Request a product

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

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)AppleMacintosh PowerBook 540c
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 backlit active-matrix colour LCD; 256 colours at 640 × 480 or 32,768 colours at 640 × 400
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 GB12 MB
Storage512 GB to 4 TB320 MB to 500 MB
CPU10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency coresMotorola 68LC040 running internally at 66 MHz with a 33 MHz bus; 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; Apple's Japanese configurations supplied 12 MB
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 4 TBInternal SCSI hard drive and 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive floppy drive; Apple lists 240–500 MB in English support and 320/500 MB Japanese configurations
CoolingFanless–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 3 hours
Battery capacity53.8 Wh–
Weight1.23 kg3.3 kg
Thickness11.3 mm57 mm
Width × depth304.1 × 215 mm292 × 245 mm
Battery life detailUp to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer batteryTwo removable nickel-metal hydride intelligent batteries were supplied in Japan; Apple claimed three hours per battery. Published 3.3 kg weight includes both batteries.
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, RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, HDI-30 SCSI, AAUI Ethernet, mini-15 video and stereo audio input/output; an optional PCMCIA module supported two Type II or one Type III card
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 displayBuilt-in video output supports mirroring or an extended desktop with an optional Apple video adapter cable
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys–
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadBuilt-in solid-state trackpad in place of a trackball
SpeakersFour-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosTwo built-in stereo speakers and a microphone
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 separatelyApple's Japanese 12 MB/320 MB configuration included two batteries, power adapter and PowerBook Mobility Bundle software

More comparisons