Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) vs Apple MacBook Air 15″ (M4)

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MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) compared with MacBook Air 15″ (M4)

	AppleMacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012)	AppleMacBook Air 15″ (M4)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2012	March 2025
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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3427U or Intel Core i7-3667U	Apple M4
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	10
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	10-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 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.	10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics	10-core GPU; 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	4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 8 GB	Unified memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	120 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 up to 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; more than 55% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot	2 × Thunderbolt 4, 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	12MP Center Stage
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.	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
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	Up to two at up to 6K 60 Hz, alongside the built-in display
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 including 12 full-height function keys
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)