MacBook Air 13” 2019 vs. M1 MacBook Air - Specs Comparison
Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Air 13” 2019 and M1 MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.
January 26, 2024 10:15 am
The MacBook Air 13” 2019 features the 7W 8th Generation Intel Amber Lake Y dual-core Intel Core i5-8210Y with the boost speed up to 3.60 GHz. While the 2020 M1 MacBook Air features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 7G) up to 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz.
If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.3″ MacBook Air 13” 2019 and the 13.3″ M1 MacBook Air (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.
MacBook Air 13” 2019 vs. M1 MacBook Air: Specs Comparison
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Key Features |
What's new | New True Tone Display
The technology automatically adjusts the white point of the display to match the color temperature of your environment. |
- Better Performance. With the new Apple M1 Chip, it is now 3x times faster in exporting a project in iMovie, 5x times faster applying 3D effects in Final Cut Pro, editing multiple streams 4K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro with no frame drop, 2x times faster in exporting photos in Lightroom, and more.
- Better battery life of up to 18 hours. The new M1 MacBook Air has the most extended battery life ever, with up to 18 hours of watching movies and 15 hours of web browsing.
- Better FaceTime HD camera. With the latest Apple Image Single Processor (ISP) in the M1 chip, image quality is better in noise reduction, has a better dynamic range, and has an improved auto white balance.
- Better display. It now supports a P3 wide color with 400 nits of display brightness.
- Improvements
- It supports the latest USB 4 and Wi-Fi 6.
- It has better security with the new Secure Enclave in the M1 chip.
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What's missing |
- Slightly smaller battery, down from 50.3 Wh to 49.9 Wh
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- Natively supports only one external display. The new M1 chip supports only one extended 6K@60Hz display, while the older Intel version supports up to two 4K@60Hz.
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Availability | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Released | 2019 | 2020 |
Release Info |
- Available on June 27, 2019
| Announced on November 10th, 2020 |
Pricing | | |
Display | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Size | 13.3 Inches | 13.3 Inches |
Info | Retina display
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
- Supported scaled resolutions:
- 1680 by 1050
- 1440 by 900
- 1024 by 640
- 16:10 aspect ratio
- True Tone technology
| Retina display
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
- Supported scaled resolutions:
- 1680 by 1050
- 1440 by 900
- 1024 by 640
- 16:10 aspect ratio
- 400 nits brightness
- Supports wide color (P3)
- True Tone technology
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Exterior | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Size Comparison | |
Dimensions | 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.16 - 0.61” (304.1 mm x 212.4 mm x 4.1 – 15.6 mm) |
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
- Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
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Weight | Starting at 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg) | Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg) |
Colors | GoldSpace GraySilver | GoldSpace GraySilver |
Keyboard and Trackpad | Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
- 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) individual LED-backlit keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys
- Ambient light sensor
- Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
| Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
- 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
- Ambient light sensor
- Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
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Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
- Charging
- DisplayPort
- Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
| Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
- Charging
- DisplayPort
- Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
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Internal Specs | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Processor | - 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 7W
| - Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W - Apple M1
8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
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Integrated Graphics | - 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
Intel® UHD Graphics 617 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
| - Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz - Apple M1
Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
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Discrete Graphics | Support for Thunderbolt 3–enabled external graphics processors (eGPUs) | |
Memory | 8GB Configurable to 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory |
8GB unified memory
- Configurable to 16GB
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Storage | 128GB256GB Configurable to 512GB or 1TB SSD |
256GB512GB SSD
- Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
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Connectivity | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Wi-Fi |
- 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
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- 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
- IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
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Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology | Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology |
Battery | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Size | 49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery | 49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery |
Battery Life |
- Up to 12 hours wireless web
- Up to 13 hours Apple TV app video playback
- Up to 30 days of standby time
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- Up to 15 hours wireless web
- Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
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Power Supply | 30W USB‑C Power Adapter | 30W USB‑C Power Adapter |
Software | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
OS | Shipped with macOS Mojave | Shipped with macOS Big Sur |
Built-in Apps | PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player | PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player |
Camera & Audio | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
Audio |
- Stereo speakers
- Three microphones
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
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- Stereo speakers
- Wide stereo sound
- Support for Dolby Atmos playback
- Three-mic array with directional beamforming
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
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Misc | MacBook Air 13” 2019 | M1 MacBook Air |
Sensors |
- Touch ID sensor
- Ambient light sensor
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- Touch ID sensor
- Ambient light sensor
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Security |
- Touch ID sensor
- Apple T2 Security Chip
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- Touch ID sensor
- Apple T2 Security Chip
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In the box |
- MacBook Air
- 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
- USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
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- MacBook Air
- 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
- USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
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Warranty | Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax. | Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax. |
More | Video Support
- Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
- One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz
- Up to two external displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at up to 60Hz
- Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
- Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
- VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output using adapters (sold separately)
| Video Support
- Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
- One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
- Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
- Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
- VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
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