The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers greater portability, longer battery life, and is quieter due to its fanless design, making it well-suited for general use, especially on the go. It's also more budget-friendly. However, the Gigabyte Aero 16, while heavier and with shorter battery life, provides a much higher performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and other engineering applications due to its powerful processor and graphics card, as well as a higher-resolution screen, which could be crucial for detail-oriented projects. The Aero 16 is also better for gaming and has a larger and higher quality display overall, but it comes at a higher cost. 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)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero 16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.8/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air, with its integrated Apple M1 GPU, is less suited for 3D applications and gaming compared to the Gigabyte Aero 16 which features a powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU, essential for enhanced performance in graphically intensive tasks. Additionally, the MacBook's MacOS can limit game availability, whereas the Aero 16's Windows platform broadly supports gaming titles and the high refresh rate beneficial for a smooth gaming experience.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
8.4/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you're primarily using your laptop for browsing, watching videos, or working with documents, the Apple MacBook Air's high-resolution and bright display will serve you well, although it’s not the best for color-intensive tasks because it covers less of the professional color gamuts. The Gigabyte Aero 16, on the other hand, has an exceptional display for engineering and design, offering a wide color gamut that ensures accurate color representation critical for these fields. For gaming and 3D work, however, neither laptop is ideal, as they lack the high refresh rates necessary for smooth motion and less image lag during fast-paced graphics rendering.
Battery
15.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 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
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,260
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 costs $1,260.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is designed for general use with a premium build quality and features like silent operation making it suitable for everyday tasks, coupled with a strong battery life and a high-quality, lightweight design for easy portability.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.2/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
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
7.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Gigabyte Aero 16 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."
"The Gigabyte Aero 16 is a workstation laptop for light gaming. It's design is still muted, with a silver chassis alongside a black keyboard and trackpad that provides some contrast. The Gigabyte Aero’s full-size chiclet-style keyboard is enjoyable to type on thanks to its snappy feel and responsiveness. The 4K+ AMOLED display is good, but it could be better. It doesn’t handle true black very well and suffers from strong reflections and glare. The Gigabyte Aero excels at productivity performance and can keep up with other gaming laptops in 1080p. But it has very few ports and its refresh rate leaves a bit to be desired."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Gigabyte Aero 16
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 Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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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