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Updated January 10, 2024·
The MacBook Air is a better choice if you value longer battery life, a higher-resolution screen, and a lightweight, silent, fanless design ideal for general use and portability. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 15 has a more powerful processor and a dedicated graphics card, making it suitable for more intensive gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering tasks. However, it's heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. Both laptops are in a similar price range, but the Katana offers a larger screen, more storage, and additional RAM, while the MacBook Air offers a better screen quality for colors and built quality. 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
- Very good portability
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Katana 15
- Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2
7.6
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The MSI Katana 15 is better for gaming and 3D applications due to its Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU which offers hardware ray tracing and DLSS, key features for gaming graphics, and a screen refresh rate of 144 Hz that allows for smoother visuals in fast-paced games.
Software Development
7.7
7.0
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and MSI Katana 15 are both good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
7.5
6.8
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the MSI Katana 15 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Air's screen excels in general use and engineering due to its high resolution, brightness, and strong coverage of color gamuts, which ensures crisp, vibrant visuals for everyday tasks and color-sensitive work. The MSI Katana 15's fair screen quality for general use and engineering can be attributed to adequate resolution and brightness but with less exceptional color reproduction, making it satisfactory but not outstanding. For 3D tasks, a higher refresh rate is crucial for smooth visuals, which is where the MSI Katana 15 falls short, while the MacBook Air's screen is not designed for high refresh rates demanded by 3D applications.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 15 has 4 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
4.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Katana 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0
7.2
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Katana 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.6
7.5
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.9/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and MSI Katana 15 are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is well-regarded for general use due to its efficient M1 CPU, sufficient RAM for everyday tasks, high-quality screen, lightweight design for easy portability, and long battery life. The MSI Katana 15, while also suitable for general use, offers a more robust CPU suitable for more demanding tasks, double the RAM, larger storage, and a high refresh rate screen, but this comes at the cost of increased weight and much shorter battery life, which could be less convenient for users who are frequently on the move.
Engineering and Design
7.3
7.7
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Katana 15 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is appreciated for engineering and design due to its high-quality screen, efficient Apple M1 CPU and GPU that are well-suited for creative software, and its light weight and fanless, silent operation enhance portability and comfort in use.
Content Creation
7.8
7.4
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and MSI Katana 15 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.
Cost
$1,000
$949
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the MSI Katana 15 costs $949.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the MSI Katana 15 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Air (2020) | MSI Katana 15 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,000 | $949 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | November 1, 2020 | February 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12'' x 8.4'' x 0.63'' | 14.1'' x 10.2'' x 0.98'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.8 lbs | 4.96 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 11.97" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.36" | 10.2" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M1 | Intel i5-12450H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 15 Hours | 4 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 49.9 Wh | 53.5 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 13.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 395 nits | 258 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.2/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 9/10 | 6.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 3 | N/A | |
Shopping
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"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."
MSI Katana 15
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | March 2023
"The MSI Katana 15 B12 combines a Gen12 CPU with an RTX 4050, which is actually not a bad idea for a budget gamer. The CPU is anything but bad and the GPU in the Katana 15 proves to be significantly more efficient than last year's models. However, our main point of criticism for budget gamers is the price: while you can get budget laptops with RTX 3060 from around US$800, you pay a whole US$1,499.99 here! The efficiency advantages of the RTX 4050 do not justify this price premium."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the MSI Katana 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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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
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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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