If you prioritize portability and long battery life and are okay with lesser storage out of the box, the Apple MacBook Air with its lightweight design and over 10 hours of typical use battery life is an excellent choice. On the other hand, for more demanding engineering applications, 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, the MSI Katana 15, with a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, more storage, and additional RAM, will offer better performance, albeit at the cost of a heavier build and shorter battery life. The MSI is suitable for intensive gaming and can handle high-refresh-rate demands, which is not a strength of the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air comes with Apple's ecosystem and is slightly more expensive than the MSI, which runs Windows OS and comes at a lower do. 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
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
6.5/10
7.6/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
2880 x 1864
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 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.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
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 MSI Katana 15 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
6.6/10
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 MSI Katana 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.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
6.8/10
15.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the MSI Katana 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Air offers a high-resolution display and exceptional brightness, providing clear and vibrant visuals for everyday tasks and professional engineering or design work, while also boasting a wide color gamut essential for color accuracy. The MSI Katana, while serviceable for general and engineering use with its fair resolution and brightness, may fall short for those dependent on precise color representation. For 3D applications, the MacBook Air's lower refresh rate could hinder the smoothness of motion, making the MSI Katana a more suitable option despite its modest screen credentials, for those who prioritize gaming or real-time 3D rendering.
Battery
15.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 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
15.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has very good portability, while the MSI Katana 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) 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.
Cost
$1,199
$949
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,199 and the MSI Katana 15 costs $949.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and MSI Katana 15 are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is considered good for general use due to its high-resolution screen, lightweight design for portability, long battery life, and silent operation, supported by its efficient Apple M2 processor and 8GB of RAM, though it offers less storage.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
7.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The MSI Katana 15 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) excels in engineering and design with a high-quality screen and efficient Apple M2 chip good for CPU and GPU tasks within 8 GB of RAM; however, it may be limited by less RAM and storage compared to the MSI Katana 15, which offers double the RAM and storage along with a powerful Intel processor and Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, catering well to tasks requiring strong performance.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the MSI Katana 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 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 15 (2023) 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.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
96,795
Recommendations made
20,973
Consumer hours saved
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.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.