Apple MacBook Air (Mid 2009) vs Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Air (Mid 2009) compared with MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Air (Mid 2009)	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2009	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1280 × 800	1440 × 900 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	TN LCD
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; panel technology, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact-model review. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 or Intel Core 2 Duo SL9600	Intel Core i5-3427U or Intel Core i7-3667U
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M	Intel HD Graphics 4000
Memory
Memory	2 GB	4 GB or 8 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	120 GB to 128 GB	128 GB to 512 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 at 1.86 GHz or SL9600 at 2.13 GHz, 6 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz frontside bus. Exact identities confirmed by EveryMac and Notebookcheck.	Dual-core Intel Core i5-3427U at 1.8 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache; the 256 GB base is configurable to Core i7-3667U at 2.0 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz and 4 MB cache. Exact i5 identity confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld documents the higher-base-only i7 upgrade, whose exact identity is confirmed by MacGeneration's review of the 13-inch i7 configuration.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory	Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics
Memory type
Memory type	2 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 onboard memory, not upgradeable	4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 8 GB
Storage type
Storage type	The 1.86 GHz base has a 120 GB 4200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; the 2.13 GHz base has a 128 GB solid-state drive. Configurations preserve these published combinations. Optional external USB MacBook Air SuperDrive; no built-in optical drive.	128 GB base with Core i5; 256 GB base configurable to 512 GB flash storage and either processor. Memory upgrade applies to either base. Configurations preserve the base-specific upgrade restrictions documented by Macworld.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	–	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	40 Wh	50 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.36 kg	1.35 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	19.4 mm	17 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	325 × 227 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in 40 Wh lithium-polymer battery. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; no runtime figure on the current maker technical sheet.	Built-in 50 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	45 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management	45 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 4 to 19.4 mm	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	USB-A, MagSafe, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n draft; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	Built-in iSight camera	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	One USB 2.0 port up to 480 Mb/s, Mini DisplayPort video output, headphone jack and MagSafe. USB Ethernet Adapter supplied; DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI video adapters sold separately.	Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, MagSafe 2 and headphone jack supporting the Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone, and SD card slot. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require separate adapters.
External displays
External displays	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring, HDMI audio and video through a compatible adapter
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger and four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag gestures	Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Mono speaker	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone	Omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	MacBook Air, 45 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, USB Ethernet Adapter, install/restore DVDs, display cleaning cloth and documentation; Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’09	MacBook Air, power adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Lion at launch, with a free upgrade to Mountain Lion when available; iLife and documentation