The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers a great balance for general use, with high build quality, silent operation due to its fanless design, and better-than-average battery life. Being lightweight, it's excellent for portability, and its high-resolution screen shows colors accurately, making it suitable for photo editing and media consumption. However, if you plan on doing more intensive tasks like 3D modeling, machine learning, or engineering software, the Dell Inspiron 14 7435 has a larger storage capacity, twice the RAM, and touchscreen capabilities, which can enhance productivity. It's heavier and has lower battery life but provides more robust performance for demanding applications. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Good overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435
The Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air (2020).
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.5/10
6.1/10
13.3in
SIZE
14.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
216.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 for general use, AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air generally provides a crisp, bright display with high resolution that makes everyday tasks pleasant to the eye. For engineering and design, its screen captures a wide range of colors, but its refresh rate isn’t tailored for high-end 3D tasks where smooth motion is key. Comparatively, the Dell Inspiron 14 offers an adequate daily use experience and satisfactory color reproduction for professional work, yet it falls short for gaming and 3D due to a lower refresh rate and less robust color range.
Battery
15.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 has 8 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
13.3in
SIZE
14.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
3.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 both have very good portability, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$779
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 costs $779.
The Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its high-resolution screen, efficient M1 CPU, and robust battery life is excellent for users seeking a lightweight and silent machine for everyday tasks, while the Dell Inspiron 14 7435, with its larger storage, more RAM, and a 2-in-1 convertible design offers versatility and increased capacity for users who prioritize multitasking and flexibility in their general use.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
6.3/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its M1 integrated GPU and 60Hz display may offer decent performance in some 3D tasks but the lack of dedicated GPU and the inability to natively run many popular games due to macOS limitations restricts its use for gaming. On the other hand, the Dell Inspiron 14 7435, also with an integrated Vega 8 GPU running Windows, offers fair 3D and gaming performance, benefitting from a wider game compatibility, albeit both lack the ideal high refresh rates or powerful dedicated graphics usually preferred for such tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
7.1/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020), with its high-resolution display and capable Apple M1 CPU and GPU, provides seamless performance and vibrant screen quality for design tasks, albeit with less RAM than the Dell Inspiron 14 7435 which, with more RAM and storage alongside an AMD CPU and GPU, offers robust engineering capabilities, although its lower screen resolution might not be as crisp for detailed design work. While the MacBook boasts a solid build and silent operation, which is great for design environments, the Inspiron's additional connectivity and 2-in-1 form factor add versatility that may be preferred for certain engineering applications, despite being slightly heavier and potentially noisier under load.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
7.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435 compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
"We see no shame in an economy laptop missing the four-star mark. Frankly, we considered giving the Inspiron 14 2-in-1 three-and-a-half stars for its low price, competitive performance, and long battery life. Unfortunately, working with a screen that can't deliver at least 300 nits of brightness is simply no fun to the point of detrimental. Still, if you're looking for a convertible laptop on a tight budget, it's worth keeping an eye on Dell's sales and discounts. That Lavender Blue model is fairly tempting."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Dell Inpsiron 14 7435
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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