The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is often significantly less expensive, lighter, and offers silent operation with a strong battery life, which makes it ideal for general use, especially when portability and long usage away from power outlets matter. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 15, although more expensive and heavier, provides superior performance in 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering applications due to its more powerful processor and graphics card. It also has a higher screen refresh rate which is beneficial for gaming and fast motion videos. Compromises with the Aorus include lesser battery life and portability. Therefore, your choice should align with your most critical needs, such as budget, mobility, and the type of tasks you intend to perform on the laptop. 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 Aorus 15
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
8.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 is better for engineering and design since it has a more powerful CPU, double the RAM, and a superior dedicated GPU compared to the MacBook Air (2020), which enhances performance for demanding tasks, while its larger, high-refresh-rate screen offers a better visual workspace. However, the MacBook Air (2020) with its fanless design is quieter, significantly lighter, and boasts longer battery life, making it more suitable for users who prioritize portability and less operating noise despite lower performance specs.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
8.0/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
316.0 nits
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The MacBook Air's display offers sharp visuals and bright colors suited for everyday tasks and professional design work, thanks to its high resolution and wide color gamut coverage. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 15 packs a punch with its superior color reproduction and higher resolution, which benefits engineers and creatives who need precise color detail. However, both fall short for 3D applications as they lack high refresh rates, making them less ideal for rendering smooth movements in animations or gaming.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 15 has 6 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
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15 has only fair 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 Gigabyte Aorus 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15 costs $1,500.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers a lightweight design and long battery life making it highly portable and suited for general use, alongside a high-quality IPS screen with excellent colors, complemented by the efficient Apple M1 CPU and fanless silent operation. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte Aorus 15, despite being less portable due to heavier weight, provides strong performance with its Intel CPU and dedicated Nvidia GPU for more demanding tasks, more RAM and storage for multitasking, and a high-quality screen, though it has a shorter battery life, making it less ideal for prolonged usage away from power sources.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.0/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aorus 15 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
7.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Gigabyte Aorus 15 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 Aorus 15 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 Aorus 15 is a power-hungry gaming beast. The Aorus 15 is designed to run games at QHD and high to max settings. But it also cuts a good figure in other demanding applications such as video editing and rendering. This is made possible by the Core i7 12700H and GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop inside the machine. A lightning-fast PCIe 4.0 SSD (1 TB) allows for short loading times."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Gigabyte Aorus 15
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.