Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)

Compared 2 laptops: Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020), vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026). Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Processor n/a - Apple M5 (10-Core)
- Apple M5 Pro (15-Core)
- Apple M5 Pro (18-Core)
- Apple M5 Max (32-сore GPU)
- Apple M5 Max (40-сore GPU)
Storage - 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 2048 GB
- 1024 GB
- 2048 GB
- 4096 GB
- 8192 GB
RAM - 8 GB
- 16 GB
- 16 GB
- 24 GB
- 32 GB
- 36 GB
- 48 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
System Performance
System and app performance
Gaming Performance
Graphics in popular 3D games
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Battery Life
Estimated real-world battery life
Connectivity
Ports, webcam, and interfaces
Case & Design
Appearance, materials, durability, comfort
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Performance:
Gaming:
Display:
Battery life:
Connectivity:
Portability:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Body

Design and ergonomics comparison
Weight 1.29 kg 1.6 kg
Pixel size 304.1x212.4x16.1 mm 312.6x221.2x15.5 mm
Area 646 cm² 691 cm²
Screen-to-body ratio 79.4 % 84.6 %
Side bezels 8.8 mm 3.4 mm
Colors - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
- Black
- Silver
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 130 ° 135 °
Cooling system
Cooling typePassiveActive
Vapor chamberYesNo
Liquid metaln/aNo
Cooler countn/a2
Noise Leveln/a53.2 dB

Display

Display quality comparison
Diagonal 13.3 in 14.2 in
Type IPS LCD Mini LED
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (24-120 Hz)
Pixel density 227 ppi 254 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2560x1600 pixels 3024x1964 pixels
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, Dolby Vision
Sync Tech No No
Touchscreen No No
Coating Glossy (Anti-Reflective) Glossy (Anti-Reflective)
Light sensor Yes Yes
Display test
Max brightness
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
400 nits
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
1000 nits
Contrast1069:11000000:1
DCI-P3 gamut98.6 %100 %
sRGB gamut99.8 %100 %
Adobe RGB gamut85.9 %n/a
Response time35 msn/a

Battery

Capacity 49.9 Wh 72.4 Wh
Voltage 11.4 V n/a
Full Charge Time 2:23 h 1:30 h
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Fast Charging Yes Yes
USB PD Yes, 65 W Yes, 100 W
Charge Port Location Left Left, Right
Charge Power 30 W 70/96 W
Cable Length 2 m 2 m
Charger weight 172 g 165/375 g

Processor

Processor Apple M1 Apple M5 (10-Core)
Base frequency 3.2 GHz 4.61 GHz
Cores 8 (4P + 4E) 10 (4P + 6E)
Threads 8 10
Integrated Graphics Apple M1 GPU Apple M5 GPU (10-core)
Process tech. 5 nm 3 nm
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
2331
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
4169
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
8630
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
17581
Cinebench
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
1469
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
n/a
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
7548
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026)
n/a

GPU Model

GPU Model Apple M1 GPU (8-core) Apple M5 GPU (10-Core)
TGP 15 W n/a
Graphics Type Integrated Integrated
Process tech. 5 nm 3 nm
GPU Frequency 450 MHz n/a
Boost GPU Frequency 1278 MHz 1620 MHz
FLOPS 2.6 TFLOPS 4.1 TFLOPS
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Tire Width 128 bit 128 bit
Memory speed 4.27 Gbit/s 9.6 Gbit/s
Shader Units 1024 1280
TMUs 64 80
ROPs 32 40

RAM

RAM Size 8 GB 16 GB
Channels 2x4 GB 2x8 GB
Frequency 4266 MHz 9600 MHz
Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Replaceable No No

Storage

Bus Custom Custom
Type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 2x128 GB 2x512 GB
Replaceable No No
NVMe Yes Yes
Storage Capacity 256 GB 1024 GB

Sound

Audio Formats 2.0 4.2
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Max Volume 79.6 dB 83.1 dB
Microphones 3 3

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version v6 v7
Bluetooth version 5 6.0
Fingerprint sensor Yes Yes
IR sensor No No
CD drive No No
Webcam Above Display Above Display
Webcam Resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Ports
USB-ANoNo
USB-C2x3.13x4.0
ThunderboltThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 5
HDMINo1x2.1
DisplayPortNoNo
VGANoNo
3.5 mm Audio JackYesYes
Ethernet (RJ45)NoNo
Card ReaderNoYes
Charging PortNoYes

Keyboard & Touchpad

Key Type Island Layout Island Layout
Numeric Keypad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key Travel 1 mm 1 mm
Touchpad
Size12.1x8.1 cm13.2x8.1 cm
SurfaceGlassGlass
Windows PrecisionNoNo
* Attention! Ports, display type, speakers, and specs may differ by model or country.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2026) the clear winner in this comparison.

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