Apple MacBook Air 15″ (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

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MacBook Air 15″ (M5) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)

	AppleMacBook Air 15″ (M5)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	June 2017
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.3″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	2880 × 1864 (better)	2880 × 1800
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	500 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density
Pixel density	224 ppi	220 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	Wide colour (P3)
Display features
Display features	True Tone	Scaled resolutions of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M5	Intel Core i7-7700HQ, Intel Core i7-7820HQ or Intel Core i7-7920HQ
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU	AMD Radeon Pro 555 or AMD Radeon Pro 560
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	16 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	256 GB to 2 TB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	Quad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.8 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz and 6 MB L3 cache, or at 2.9 GHz with up to 3.9 GHz and 8 MB L3 cache; both configurable to 3.1 GHz with up to 4.1 GHz and 8 MB L3 cache. Notebookcheck confirms the base i7-7700HQ; Les Numériques confirms i7-7820HQ; AppleInsider.ru identifies the optional i7-7920HQ, cross-checked against Intel's specifications.
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode	Intel HD Graphics 630 with automatic switching to discrete Radeon graphics. The 2.8 GHz base has Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB GDDR5, configurable to 560 with 4 GB GDDR5; the 2.9 GHz base has Radeon Pro 560 with 4 GB GDDR5.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	16 GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	PCIe-based onboard SSD; 256 GB base with 2.8 GHz processor configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB; 512 GB base with 2.9 GHz processor configurable to 1 TB or 2 TB. The optional 3.1 GHz processor retains its base configuration's graphics and storage choices.
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	–
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	66.5 Wh	76 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.51 kg (better)	1.83 kg
Thickness
Thickness	11.5 mm (better)	15.5 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	340.4 × 237.6 mm	349.3 × 240.7 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's May 2017 tests used the 2.8 GHz Core i7, 16 GB memory and 256 GB SSD. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	Sold separately in the UK (35 W dual-port or 70 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 35 W over USB PD	87 W USB-C 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	Silver; Space Grey
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	4 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	4.2
Webcam
Webcam	12MP Center Stage	720p FaceTime HD
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	Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack. VGA, HDMI and Thunderbolt 2 output require separate adaptors.
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	Built-in screen plus two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours, four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, or four 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 64 US or 65 ISO keys, four arrow keys, Touch Bar and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Three microphones
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	Touch ID fingerprint sensor integrated into the Touch Bar
In the box
In the box	15-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately	15-inch MacBook Pro; 87 W USB-C Power Adapter; 2 m USB-C Charge Cable