The Apple MacBook Air is sleeker, has a longer battery life, and superior screen quality, ideal for tasks that require color accuracy, like photo editing. It's also silent. The Gigabyte A7, on the other hand, has more power for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software, alongside a dedicated graphics card suitable for gaming. It offers more storage and a larger screen, but is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. Choose the MacBook Air for portability and everyday use, or the Gigabyte A7 if you need higher performance for demanding tasks and gaming. 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 15 (2023)
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte A7
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.3/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
501.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
318.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and Gigabyte A7 are both good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is ideal for general use with its high-resolution screen, extremely portable design, long battery life, and silent operation, powered by Apple's efficient M2 processor, suitable for everyday tasks with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
7.3/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte A7 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a GPU that is less suited for high-end gaming and 3D rendering tasks, and a standard 60Hz screen refresh rate which isn't ideal for fast-paced games that benefit from smoother visuals provided by higher rates.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.3/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte A7 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
8.1/10
7.0/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte A7 is good.
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
7.8/10
7.3/10
15.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
318.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Gigabyte A7 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Gigabyte A7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air, with its high-resolution and bright display, offers sharp and vivid visuals, making it excellent for tasks such as browsing and document editing in general use, while its wide color gamut ensures accurate colors crucial for engineering and design work. The Gigabyte A7's display provides the necessary clarity and color for both general computing and technical applications but falls behind in gaming and 3D work due to a lower refresh rate that can't deliver as smooth an experience. Conversely, for 3D environments and fast-paced games, the refresh rate is key for fluid motion, and both the MacBook Air and the Gigabyte A7 may not live up to the expectations of users who prioritize this aspect.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has 15 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte A7 has 4.5 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
15.3in
SIZE
17.3in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.5 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte A7 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte A7 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,299
$940
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the Gigabyte A7 costs $940.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and Gigabyte A7 are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) with its Apple M2 CPU and integrated GPU excels in screen quality, offering a high-resolution IPS display that covers almost all color spaces, making it suitable for detailed engineering and design work; however, its lower RAM may limit performance with resource-intensive tasks. In contrast, the Gigabyte A7 features a more powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU along with double the RAM, providing robust processing capabilities for engineering software and potential graphics-heavy applications, but it has a lower resolution screen and less color accuracy, which may impact design precision.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Gigabyte A7 compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air 15 is boringly good. The new MacBook Air 15 is a very good, but also boring device, because apart from the larger screen and the higher price, there are no differences compared to the smaller MacBook Air M2 from last year. No new processor, no additional ports, just the usual basic hardware - but the overall package is extremely good and it simply works. Above all, the lack of fans is an aspect that should not be underestimated in everyday use. In our opinion, the Air could be a lot better, but Apple goes easy on itself here."
"In terms of looks, the Gigabyte A7 X1 is certainly not a trendy, slim, and ultra-mobile gaming laptop. But it does what it's supposed to do, namely bringing games smoothly onto the screen, very well. Both the processor and the GeForce RTX 3070 are able to unleash their performance without restrictions thanks to the well-ventilated case. The Gigabyte A7 X1 brings modern games smoothly onto the screen and offers excellent maintenance options."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) or the Gigabyte A7
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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