Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	ApplePowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	February 2005
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.6″	15.2″
Resolution
Resolution	2560 × 1664 (better)	1280 × 854
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type	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	15.2-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.
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	PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Early 2005) or PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Early 2005)
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB DDR) or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	512 MB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	80 GB to 100 GB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	1.5 or 1.67 GHz PowerPC G 4 with 512 KB on-chip L 2 and 167 MHz bus. Retained sheet processor paragraph omits 1.5 GHz, but factory configuration table and UK release confirm it. Exact silicon supplier omitted.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB DDR standard; 128 MB plus dual-link DVI build-to-order restricted to 1.67 GHz. UK release higher-base bullet ambiguously mentions dual-link with 64 MB; its BTO paragraph and full sheet tie dual-link to 128 MB.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	512 MB PC 2700 DDR 333 in a single SO-DIMM; two slots, maximum 2 GB.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	80 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard on both processors; 100 GB build-to-order alternative, with Sudden Motion Sensor. Combo on 1.5 GHz base, 8× DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive on 1.67 GHz; SuperDrive upgrade available.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	53.8 Wh (better)	50 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.23 kg (better)	2.5 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	50 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours. Maker reference 2.5 kg includes battery and optical drive; varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 2.8 cm, width 34.8 cm, depth 24.1 cm.
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	65 W power adapter
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	2.0 + EDR
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	Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone 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	DVI with VGA adapter and S-video/composite output; up to 2048×1536 external. Optional 128 MB dual-link configuration on 1.67 GHz supports 30-inch Cinema HD display.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor on both processor configurations; Apple states up to ten times brighter backlighting than previous generation.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Internal omnidirectional microphone
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	Apple announced 31 January 2005 with availability planned later that week. Ken Mingis’s 10 February Computerworld account confirms 15-inch units had reached buyers by then; February precision retained without a verified first shipping day. Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’05.