Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	June 2012
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 Notebookcheck'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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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 M5	Intel Core i5-3427U or Intel Core i7-3667U
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	4 GB or 8 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	128 GB to 512 GB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	Dual-core Intel Core i5-3427U at 1.8 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache; the 256 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 i5 identity confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld documents the higher-base-only i7 upgrade, whose exact identity is confirmed by MacGeneration's review of the 13-inch i7 configuration.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode	Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 8 GB
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	128 GB base with Core i5; 256 GB base configurable to 512 GB flash storage and either processor. Memory upgrade applies to either base. Configurations preserve the base-specific upgrade restrictions documented by Macworld.
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	53.8 Wh (better)	50 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.23 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	Sold separately in the UK (30 W, 35 W dual-port or 70 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 30 W over USB PD	45 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm
Colours
Colours	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	12MP Center Stage	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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	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, and SD card slot. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require separate adapters.
External displays
External displays	Up to two at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at up to 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz, alongside the built-in display	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
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
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, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately	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