Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple Macintosh PowerBook Duo 250

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with Macintosh PowerBook Duo 250

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	AppleMacintosh PowerBook Duo 250
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	1993
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	Backlit active-matrix LCD with 16 grey levels. Apple's product description and technical table specify a 9-inch diagonal; the developer note gives a 192 × 120 mm active pixel area
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 68030 33 MHz (PowerBook 165)
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)	4 MB or 12 MB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	200 MB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	Motorola 68030 at 33 MHz, with integrated memory-management unit; no built-in floating-point coprocessor. An optional dock provides a maths coprocessor
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	4 MB on the logic board and one Duo expansion-card slot; maximum 24 MB. Apple kits expand to 8 or 12 MB; larger capacities require third-party cards
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	Internal 200 MB SCSI drive in Apple's 4/200 and 12/200 ordering configurations. The developer note mentions a 120 MB option without an ordering configuration. External floppy drive requires a Duo Floppy Adapter or MiniDock
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 6 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	53.8 Wh	–
Weight
Weight	1.23 kg (better)	1.9 kg
Thickness
Thickness	11.3 mm (better)	36 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	304.1 × 215 mm	277 × 216 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Removable Type II nickel-metal hydride battery; Apple's technical table claims 2.5–6 hours. Its later developer-note feature list and block diagram contain conflicting battery, colour-display and memory claims; the exact model's technical table controls these specifications
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	RS-422 serial/LocalTalk, 152-pin docking connector, power input and optional internal fax/data modem. External video, SCSI and floppy connections require docking accessories
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	Optional PowerBook Duo Dock or Duo MiniDock provides external video and desktop connections
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Built-in keyboard with two-level tilt adjustment and Caps Lock indicator
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	19 mm trackball with two buttons
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Built-in speaker; 8-bit monophonic sound input/output at 11 or 22 kHz
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Built-in omnidirectional electret microphone, documented in the exact-model technical table despite the support summary's Mic Type none
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	Computer, battery, AC adapter, System 7.1 software and documentation. The 12/200 configuration adds an internal Express Modem. Maker introduction was 21 October 1993; The Mac December 1993 current buying guide confirms retail presence that year without an exact first-sale month