The MacBook Air with its M2 chip offers good performance with longer battery life and lighter weight, making it suitable for everyday tasks and excellent portability; however, its hardware is not upgradeable and storage is lower. The Aero, featuring an Intel i7 and RTX 3070 Ti, delivers superior performance for 3D, machine learning, and engineering software, has a higher-resolution OLED display for vibrant colors, and comes with more storage and RAM, though it is heavier, with a shorter battery life, which impacts 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 15 (2023)
Very good for software development
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 overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
7.8/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
2880 x 1864
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 15 (2023) 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
7.6/10
8.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.3/10
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 15 (2023) is good.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is considered very good for engineering and design use primarily due to its more powerful Intel i7 processor, double the RAM, and a superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU compared to the Apple MacBook Air 15's Apple M2 CPU and integrated GPU; additionally, the Aero's OLED screen has a higher resolution, which benefits design tasks.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.4/10
15.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 16 for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The MacBook Air has a high-resolution display and brightness, giving it a crisp and vibrant viewing experience for everyday tasks, but its standard refresh rate is less suitable for 3D applications where smooth motion is key. The Gigabyte Aero 16 offers wide color gamuts and high resolution which are vital for precise color work in engineering and design, ensuring that colors are accurate and consistent. However, this laptop's display might not have a high enough refresh rate for optimal 3D tasks, which could affect the smoothness of motion in animations and games.
Battery
15.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 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
15.3in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) 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 15 (2023) 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.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Gigabyte Aero 16 to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is appreciated for general use due to its lightweight and slim design, along with a high-quality screen and a fanless silent operation that contributes to favorable battery life, despite having less RAM and storage compared to some competitors.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both very 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.
Software Development
8.1/10
7.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 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.
Cost
$1,299
$1,260
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 costs $1,260.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Gigabyte Aero 16 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."
"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 15 (2023) 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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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
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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.