M1 MacBook Air vs. Dell G15 5520: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively compared the specifications for the M1 MacBook Air and Dell G15 5520 models. The report includes detailed information regarding both models' CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Dell G15 5520.

About 50% lighter

M1 MacBook Air weighed 2.8 pounds, 50% lighter than the 5.55 pounds Dell G15 5520.

WeightM1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Pound
2.8 lbs.
5.55 lbs.
Kilogram
1.27 kg
2.52 kg

Dell G15 5520 Pros

Reasons that Dell G15 5520 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Newer manufacturing

2022 vs. 2020

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-12700H inside Dell G15 5520 has a 58% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Dell G15 5520 - Intel Core i7-12700H
11,774
Dell G15 5520 - Intel Core i5-12500H
9,293
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Supports larger memory

Dell G15 5520 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
Dell G15 5520
32 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Upgradable memory

Dell G15 5520 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.

MemoryM1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeUnifiedDDR5
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti 8GB GDDR6 vs. integrated

Upgradable storage

Dell G15 5520 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.

SlotsM1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
M.2
Onboard
Yes x1
17% larger display

Dell G15 5520 has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air.

Display size
Dell G15 5520
15.6-inch
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Has five more ports and slots

Dell G15 5520 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has eight versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
HDMINoYes
headphone jackYesYes
power portNoYes
RJ-45NoYes
Thunderbolt 3Yes x2No
USB-ANoYes x3
USB-CNoYes
Total38
More versatile connectivity

Dell G15 5520 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has six versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
headphone jackYesYes
HDMINoYes
power portNoYes
RJ-45NoYes
Thunderbolt 3YesNo
USB-ANoYes
USB-CNoYes

Prices

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

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
$604.95
$647.00 6% OFF
2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver
2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver
By Apple
$694.59
$999.00 30% OFF
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
$934.98
Dell G15 5520 Price
Dell G15 5520 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop – 1080p FHD 120Hz Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6, Wi-Fi 6, USB C, Windows 11 – Dark Shadow Grey
Dell G15 5520 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop – 1080p FHD 120Hz Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6, Wi-Fi 6, USB C, Windows 11 – Dark Shadow Grey
By Dell
$1,039.99
Dell G15 5520 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop - FHD 120Hz Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 - Spector Green
Dell G15 5520 15.6 Inch Gaming Laptop - FHD 120Hz Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 - Spector Green
By Dell
$1,024.49
$1,156.38 11% OFF
Dell G15 5520 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD 120Hz Display, Core i5-12500H, 8GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, Intel Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home - Dark Shadow Grey
Dell G15 5520 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD 120Hz Display, Core i5-12500H, 8GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, Intel Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home - Dark Shadow Grey
By Dell
$739.00

Availability

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Released20202022
Release DateAnnounced on November 10th, 2020Announced on February 25, 2022.
Pricing
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
-
Applicable Models-
  • Dell G5 15 5520
  • Dell G15 5520
  • Dell G15 5520 Special Edition
  • 2022 Dell G15
  • Dell G15 (12th Gen Intel)
Generations

Exterior

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Size Comparison
M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
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)
14.07” x 10.71” x 0.84 ~ 1.0” (357.26 x 272.11 x 21.32 ~ 25.33 mm)
WeightStarting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)Starting at 5.55 kg (2.519 kg)
Colors
Gold Space Gray Silver
Obsidian Black Specter Green Phantom Grey Dark Grey
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit 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
  • Keyboard
    • US English Orange Qwerty Backlit Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and G-Key.
    • US English Qwerty 4-Zone RGB Backlit Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and G-Key.
  • Touchpad
    • Size: 4.13 x 2.36 in (105 mm x 60 mm).
    • Precision Touchpad.
    • Supports multi-touch gestures.

Display

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Size13.3 Inches15.6 Inches
InfoRetina 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
  • 15.6” FHD 120Hz
    1920 x 1080 141 PPI 250 nits 16:9 45% NTSC 800:1 Anti-glare WVA Non-touch 4.6W
  • 15.6” FHD 165Hz
    1920 x 1080 141 PPI 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB 800:1 Anti-glare WVA Non-touch 6W
  • 15.6” QHD 240Hz
    2560 x 1440 188 PPI 400 nits 16:9 99% DCI-P3 800:1 Anti-glare WVA Non-touch 7.6W

Ports

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
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
Dell G15 5520 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (2)
  • 1 x RJ-45
    1 Gbps, Flip-down
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (2)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
Back (4)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort with Alt-mode, Supports Thunderbolt 4 on models with RTX 3060 & 3070 Ti
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.1
  • 1 x power port

Internal Specs

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Processor
  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
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500H
    12 cores, 16 threads, 2.50 → 4.50 GHz, 18MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H
    14 cores, 20 threads, 2.30 → 4.70 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  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
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1400 MHz
Memory
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
  • Memory Slots
    • 2 x DDR5 SODIMM
  • Memory Configurations
    • Minimum Memory: 4GB
    • Maximum Memory: 32GB
    • Memory Speed: 4800MHz
Discrete Graphics-
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050, 4GB GDDR6
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti, 4GB GDDR6
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060, 6GB GDDR6
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti, 8GB GDDR6
Storage
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
256GB 512GB
PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD.
1 x M.2 2230/2280 slot.

Connectivity

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
  • Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Up to 2400 Mbps WiFi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
  • Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Up to 2400 Mbps WiFi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0 wireless technologyBluetooth 5.2
Ethernet-Dell G15 with RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti
  • Realtek RTL8125BGS PCI-e 1 Gigabit ethernet controller
    Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
Dell G15 with RTX 3060 or greater
  • Killer E2600 PCI-e 1 Gigabit ethernet controller
    Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.

Battery

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Size49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
  • 56 Wh
    3-cell "smart" lithium-ion.
  • 86 Wh
    6-cell "smart" lithium-ion.
Battery Life
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
-
Power Supply30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • 180W power adapter
    Power rated at 19.5VDC/9.23A.
  • 240W power adapter
    Power rated at 19.5VDC/12.31A.

Software

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
OSShipped with macOS Big SurWindows 11
Home Pro
Built-in Apps
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
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Dell Digital Delivery
  • Dell Mobile Connect
  • Dell Recovery Environment
  • DropBox
  • Microsoft® Office trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe 12 Month Subscription

Camera & Audio

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraFront-facing camera
Top-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
Audio
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • Realtek ALC3254 with Dolby Audio for Alienware Sound Centre
  • 2 x 2.5W tuned speakers
  • Dual-array microphones

Misc

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
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)
-
WarrantyYour 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.1 Year Ltd Hardware Warranty Mail-in Customer supplies box Dell pays to ship
MoreVideo 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

M1 MacBook AirDell G15 5520
At Glance
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
Released in Early
2022
16:9 QHD
15.6”
1440p 240Hz
Weight
5.55 lb
2.52 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-12700H
14C/20T, 2.30 → 4.70 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,658
Single Core
Geekbench 5
11,774
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1400 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
4800 MHz DDR5
Dell G15 5520 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3070Ti
8GB GDDR6
Exclusive Features for
G15 Special Edition
Obsidian Black, Aluminum Cover, Rainbow-Colored Logo, 12-Zone RGB LED Chassis.
Optional
4-Zone RGB
Backlit Keyboard
Featuring
Game Shift Technology
Activating by pressing Fn + F9 (G).
Supports
Thunderbolt 4
For models with RTX 3060/3070Ti only
Alienware Inspired
Thermal Design
4 Vents, 2 Inlets, Ultra-thin fan blade & copper pipes.

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