Apple PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz) vs Apple PowerBook G4 (Original 2001)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

PowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz) compared with PowerBook G4 (Original 2001)

	ApplePowerBook G4 (12-inch, 1.5GHz)	ApplePowerBook G4 (Original 2001)
Overview
Released
Released	2005	January 2001
Display
Screen size
Screen size	12.1″	15.2″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	1152 × 768 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	12.1-inch TFT XGA active-matrix display; panel technology and refresh unpublished.	15.2-inch TFT widescreen active-matrix display. Exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 12-inch 2005)	PowerPC G4 400 MHz (PowerBook Original 2001) or PowerPC G4 500 MHz (PowerBook Original 2001)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (64 MB DDR)	ATI Rage Mobility 128 (8 MB SDRAM)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 1.25 GB (better)	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	60 GB to 100 GB (better)	10 GB to 30 GB
CPU
CPU	1.5 GHz PowerPC G4, 512 KB on-chip L2 and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier omitted.	400 or 500 MHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine; 1 MB backside L2 cache on 200 or 250 MHz dedicated 64-bit cache bus, 100 MHz system bus, 64 KB L1 (32 KB data/32 KB instruction). Exact supplier/SKU omitted.
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64 MB DDR video memory and AGP 4×.	ATI Rage Mobility 128 with 8 MB SDRAM and AGP 2 ×.
Memory type
Memory type	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; one SO-DIMM slot, maximum 1.25 GB.	128 MB stock at 400 MHz or 256 MB at 500 MHz; two PC100 SO-DIMM slots support up to 1 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive with Sudden Motion Sensor. Combo base60GB; SuperDrive base80GB; 100GB build-to-order on either. 8× DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive; optical-drive differences retained in details.	400 MHz stock 10 GB, 500 MHz stock 20 GB Ultra ATA/66. Maker-listed 30 GB build-to-order option retained for both with published RAM maxima; no intermediate capacities invented. Slot-loading DVD-ROM reads DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM and CD-ROM.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 5 hours	Up to 5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	50 Wh	50 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.1 kg (better)	2.4 kg
Thickness
Thickness	–	26 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	–	341 × 241 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	50 Wh lithium-ion, up to five hours. Published reference weight 2.1 kg with battery and optical drive; varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 3.0 cm, width 27.7 cm, depth 21.9 cm.	50 Wh lithium-ion; up to five hours maker claim. Published 2.4 kg includes battery and varies by configuration/manufacturing process. Metric dimensions 34.1 × 24.1 × 2.6 cm are from the exact Apple technical sheet preserved by SavageTaylor, not calculated from inches.
Charger
Charger	45 W power adapter	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Titanium enclosure
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11g/b	Optional AirPort 802.11b
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, 10/100 Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, mini-DVI, audio input and headphone output. Mini-DVI-to-DVI and mini-DVI-to-VGA adapters included; television adapter separate.	Two 12 Mbps USB ports, one 400 Mbps FireWire port, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, 4 Mbps IrDA, one Type I/II PC Card/CardBus slot with ZoomVideo support, VGA, S-video and stereo output; no microphone input jack.
External displays
External displays	Dual display and mirroring; external resolution up to 2048 × 1536.	VGA 24-bit video output and S-video, with S-video-to-composite adapter. 8 MB video memory supports millions of colours on external monitors up to 21 inches (preserved exact maker sheet).
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size keyboard with embedded numeric keypad	77 US or 78 ISO keys; 12 function keys, four arrows and embedded numeric keypad.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Two-finger scrolling/panning, tap, double-tap and drag support	Tap, double-tap and drag support
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with midrange-enhancing third speaker	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Internal omnidirectional microphone	Internal omnidirectional microphone
In the box
In the box	Apple announced 31 January 2005 with availability planned later that week. Actual first on-sale month unestablished after a bounded search; year precision retained. Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’05; later units shipped Tiger.	Power adapter, DVD software, iMovie 2 and iTunes. Maker promised January availability; LowEndMac reported actual retail collection on 31 January 2001. First sale day unestablished, so month retained.