Versus Engine
Apple MacBook Air (M5) vs Asus ZenBook A16 OLED
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Apple MacBook Air (M5) against Asus ZenBook A16 OLED, side by side.
Cheaper to start
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Starts about $600.99 lower.
Rated higher
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
9.6 vs 0.0 on our design scale.
Standout
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
Completely silent under normal load
Apple MacBook Air (M5)
The fanless efficiency benchmark: desktop-class work in a silent chassis, from $1,099.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Completely silent under normal load
- Battery life that removes charger anxiety
- Very light for the performance on offer
Cons
- Throttles under sustained load — no fan to shed heat
- Not suitable for serious local model inference
- Memory and storage fixed at purchase
Specifications
- DisplayLiquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch 500 nits brightness Color Support for 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
- keyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor
- Memory16GB 16GB unified memory Configurable to: 24GB or 32GB
- Storage512GB 512GB SSD Configurable to: 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- Audio Technology / Speakers—
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- Battery—
- Battery and PowerUp to 18 hours video streaming Up to 15 hours wireless web Built-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m) Fast-charge capable with 70W or higher USB PD power source
- battery_life_video_streamingUp to 18 hours video streaming
- battery_life_wireless_webUp to 15 hours wireless web
- battery_typeBuilt-in 53.8-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- Bluetooth—
- Charging and ExpansionMagSafe 3 charging port 3.5 mm headphone jack Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) MagSafe 3 3.5 mm headphone jack Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) External Display Support Supports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz
- charging_portsMagSafe 3 charging port, Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports
- ChipApple M5 chip 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores 10-core GPU Neural Accelerators Hardware-accelerated ray tracing 16-core Neural Engine 153GB/s memory bandwidth Media Engine Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode engine Video encode engine ProRes encode and decode engine AV1 decode
- Color—
- Color depth—
- Color gamut—
- configurable_memory24GB or 32GB
- configurable_storage1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- Contrast ratio—
- cpu_cores10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- Dimensions (cm)—
- display_brightness500 nits brightness
- display_colorSupport for 1 billion colors, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology
- display_size13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch
- Expansion Slots—
- expansion_ports3.5 mm headphone jack
- external_display_supportSupports up to two external displays: Two displays up to a native resolution of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz, One display up to a native resolution of 8K at 60Hz or 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz
- Graphics—
- graphics-filter—
- HDMI Port(s)—
- I/O Ports—
- Keyboard color—
- Low blue light—
- media_engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- memory_bandwidth153GB/s memory bandwidth
- Military Grade—
- MS Office—
- neural_accelerators16-core Neural Engine
- npu—
- Operating System—
- Panel—
- Power—
- power_adapter40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- Processor—
- Required charging power—
- Screen-to-body ratio—
- Security—
- SGS Eye Care Display—
- Touchpad—
- TÜV Rheinland-certified—
- VESA CERTIFIED Display HDR—
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
- Warranty—
- Web Camera—
- Weight (kg)—
Asus ZenBook A16 OLED
Premium Windows AI PC powered by the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Features a powerful Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor and 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
- Equipped with a 16-inch 3K OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1100nits HDR peak brightness.
- Includes robust security features such as Windows Hello and a Microsoft Pluton security processor.
Cons
- Requires a specific power supply range (45W to 100W) for optimal charging.
- The high price point may be a barrier for some users.
Specifications
- Display40.64 cm (16) 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED display having 16:10 Aspect Ratio || 0.2ms Response time || 120Hz Refresh rate || 500nits Brightness || 1100nits HDR Peak Brightness
- keyboardBacklit Chiclet Keyboard || With Copilot key
- Memory24GB LPDDR5X Memory on Package RAM
- Storage512GB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe™ 4.0 SSD + 100GB Cloud Storage with Microsoft 365 Basic for 1 Year
- Audio Technology / SpeakersSmart Amp Technology || Built-in speaker || Built-in array microphone
- audio_playback—
- Battery70WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion
- Battery and Power—
- battery_life_video_streaming—
- battery_life_wireless_web—
- battery_type—
- BluetoothBluetooth™ 6.0 Wireless Card (*Bluetooth™ features and supported version may vary depending on OS support and driver availability.)
- Charging and Expansion—
- charging_ports—
- Chip—
- ColorZabriskie Beige - Ceraluminum™ (ceramized aluminum–magnesium alloy)
- Color depth1.07 billion colors
- Color gamut100% DCI-P3 color gamut
- configurable_memory—
- configurable_storage—
- Contrast ratio1,000,000:1
- cpu_cores—
- Dimensions (cm)35.35 x 24.24 x 1.38 ~ 1.65 cms
- display_brightness—
- display_color—
- display_size—
- Expansion Slots1x M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0x4
- expansion_ports—
- external_display_support—
- GraphicsQualcomm™ Adreno™ GPU
- graphics-filterQualcomm™ Adreno™ GPU
- HDMI Port(s)1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
- I/O Ports1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (data speed up to 10Gbps) || 2x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C with support for display / power delivery (data speed up to 40Gbps) || 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack || SD 4.0 card reader
- Keyboard colorDark Beige
- Low blue light70% less harmful blue light
- media_engine—
- memory_bandwidth—
- Military GradeUS MIL-STD 810H military-grade standard
- MS OfficeMicrosoft 365 Basic with 100GB Cloud Storage for 1 Year + Office Home 2024 with lifetime validity
- neural_accelerators—
- npu80 TOPS
- Operating SystemWindows 11 Home - ASUS recommends Windows 11 Pro for business
- Panel3K (2880 x 1800) OLED
- PowerTYPE-C, 130W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 6.5A, 130W, Input:100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
- power_adapter—
- ProcessorSnapdragon™ X2 Elite Extreme X2E94100 24GB(53MB Cache, Single-core Boost Fequency 5.0GHz, Multi-core max up to 4.4GHz, 18 Cores, 18 Threads, Memory Bandwith 228GB/s)
- Required charging powerMin: 45W || Max: 100W
- Screen-to-body ratio90%
- SecurityMcAfee™ || IR webcam with Windows Hello support || Microsoft Pluton security processor || Trusted Platform Module (Firmware TPM) || BIOS Booting User Password Protection || BIOS setup user password
- SGS Eye Care DisplayYes
- TouchpadPrecision touchpad
- TÜV Rheinland-certifiedYes
- VESA CERTIFIED Display HDRVESA CERTIFIED Display HDR True Black 1000
- video_playback—
- Warranty1 Year International Warranty
- Web CameraFHD camera with IR function to support Windows Hello
- Weight (kg)1.2