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Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple Macintosh PowerBook 540

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)AppleMacintosh PowerBook 540
Overview
ReleasedMarch 2026May 1994
Display
Screen size13.6″9.5″
Resolution2560 × 1664640 × 480
PanelIPS LCD–
Refresh rate60 Hz–
Brightness500 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology9.5-inch active-matrix greyscale LCD with 64 grey levels at 640 × 480
Pixel density224 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
Display featuresTrue Tone–
Performance
ProcessorApple M5Motorola 68LC040 66 MHz (PowerBook 540c)
CPU cores101
Graphics8-core GPU or 10-core GPU–
Memory16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB4 MB
Storage512 GB to 4 TB240 MB
CPU10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency coresMotorola 68LC040 with 66 MHz internal processor speed and 33 MHz bus interface; 8 KB L1 cache and no floating-point unit
GPUNeural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode–
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory4 MB on the logic board, expandable to 36 MB through one memory expansion slot
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 4 TB240 MB internal SCSI hard drive and Apple SuperDrive floppy drive
CoolingFanless–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 3 hours
Battery capacity53.8 Wh–
Weight1.23 kg3.2 kg
Thickness11.3 mm58 mm
Width × depth304.1 × 215 mm292 × 246 mm
Battery life detailUp to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer batteryTwo high-capacity Type II nickel-metal hydride batteries supplied; Apple claims 1.5–3 hours on one battery or 3–6 hours on two
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 PD–
Fast chargingWith a 70 W or higher USB PD power source–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall–
ColoursSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight–
Connections
Ports2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack–
Wi-FiWi-Fi 7–
Bluetooth6–
Webcam12MP Center Stage–
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 supportADB, serial/LocalTalk, AAUI Ethernet, HDI-30 SCSI, external video, stereo sound input/output and power input; optional internal modem and processor-direct PCMCIA expansion module
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 displayVideo output supports compatible external Apple displays through an adapter; built-in greyscale display can be upgraded to active-matrix colour with Apple's optional upgrade
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys–
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadBuilt-in solid-state trackpad
SpeakersFour-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosTwo built-in speakers and microphone with 16-bit stereo sound
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes–
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box13-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separatelyNotebook, two batteries and power adapter; preinstalled PowerBook Mobility Bundle. Dimensions and metric weight come from Apple's October 1994 Apple Facts

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