Versus Engine
Apple MacBook Air (M5) vs iPad (A16)
Specs, price and the one trade-off that actually decides it — Apple MacBook Air (M5) against iPad (A16), side by side.
Cheaper to start
Tie
Both start at a similar price.
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
- audio_playbackSupported formats include AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos
- 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
- Buttons and Connectors / Camera—
- Buttons and Connectors / Microphone—
- Buttons and Connectors / Smart Connector—
- Buttons and Connectors / Speaker—
- Buttons and Connectors / Top button/Touch ID sensor—
- Buttons and Connectors / USB-C connector—
- Buttons and Connectors / Volume up/down—
- Camera / Features—
- Camera / Main—
- Capacity—
- 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 and Expansion / Display Support—
- Charging and Expansion / USB-C port—
- 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
- Chip / Model—
- Chip / Neural Engine—
- configurable_memory24GB or 32GB
- configurable_storage1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- cpu_cores10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- 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
- Display / Brightness—
- Display / Coating—
- Display / Size—
- Display / Supports—
- Display / Technology—
- 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_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
- Finish—
- keyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor
- media_engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW
- Memory16GB 16GB unified memory Configurable to: 24GB or 32GB
- memory_bandwidth153GB/s memory bandwidth
- neural_accelerators16-core Neural Engine
- Operating System—
- Power and Battery / Battery—
- Power and Battery / Usage—
- power_adapter40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max
- Size and Weight / Depth—
- Size and Weight / Height—
- Size and Weight / Wi-Fi + Cellular models weight—
- Size and Weight / Wi-Fi models weight—
- Size and Weight / Width—
- Storage512GB 512GB SSD Configurable to: 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB
- Video Recording / 1080p HD—
- Video Recording / 4K—
- Video Recording / Extended dynamic range—
- Video Recording / Slo-mo—
- Video Recording / Video image stabilization—
- video_playbackSupported formats include HEVC, H.264, AV1, and ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10+/HDR10, and HLG
iPad (A16)
11-inch iPad with A16 chip, 128GB-512GB storage, Liquid Retina display, and advanced camera features.
Where it wins, where it doesn't
Pros
- Robust camera system with advanced features like digital zoom and 4K video recording.
- Supports Apple Pencil for enhanced productivity and creativity.
Cons
- Limited storage options with no expandability.
- Dependence on proprietary accessories like the Apple Pencil.
Specifications
- audio_playback—
- Battery and Power—
- battery_life_video_streaming—
- battery_life_wireless_web—
- battery_type—
- Buttons and Connectors / CameraFront, to the right of display, Back
- Buttons and Connectors / MicrophoneFront, to the right of display, Back
- Buttons and Connectors / Smart ConnectorLeft side
- Buttons and Connectors / Speakertop, bottom
- Buttons and Connectors / Top button/Touch ID sensorTop
- Buttons and Connectors / USB-C connectorBottom
- Buttons and Connectors / Volume up/downRight side
- Camera / FeaturesDigital zoom up to 5x, Five-element lens, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Panorama (up to 63MP), Smart HDR 4, Photo geotagging, Auto image stabilization, Burst mode, Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
- Camera / Main12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture
- Capacity128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Charging and Expansion—
- Charging and Expansion / Display SupportSupports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors, Supports one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz, Native DisplayPort output over USB-C, VGA, HDMI, and DVI output supported using adapters (sold separately), Up to 4K AirPlay for mirroring, photos, and video out to Apple TV (2nd generation or later) or AirPlay-enabled smart TV
- Charging and Expansion / USB-C portCharging, DisplayPort, USB 2.0 (up to 480Mb/s)
- charging_ports—
- Chip—
- Chip / ModelA16 chip
- Chip / Neural Engine16-core
- configurable_memory—
- configurable_storage—
- cpu_cores—
- Display—
- Display / Brightness500 nits
- Display / CoatingFingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Display / Size11-inch display with rounded corners, screen is 10.86 inches when measured diagonally as a rectangle
- Display / SupportsApple Pencil (USB-C), Apple Pencil (1st generation) with USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter
- Display / TechnologyLED backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
- display_brightness—
- display_color—
- display_size—
- expansion_ports—
- external_display_support—
- FinishSilver, Blue, Pink, Yellow
- keyboard—
- media_engine—
- Memory—
- memory_bandwidth—
- neural_accelerators—
- Operating SystemiPadOS
- Power and Battery / BatteryBuilt-in 28.93-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
- Power and Battery / UsageUp to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video, Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network
- power_adapter—
- Size and Weight / Depth0.28 inch (7 mm)
- Size and Weight / Height9.79 inches (248.6 mm)
- Size and Weight / Wi-Fi + Cellular models weight1.06 pounds (481 grams)
- Size and Weight / Wi-Fi models weight1.05 pounds (477 grams)
- Size and Weight / Width7.07 inches (179.5 mm)
- Storage—
- Video Recording / 1080p HD25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- Video Recording / 4K24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
- Video Recording / Extended dynamic rangefor video up to 30 fps
- Video Recording / Slo-mo1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
- Video Recording / Video image stabilizationCinematic video stabilization (1080p and 720p), Continuous autofocus video, Playback zoom
- video_playback—