M1 MacBook Air vs. Dell XPS 15 9500: Full specs comparison

The following is a comprehensive comparison of the M1 MacBook Air and Dell XPS 15 9500 specifications, including details on CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Dell XPS 15 9500.

Slightly faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 9% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i9-10885H inside Dell XPS 15 9500.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Dell XPS 15 9500 - Intel Core i7-10875H
6,874
Dell XPS 15 9500 - Intel Core i9-10885H
6,788
Dell XPS 15 9500 - Intel Core i7-10750H
5,412
Dell XPS 15 9500 - Intel Core i5-10300H
3,747
About 31% lighter

M1 MacBook Air weighed 2.8 pounds, 31% lighter than the 4 pounds Dell XPS 15 9500.

WeightM1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Pound
2.8 lbs.
4 lbs.
Kilogram
1.27 kg
1.81 kg

Dell XPS 15 9500 Pros

Reasons that Dell XPS 15 9500 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Supports larger memory

Dell XPS 15 9500 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 MacBook Air. It supports up to 64GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 MacBook Air.

Max system memory size
Dell XPS 15 9500
64 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Upgradable memory

Dell XPS 15 9500 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 XPS 15 9500
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeUnifiedDDR4
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia Quadro GTX 1650Ti 4GB GDDR6 vs. integrated

Upgradable storage

Dell XPS 15 9500 comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

SlotsM1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
M.2
Onboard
Yes x2
17% larger display

Dell XPS 15 9500 has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air.

Display size
Dell XPS 15 9500
15.6-inch
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
Has three more ports and slots

Dell XPS 15 9500 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has six versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
full-size SD card slotNoYes
headphone jackYesYes
lock slotNoYes
Thunderbolt 3Yes x2Yes x2
USB-CNoYes
Total36
More versatile connectivity

Dell XPS 15 9500 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has four versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsM1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
headphone jackYesYes
Thunderbolt 3YesYes
full-size SD card slotNoYes
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
$629.00
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
$704.68
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
Dell XPS 15 9500 Price
Dell XPS 15 9500 15.6 inches FHD i7-10750H 16 512GB SSD GTX 1650 Ti XPS9500-7002SLV-PUS (Renewed)
Dell XPS 15 9500 15.6 inches FHD i7-10750H 16 512GB SSD GTX 1650 Ti XPS9500-7002SLV-PUS (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,098.95
Dell XPS 15 9500 (Latest Model) 15.6-inch Laptop Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen 32GB DDR4 RAM 1TB SSD, 4K UHD+ (3840x2400) 500-NIT Touch NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6, Windows 10 PRO (Renewed)
Dell XPS 15 9500 (Latest Model) 15.6-inch Laptop Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen 32GB DDR4 RAM 1TB SSD, 4K UHD+ (3840x2400) 500-NIT Touch NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6, Windows 10 PRO (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,399.99
New Dell XPS 15 9500 15.6 inch UHD+ Touchscreen Laptop (Silver) Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti with 4GB GDDR6, Window 10 Pro (XPS9500-7845SLV-PUS)
New Dell XPS 15 9500 15.6 inch UHD+ Touchscreen Laptop (Silver) Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti with 4GB GDDR6, Window 10 Pro (XPS9500-7845SLV-PUS)
By Dell
$999.00

Availability

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Released20202020
Release DateAnnounced on November 10th, 2020Release Date: May 13, 2020
Pricing
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Starting at $1,299.99
Generations

Exterior

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
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)
13.56 x 9.07 x 0.30 - 0.71 in (344.40 x 230.30 x 7.70 - 18 mm)
Width: 13.56” (344.40 mm)
Depth: 9.07” (230.30 mm)
Height: 0.30 - 0.71” (7.70 - 18 mm)
WeightStarting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
  • Non-touch with 56Wh: 4 lbs (1.83 kg)
  • Touch screen with 86Wh: 4.5 lbs (2.05 kg)
Colors
Gold Space Gray Silver
  • CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black
  • Edge-to-edge Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6 on touch panel
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
  • Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard.
  • 5.91 x 3.54 in (150 mm x 90 mm) touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.

Display

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
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-inch FHD+ non-touchscreen
    1920 x 1200, IPS, 145 PPI, 500-nits brightness, 1650:1 contrast ratio, 100% sRGB, InfinityEdge Anti-Glare, Non-touch support, 4.41W.
  • 15.6-inch UHD+ IPS touchscreen
    3840 x 2400, IPS, 290 PPI, 500-nit brightness, 1600:1 contrast ratio, 100% AdobeRGB, InfinityEdge, Anti-Reflective, Touch support, 10.4W.

Ports

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
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 XPS 15 9500 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (3)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort 1.2, Power Delivery
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
    v6.0
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
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. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 4.50 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 5.00 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 5.10 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
  4. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz, 16MB 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. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  4. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Memory
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
4 GB 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB
2933 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
Discrete Graphics-NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q (Optional)
Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR6 128-bit, 1035 → 1200 MHz, 1024 CUDA Cores.
Storage
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
Removable M.2 2230/2280 PCIe® 3x4 NVMe™ SSD, Up to 32 Gbps.
Fans Number-2

Connectivity

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
  • Rivet Killer AX1650s
    Up to 2400 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac), WiFi-6 (802.11ax)
  • Rivet Killer AX500s DBS
    Up to 1774.50 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac), WiFi-6 (802.11ax)
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
  • Rivet Killer AX1650s › Bluetooth 5.0
  • Rivet Killer AX500s DBS › Bluetooth 5.2

Battery

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Size49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
  • 3-cell smart lithium-ion 56 Wh
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion 86 Wh
Battery Life
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Full HD+ model
  • Up to 24 hours (productivity tasks).
  • Up to 16 hours, 52 minutes (streaming Netflix).
UHD+ model
  • Up to 13 hours, 52 minutes (productivity tasks).
  • Up to 8 hours, 27 minutes (streaming Netflix).
Power Supply30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • 90 W USB Type-C power adapter
    Power rated at 5VDC/3A, 9VDc/3A, 15VDC/3A, 20VDC/4.5A.
  • 130 W USB Type-C power adapter
    Power rated at 5VDC/1A, 20VDC/6.5A.

Software

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
OSShipped with macOS Big Sur
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
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
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe™ 12 Month Subscription

Camera & Audio

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Camera720p FaceTime HD camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Top-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
  • Infrared camera
    576 x 360 (VGA) at 30 fps for Windows Hello Facial Recognition.
Audio
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • Realtek ALC3281-CG
  • Studio quality tuning with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro and Waves Nx® 3D audio
  • Quad-speaker design with 2.5W x2 woofers and 1.5W x2 tweeters = 8W total peak output
  • Dual microphone array optimized with Waves MaxxVoice supporting VoIP - Microsoft Cortana capable

Misc

M1 MacBook AirDell XPS 15 9500
Sensors
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button
Security
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
  • Windows Hello with Fingerprint Sign in
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Wedge-shaped lock
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.-
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 XPS 15 9500
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 Mid
2020
16:10 4K UHD+
15.6”
2400p 60Hz
Weight
4 lb
1.81 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-10885H
8C/16T, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,196
Single Core
Geekbench 5
6,788
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Upgradable up to
64GB
2933 MHz DDR4
Dell XPS 15 9500 Ports
Nvidia Quadro
GTX 1650Ti
4GB GDDR6

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