Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple Macintosh PowerBook 550c

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with Macintosh PowerBook 550c

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	AppleMacintosh PowerBook 550c
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	1995
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.6″	10.4″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1664 (better)	640 × 480
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	Backlit active-matrix colour LCD; 256 colours at 640 × 480 or 32768 colours at 640 × 400 according to Apple Japan
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	Motorola 68040 66 MHz (PowerBook 550c)
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)	12 MB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	750 MB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	Motorola 68040 with MMU and floating-point unit; Apple specifies 66 MHz internal processor clock and 33 MHz bus interface. The English support table incorrectly says no FPU, conflicting with the exact Japanese sheet and original Apple technical article
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode	Service Source specifies 512 KB video memory; built-in video output supports 256 colours
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	4 MB on the logic board plus an 8 MB expansion card in the standard 12 MB configuration; expandable to 36 MB using one 70 ns or faster low-power self-refreshing card
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	Internal 750 MB SCSI hard drive and 1.4 MB Apple SuperDrive; full KanjiTalk CD-ROM installation needs an external CD-ROM drive
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 3 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	53.8 Wh	–
Weight
Weight	1.23 kg (better)	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	11.3 mm (better)	57 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 215 mm	292 × 245 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Two removable nickel-metal hydride intelligent batteries; Apple Japan claims three hours per battery, while the original technical article and service manual say up to 3.5 hours. Recharge takes two hours asleep or off, four hours running. Headline runtime is per battery rather than an inferred combined claim. Published 3.1 kg includes two batteries; Service Source instead lists 3.3 kg
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	40 W power adapter according to Apple Service Source
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	Dark-grey enclosure according to the original Apple technical article
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	ADB, RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, AAUI Ethernet, HDI-30 SCSI, stereo audio input/output and external video. A 90-pin processor-direct slot accepts the optional PCMCIA module for two Type II or one Type III card; Service Source places it in the second battery bay
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	Mirroring or extended desktop using an optional video adapter; Japanese specifications list Macintosh, VGA and SVGA support. Service Source identifies a micro DV-14 connector, while the English support table labels it mini-15
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Japanese JIS keyboard with tilt adjustment and power-on key; original Apple technical article specifies 79 keys including twelve function keys, unlike Service Source's generic domestic/ISO counts
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Built-in solid-state trackpad with adjustable acceleration
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Two built-in stereo speakers and 16-bit audio with 11.035, 22.050 or 44.100 kHz sampling
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Built-in electret microphone; Japanese specifications call it directional while the original technical article and service manual say omnidirectional
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	12 MB/750 MB PowerBook, two intelligent batteries, power adapter, KanjiTalk 7.5 CD-ROM and system disks, PowerBook Mobility Bundle, documentation and warranty. Apple records introduction on 30 May 1995, while contemporary TidBITS coverage expected late-June availability; the July maker technical article confirms a released Japan-only product without a first-sale day or month