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Intel MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the Intel MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Air, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 26, 2024 10:15 am

Intel MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air

The 2020 Intel MacBook Air features the 9W 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake dual-core Intel Core i3-1000NG4 up to quad-core Intel Core i7-1060NG7 with the boost speed up to 3.80 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″ Intel MacBook Air (2020) and the 13.3″ M1 MacBook Air (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Intel MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Air: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Intel MacBook Air	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 MacBook Air
Key Features
What's new	New Magic Keyboard Featuring a new Magic Keyboard with a refined scissor mechanism that delivers 1mm of key travel and a stable key feel, as well as an Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press. Double the Storage The 2020 models now come with double the storage of the previous generation starting at 256GB up to 512GB. It can be also configured to even more storage up to 2TB SSD. Better Performance It now comes with the 10th Gen Intel Ice Lake processors with Turbo Boost speed of up to 3.8GHz. The integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics also gain 80 percent than the previous generation. More and Faster Memory The new 2020 models come with 8GB of 3733 LPDDR4X memory and can be configured up to 16GB. Built-in Security and Privacy With the Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple’s own custom-designed second-generation silicon, MacBook Air checks that software loaded during the boot process has not been tampered with and provides on-the-fly data encryption for everything stored on the SSD. More A three-mic array for more clear voice capture for FaceTime calls. The industry-best Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and multi-touch navigation. Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and video output in a single connector. Support for up to a 6K external display, a first for MacBook Air. Advanced stereo speakers for immersive and wide stereo sound.	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.
What's missing		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.

Availability	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Released	2020	2020
Release Info	Announced on March 18th, 2020 Available on March 18th, 2020	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$999 - Intel Core i3 \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,299 - Intel Core i5 \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$999 Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,249 Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	Intel MacBook Air	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

Exterior	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Size Comparison
Dimensions	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)	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)
Weight	Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 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) 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	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
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)

Internal Specs	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.20 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 9W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.10 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 10W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.80 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 10W	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-1000NG4 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 48 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1030NG7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1060NG7 Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz	Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores) Apple M1 iGPU 7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory	8GB Configurable to 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory	8GB unified memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB Configurable to 1TB and 2TB SSD	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Battery	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Size	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 11 hours wireless web Up to 12 hours Apple TV app movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time	Up to 15 hours wireless web Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	30W USB‑C Power Adapter	30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
OS	Shipped with macOS Catalina	Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack	Stereo speakers Wide stereo sound Support for Dolby Atmos playback Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc	Intel MacBook Air	M1 MacBook Air
Sensors	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)	MacBook Air 30W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
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 6K display with 6016-by-3384 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors, or Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported 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)