Apple MacBook Air 13″ (M5) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz)

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MacBook Air 13″ (M5) compared with PowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz)

	AppleMacBook Air 13″ (M5)	ApplePowerBook G4 (1GHz/867MHz)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	November 2002
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Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	15.2-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology, brightness and refresh unpublished.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 867 MHz (PowerBook Titanium 2002) or PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook Titanium 2002)
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (32 MB DDR) or ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	40 GB to 60 GB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	867 MHz or 1 GHz PowerPC G4, 133 MHz bus and 1 MB DDR L3 cache. 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 9000 with 32 MB DDR at 867 MHz or 64 MB at 1 GHz, AGP 4×.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	Two PC133 SO-DIMM slots, maximum 1 GB. Base 256 MB at 867 MHz or 512 MB at 1 GHz.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	40 GB at 867 MHz or 60 GB at 1 GHz, 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/66. Lower configuration offers 60 GB build-to-order. Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW at 867 MHz; DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive at 1 GHz. No unproven lower-storage 1 GHz combination expanded.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	53.8 Wh	61 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.23 kg (better)	2.45 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	61 Wh lithium-ion, up to five hours. Current maker reference weight 2.45 kg, versus UK launch rounded 2.4 kg; current sheet retained. Weight includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 2.6 cm, width 34.1 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	–
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	Titanium 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 802.11b; optional at 867 MHz, installed at 1 GHz
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	Two 12 Mbps USB ports, FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone output. Bluetooth via optional external USB adapter.
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	Dual display and mirroring at up to 2048 × 1536 on an external display. DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters included; ADC displays require separate adapter.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size keyboard with embedded numeric keypad
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	Four-speaker sound system; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Two stereo speakers
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	Power adapter, modem cable and video adapters. Apple UK confirms 867 MHz available now on 6 November 2002; 1 GHz availability was scheduled for mid-November, not asserted as the same first delivery day.