Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) vs Apple MacBook Air 15″ (M3)

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MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) compared with MacBook Air 15″ (M3)

	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)	AppleMacBook Air 15″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2012	March 2024
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	15.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	2880 × 1864 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Glossy LED-backlit widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact-model review. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	224 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Display features
Display features	–	True Tone; 60 Hz refresh rate (Notebookcheck)
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3427U or Intel Core i7-3667U	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 512 GB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	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.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics	10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; media engine supports H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, video and ProRes encode/decode, and AV1 decode
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 8 GB	Unified memory; 8 GB at launch, configurable to 16 GB or 24 GB; standard memory increased to 16 GB on 30 October 2024
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	100 GB/s
Storage type
Storage type	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.	SSD, configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB
Cooling
Cooling	–	Fanless
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 7 hours	Up to 18 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	50 Wh	66.5 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.35 kg (better)	1.51 kg
Thickness
Thickness	17 mm	11.5 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	340.4 × 237.6 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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.	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery
Charger
Charger	45 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management	35 W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter
Fast charging
Fast charging	–	With the 70 W USB-C Power Adapter
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; tapered thickness from 3 to 17 mm	100% recycled aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver, Starlight, Space Grey, Midnight
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot	2 × Thunderbolt 3, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.3
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD	1080p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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.	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports supporting charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support
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, HDMI audio and video through a compatible adapter	One external display up to 6K 60 Hz alongside the built-in display; close the lid to use a second external display up to 5K 60 Hz
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor	Backlit Magic Keyboard; 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys with 12 full-height function keys; ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	–	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	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	15-inch MacBook Air, 35 W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)