Apple MacBook Air 15″ (M5) vs ASUS Zenbook S16 (UM5606WA, 2024)

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MacBook Air 15″ (M5) compared with Zenbook S16 (UM5606WA, 2024)

	AppleMacBook Air 15″ (M5)	ASUSZenbook S16 (UM5606WA, 2024)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	July 2024
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.3″	16″
Resolution
Resolution	2880 × 1864 (better)	2880 × 1800
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	OLED
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	120 Hz (better)
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits (better)	400 nits
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	–	500 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	Yes or No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina display; LED-backlit with IPS technology	16-inch 3K OLED, 16:10; touch with stylus support, or non-touch depending on configuration
Pixel density
Pixel density	224 ppi	–
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	100% DCI-P3; Pantone Validated
Display features
Display features	True Tone	0.2 ms response, 1,000,000:1 contrast, DisplayHDR True Black 500, 1.07 billion colours; TÜV Rheinland low blue light and SGS Eye Care; 90% screen-to-body ratio
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M5	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 or AMD Ryzen AI 9 365
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	10 or 12
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	20 or 24
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU	Radeon 890M Graphics or Radeon 880M Graphics
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	50 TOPS
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB	24 GB or 32 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 4 TB (better)	1 TB to 2 TB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores	AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 or Ryzen AI 9 365; this file covers the 2024 UM5606WA platform, rather than later UM5606KA or UM5606GA processors
GPU
GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode	Integrated Radeon 890M with HX 370 or Radeon 880M with Ryzen AI 9 365
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	AMD XDNA 2 NPU, up to 50 TOPS
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory	24 or 32 GB onboard LPDDR5X; not upgradable
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	153 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up to 4 TB	1 or 2 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD; one M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slot including the installed drive
Cooling
Cooling	Fanless	Dual fans, ultra-slim vapour chamber and geometric grille
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 20.7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	66.5 Wh	78 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.51 kg	1.5 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	11.5 mm (better)	12.9 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	340.4 × 237.6 mm	353.6 × 243 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	78 Wh, 4-cell Li-ion; ASUS offline video tests at 150 nits with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off give 20.7 hours for HX 370/32 GB/2 TB, 19.7 hours for HX 370/24 GB/1 TB and 19.6 hours for Ryzen AI 9 365/24 GB/1 TB
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	65 W USB-C adapter; inclusion varies by region
Fast charging
Fast charging	With a 70 W or higher USB PD power source	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 55% recycled content overall	Ceraluminum lid and aluminium body; 11.9–12.9 mm thick
Colours
Colours	Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight	Scandinavian White; Zumaia Grey (availability varies by region)
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB4, USB-A, HDMI, SD card slot, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	6	5.4
Webcam
Webcam	12MP Center Stage	1080p with IR for Windows Hello
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	Windows
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	2 × USB4 40 Gbps with display and power delivery; USB-A 10 Gbps; HDMI 2.1 TMDS; SD 4.0 reader; 3.5 mm combo audio
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	–
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys	Backlit chiclet keyboard, 1.1 mm key travel and Copilot key
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Precision touchpad with Smart Gesture
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos	Six speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes	Built-in microphone array
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	IR camera for Windows Hello
In the box
In the box	15-inch MacBook Air, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m); power adapter sold separately	–