Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)AppleMacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Overview
ReleasedMarch 2026July 2019
Display
Screen size13.6″13.3″
Resolution2560 × 1664 (better)2560 × 1600
PanelIPS LCDIPS LCD
Refresh rate60 Hz–
Brightness500 nits500 nits
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technologyLED-backlit Retina IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density224 ppi227 ppi
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion coloursP3 wide colour
Display featuresTrue ToneTrue Tone; scaled resolutions of 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 or 1024 × 640
Performance
ProcessorApple M5Intel Core i5-8257U or Intel Core i7-8557U
CPU cores104
CPU threads–8
Graphics8-core GPU or 10-core GPUIntel Iris Plus Graphics 645
Memory16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)8 GB or 16 GB
Storage512 GB to 4 TB (better)128 GB to 2 TB
CPU10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency coresQuad-core Intel Core i5 at 1.4 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz, or Core i7 at 1.7 GHz with up to 4.5 GHz; both with 128 MB eDRAM. Exact i5-8257U identifier confirmed by Macworld and i7-8557U by Notebookcheck. Apple T2 Security Chip (Macworld).
GPUNeural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decodeIntel Iris Plus Graphics 645
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory; 8 GB standard or 16 GB option
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 4 TBSSD; 128 GB standard with 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB options; storage is fixed and cannot be upgraded internally (Macworld)
CoolingFanless–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 10 hours
Battery capacity53.8 Wh58.2 Wh (better)
Weight1.23 kg (better)1.37 kg
Thickness11.3 mm (better)14.9 mm
Width × depth304.1 × 215 mm304.1 × 212.4 mm
Battery life detailUp to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer batteryUp to 10 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback, and up to 30 days standby; lithium-polymer. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
ChargerSold 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 PD61 W USB-C Power Adapter
Fast chargingWith a 70 W or higher USB PD power source–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overallAluminium enclosure (Laptop Mag)
ColoursSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, MidnightSilver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack2 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-FiWi-Fi 7Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth65.0
Webcam12MP Center Stage720p FaceTime HD
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detail2 × 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 supportTwo USB-C ports support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 at up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 at up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack
External displaysUp 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 displayOne 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with over a billion colours; two 4096 × 2304 at 60 Hz with millions of colours; or two 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz with over a billion colours, alongside the built-in display. Separate adaptors for VGA, HDMI, DVI or Thunderbolt 2.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with 64 US or 65 ISO keys, four arrow keys, ambient light sensor and Touch Bar; butterfly mechanism (Laptop Mag)
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadForce Touch with pressure sensing, Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing and Multi-Touch gestures
SpeakersFour-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosStereo speakers with high dynamic range
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modesThree microphones
BiometricsTouch IDTouch ID integrated into the Touch Bar
In the box13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separatelyMacBook Pro; 61 W USB-C Power Adapter; USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)

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