The MacBook Air is lightweight and has a long battery life, making it ideal for everyday use and carrying around, while the MSI Titan is built for high performance tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software, but it's much heavier and usually has a shorter battery life. The MacBook Air is more budget-friendly and suitable for general productivity, but if raw power and advanced graphics are necessary for your work, investing in the MSI Titan could be more beneficial despite its higher cost and reduced portability. 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 (2022)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the MSI Titan 18 HX
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Excellent for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.8/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air offers a balance of portability and performance with an efficient CPU and long battery life that's ideal for general use, plus it has a high-quality screen and keyboard. Meanwhile, the MSI Titan 18 HX, although heavier and with a shorter battery life, has a more powerful CPU and extra RAM, making heavy tasks smoother and providing excellent screen quality, which overall can enhance general usage for those requiring intense multitasking or high-end visuals.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
9.4/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is only fair.
The MSI Titan 18 HX, with its superior GPU and high refresh rate display, excels in gaming and 3D applications, which require robust graphics performance for smooth and detailed visuals. However, the Apple MacBook Air, while offering a good quality screen and competent CPU, is limited by a less powerful GPU and macOS compatibility issues with many games, which hinders its effectiveness for gaming and 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
9.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
The MSI Titan 18 HX is best in class for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The MacBook Air, with its efficient CPU and high-quality screen, offers a balance of performance and portability for engineering and casual design tasks, but its integrated GPU may not handle the most demanding applications as well as dedicated options. In contrast, the MSI Titan 18 HX, with its superior CPU, RAM, and powerful GPU, excels in heavy-duty engineering and design work at the expense of being bulkier and louder, which affects its portability and operating noise.
Content Creation
7.9/10
9.0/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Titan 18 HX is excellent for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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
8.0/10
8.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
128.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
The MSI Titan 18 HX and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very good for software development, though the MSI Titan 18 HX 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
7.6/10
9.2/10
13.6in
SIZE
18.0in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The MSI Titan 18 HX has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air's screen is favored for general use and engineering due to its high resolution and brightness, providing sharp images and vivid colors, which are essential for detailed projects and comfortable everyday activities. However, it falls short for 3D applications since it lacks a high refresh rate, which is critical for smooth motion rendering. The MSI Titan, on the other hand, excels in general use and engineering tasks because of its superior color accuracy and wide color gamuts, offering precise color representation for professional design work, yet its lower refresh rate makes it less optimal for gaming and 3D, where fluid visual experiences are key.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The MSI Titan 18 HX 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
Excellent
Poor
13.6in
SIZE
18.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.9 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Titan 18 HX has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$4,800
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the MSI Titan 18 HX costs $4,800.
"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."
"With no new Nvidia GPU this year for laptops, MSI had to refresh everything surrounding the graphics card to make up for it. Users are getting a new 18-inch chassis design, new 14th gen Intel HX CPU, new AC adapter, larger keys, and a new 120 Hz HDR1000 mini-LED 4K display to accompany the high price tag. Most of these changes are a step up from last year's GT77, but users are ultimately getting the same gaming performance out of both models."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the MSI Titan 18 HX
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.
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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