Apple PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

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PowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

	ApplePowerBook G4 (15-inch, 1.67/1.5GHz)	ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2005	March 2003
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.2″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1280 × 854	1440 × 900 (better)
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	15.2-inch TFT widescreen; panel technology and refresh unpublished.	17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	PowerPC G4 1.5 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Early 2005) or PowerPC G4 1.67 GHz (PowerBook 15-inch Early 2005)	PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB DDR) or ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 MB DDR)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	512 MB or 2 GB (better)	512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	80 GB to 100 GB (better)	60 GB
CPU
CPU	1.5 or 1.67 GHz PowerPC G 4 with 512 KB on-chip L 2 and 167 MHz bus. Retained sheet processor paragraph omits 1.5 GHz, but factory configuration table and UK release confirm it. Exact silicon supplier omitted.	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted.
GPU
GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 with 64 MB DDR standard; 128 MB plus dual-link DVI build-to-order restricted to 1.67 GHz. UK release higher-base bullet ambiguously mentions dual-link with 64 MB; its BTO paragraph and full sheet tie dual-link to 128 MB.	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory.
Memory type
Memory type	512 MB PC 2700 DDR 333 in a single SO-DIMM; two slots, maximum 2 GB.	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations.
Storage type
Storage type	80 GB 5400 rpm Ultra ATA/100 standard on both processors; 100 GB build-to-order alternative, with Sudden Motion Sensor. Combo on 1.5 GHz base, 8× DVD±RW/CD-RW SuperDrive on 1.67 GHz; SuperDrive upgrade available.	60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 4.5 hours	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	50 Wh	55 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	2.5 kg (better)	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	–	26 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	–	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	50 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours. Maker reference 2.5 kg includes battery and optical drive; varies by configuration/manufacturing. Published dimensions: height 2.8 cm, width 34.8 cm, depth 24.1 cm.	55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm.
Charger
Charger	65 W power adapter	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Anodised aluminium 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	AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	1.1
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card slot, DVI, S-video, audio input and headphone output.	Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps.
External displays
External displays	DVI with VGA adapter and S-video/composite output; up to 2048×1536 external. Optional 128 MB dual-link configuration on 1.67 GHz supports 30-inch Cinema HD display.	Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size illuminated fibre-optic keyboard with ambient light sensor on both processor configurations; Apple states up to ten times brighter backlighting than previous generation.	Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Two-finger scrolling/panning, 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 under left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	Apple announced 31 January 2005 with availability planned later that week. Ken Mingis’s 10 February Computerworld account confirms 15-inch units had reached buyers by then; February precision retained without a verified first shipping day. Launch Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and iLife ’05.	65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day.