Alienware M15 R1 vs. M1 MacBook Air: Full specs comparison

The following is a comprehensive comparison of the Alienware M15 R1 and M1 MacBook Air specifications, including details on CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

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Alienware M15 R1 image

Alienware M15 R1

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M1 MacBook Air image

M1 MacBook Air

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Alienware M15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R1 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 MacBook Air. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 MacBook Air.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R1
32 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Upgradable memory

Alienware M15 R1 comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the M1 MacBook Air since it has onboard memory.

MemoryAlienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Slots
x2
Onboard
TypeDDR4Unified
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q vs. integrated

Upgradable storage

Alienware M15 R1 comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device. On top of that, it also has a single SATA slot that users can use to install a 2.5-inch SATA SSD, SSHD, or a hard disk drive to add even more storage.

SlotsAlienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
M.2
Yes x2
Onboard
17% larger display

Alienware M15 R1 has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air.

Display size
Alienware M15 R1
15.6-inch
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Has eight more ports and slots

Alienware M15 R1 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has eleven versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsAlienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Alienware Graphics Amplifier portYesNo
HDMIYesNo
headphone jackYesYes
lock slotYesNo
Mini DisplayPortYesNo
power portYesNo
RJ-45YesNo
Thunderbolt 3YesYes x2
USB-AYes x3No
Total113
Much better versatile connectivity

Alienware M15 R1 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has seven versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsAlienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
Thunderbolt 3YesYes
HDMIYesNo
Mini DisplayPortYesNo
power portYesNo
RJ-45YesNo
USB-AYesNo

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Alienware M15 R1.

Newer manufacturing

2020 vs. 2019

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 51% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-9750H inside Alienware M15 R1.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
About 43% lighter

M1 MacBook Air weighed 2.8 pounds, 43% lighter than the 4.85 pounds Alienware M15 R1.

WeightAlienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Pound
4.85 lbs.
2.8 lbs.
Kilogram
2.20 kg
1.27 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Alienware M15 R1 Price
EbidDealz Replacement for Laptop LCD 15.6" FHD Screen Display Complete Assembly Dell Alienware M15 R1 K8TWT
 EbidDealz Replacement for Laptop LCD 15.6" FHD Screen Display Complete Assembly Dell Alienware M15 R1 K8TWT
By Generic
$199.99
See at Amazon
Alienware X15R1 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-11800H Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 DDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Home- Lunar Light
 Alienware X15R1 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-11800H Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 DDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Home- Lunar Light
By Alienware
$1,769.99
$1,899.97 7% OFF
See at Amazon
Alienware 17-inch Horizon Sleeve - Galaxy Weave Black
 Alienware 17-inch Horizon Sleeve - Galaxy Weave Black
By Alienware
$18.99
$19.99 5% OFF
See at Amazon
M1 MacBook Air Price
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$629.00
See at Amazon
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$707.39
See at Amazon
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$610.00
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Released20192020
Release Date
  • Announced at CES 2019
  • Available on January 29, 2019
Announced on November 10th, 2020
PricingStarting at $1,379.99
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations

Exterior

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Dimensions14.27 x 10.85 x 0.70 - 0.78 in (362 x 275 x 17.90 - 19.99 mm)
Width: 14.27 in. (362 mm)
Depth: 10.85 in. (275 mm)
Height: 0.70 - 0.78 in. (17.90 - 19.99 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)
WeightStarting at 4.85 lbs (2.20 kg)Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors
  • Epic Silver
  • Nebula Red
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Alienware AlienFX mSeries Keyboard with Alphanumeric Keys
  • 4.13 x 2.56 in (105 mm x 65 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
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

Display

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Size15.6 Inches13.3 Inches
InfoFull HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 35ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 6.20W max power consumption.
Full HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 19ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 800:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 7.80W max power consumption.
Full HD with 240Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 8ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 1000:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 4.41W max power consumption.
Ultra HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 300 nits, 16:9, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5.15W max power consumption
Ultra HD OLED with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 1ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, HDR-400 DCI-P3 color gamut, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, TrueLife, 14.80W max power consumption
All options
  • Wide Viewing Angles on all displays with 85 degrees viewing from all directions
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

Ports

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (4)
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x RJ-45
    1 Gbps, Killer E2500
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (2)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
Back (5)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort
  • 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier port
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x power port
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Charging, DisplayPort
Right (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Processor
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
  2. Apple M1
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    Apple M1 iGPU
    7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
  2. Apple M1
    Apple M1 iGPU
    8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
2 x SODIMM slots
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1060 (6GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1070 (8GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 (6GB GDDR6) OC Ready
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
-
StorageSingle Storage Configurations
  • 256 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB Intel Optane M.2 SSD
  • 1 TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Dual Storage Configurations
  • 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Triple Storage Configurations
  • 256GB SSD M.2+256GB SSD M.2+1TB HDD
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Wi-Fi
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820)
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 867 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
  • Rivet killer 1550
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 1733 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820) › Bluetooth 4.2
  • Rivet Killer 1550 › Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet
  • Killer E2500 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
-

Battery

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Size
  • 4-cell smart lithium-ion (60 Wh)
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion (90Wh)
49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
  • Up to 17 hours on idle with 90Wh battery.
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
* Support Hybrid Power		30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenlin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Controller
    Realtek ALC3281-CG.
  • 2.0 Speaker configuration
  • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
  • Alienware Sound Center and Audio Recon software
  • Microphone
    Digital-array microphones in camera assembly.
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
Sensors-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box-
  • 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.
MoreCHASIS
  • AlienFX Lighting Zones
    6 unique programmable zones with up to 16.8 million distinct colors (Standard).
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)

Key Features

Alienware M15 R1M1 MacBook Air
At Glance
Released in Early
2019
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 240Hz
Weight
4.85 lb
2.20 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-9750H
6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,044
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,880
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2080 SUPER
8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Late
2020
16:10 QHD
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.8 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
8C/8T, 3.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,705
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,414
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M1 iGPU
8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
Unified Memory
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Starting at
$999
M1 (7 GPU Cores), 8GB, 256GB SSD
Up to
18 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
Touch ID
With T2 Chip
Dual
USB-C
USB4 & Thunderbolt 3
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.0

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