DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI require separate adapters.
External displays
External displays	One at up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display; with the lid closed, a second at up to 5K 60 Hz	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Omnidirectional microphone
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	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)	MacBook Air, power adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Lion, iLife and documentation; Lion Recovery