Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple Macintosh PowerBook 100

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with Macintosh PowerBook 100

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 100
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	October 1991
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.6″	9″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1664 (better)	640 × 400
Panel
Panel	IPS 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	9-inch backlit FSTN monochrome LCD, 640 × 400 pixels at 1-bit colour (Apple service guide).
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	68000 16 MHz (PowerBook 100)
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	–
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	2 MB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	20 MB to 40 MB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	16 MHz Motorola 68000; no FPU or processor cache.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; 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	Unified memory	2 MB on the logic board and one expansion slot; 8 MB maximum.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	20 MB or 40 MB internal SCSI hard drive; no built-in floppy drive. The HDI-20 port accepts an external floppy drive.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 4 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	53.8 Wh	–
Weight
Weight	1.23 kg (better)	2.3 kg
Thickness
Thickness	11.3 mm	–
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 215 mm	–
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Sealed lead-acid battery; Apple claimed 2–4 hours of use before recharging.
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	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	–
Colours
Colours	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	–
Webcam
Webcam	12MP Center Stage	–
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	One Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) port, HDI-20 external floppy connector, HDI-30 SCSI connector, printer serial port and speaker output. No built-in Ethernet or video output.
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	–
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	–
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Built-in trackball.
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	–
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	–
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	Original system software was System 7.0.1. Apple dates the model's introduction to 21 October 1991; its technical sheet does not state a separate first-sale day.