The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is generally more affordable, with a lighter and thinner design, making it easily portable. It offers a fanless operation, which means it operates silently, but this could limit performance during intensive tasks. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 15 is a bit more expensive, heavier, and thicker, yet provides higher storage space and more memory, which translates to better performance in 3D, machine learning, and engineering tasks, as well as gaming, but sacrifices some portability and has a shorter battery life compared to the MacBook Air. Both have similar screen sizes, but the Aorus 15 has a higher refresh rate, benefiting fast-paced gaming, while the MacBook Air offers a higher resolution and color accuracy, which might be more suited for professionals working with visual media. Give Feedback
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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 Aorus 15
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
8.0/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
2880 x 1864
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 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
8.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.3/10
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 15 (2023) is good.
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 excels in engineering and design due to its superior computing power, derived from a higher-end Intel processor and Nvidia graphics card, coupled with ample storage and double the RAM compared to the Apple MacBook Air 15, which has an integrated Apple GPU and less RAM, affecting performance-intensive tasks. While the MacBook Air boasts better portability, silent operation, and a slightly superior screen quality, the Aorus offers an advantage in tasks requiring more intense graphics processing and multitasking capabilities.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.0/10
15.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
316.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 15 for engineering and design, and software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
For general use, the MacBook Air's high-resolution display and brightness offer crisp and vibrant visuals, while the Gigabyte Aorus also shines with its clear and bright screen. Engineering and design professionals would appreciate the wide color gamuts on both the MacBook Air and Aorus, ensuring accurate color representation for intricate work. However, for 3D applications, the MacBook Air and the Aorus may fall short due to their lower refresh rates, despite adequate resolution and panel quality, which could make fast-moving images less smooth.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 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
15.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) 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 15 (2023) 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
$1,299
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15 costs $1,500.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and Gigabyte Aorus 15 are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is good for general use because of its lighter weight and fanless operation for a silent experience, plus its Apple M2 chip and high-quality IPS display support everyday tasks comfortably. The Gigabyte Aorus 15's powerful Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, along with more RAM and a high refresh rate screen, make it suited for more demanding general use and even gaming, but it sacrifices portability and has a shorter battery life compared to the MacBook Air.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.0/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Gigabyte Aorus 15 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
7.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Gigabyte Aorus 15 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 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 15 (2023) 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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