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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
ASUS X515 (2020) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
ASUS X515 (2020)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Tested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Aug 23, 2024 04:00 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 08, 2024 02:46 PM
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Size15.6"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Size13.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Variants
- X515 (X515JA-BB31-CB) (Slate Gray - FHD/IPS/i3/8GB/256GB)
- X515 (X515JA-212) (Slate Gray - HD/i3/8GB/256GB)
- X515 (X515JA-BB51-CB) (Slate Gray - HD/i5/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGND3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNE3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN93LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNA3LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN63LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN73LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
ASUS X515 (2020)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
The ASUS X515 (2020) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) are very different. The X515 is a budget 15.6 inch laptop that runs Windows, while the MacBook Air is a premium 13 inch laptop that runs macOS. The MacBook Air is better for the most part because it offers a superior user experience. The MacBook Air's touchpad is larger and more responsive, its keyboard provides a better typing experience, and its display is sharper, brighter, and more colorful. It also has better-sounding speakers and a significantly better webcam. The MacBook Air's M1 SoC is much more powerful than any of the Intel CPUs available on the X515, and it's also more power-efficient, leading to longer battery life.
Main Differences forSchool
School
Threshold
School
6.1
8.4
Battery
5.4
8.8
Build Quality
6.5
9.5
Touchpad
6.3
8.8
Keyboard
5.1
7.6
Webcam & Microphone
4.4
8.2
Portability
8.2
9.1
Vertical Viewing Angle
3.0
6.8
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
5.9
8.8
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
6.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
5.4
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
130°
135°
Stability
Decent
Good
One Finger Lift
No
Yes
Portability
8.2
9.1
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.6"
13.3"
Thickness
0.8" (2.1 cm)
0.5" (1.3 cm)
Width
14.2" (36.0 cm)
12.0" (30.5 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.5 cm)
8.4" (21.2 cm)
Volume
108.4 in³ (1,776.6 cm³)
51.3 in³ (840.6 cm³)
Weight
3.7 lbs (1.7 kg)
2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
Charger Size
5.1 in³ (83.1 cm³)
5.5 in³ (90.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.3 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
7.5
3.3
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
7.5
5.5
RAM Slots
1
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
Yes
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
1366 x 768
2560 x 1600
Aspect Ratio
16:9
16:10
Pixel Density
100 PPI
225 PPI
Panel Type
TN
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
80%
84%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
4.4
6.8
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
406 : 1
1,044 : 1
Brightness
6.0
7.8
Maximum Brightness
226 cd/m²
372 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
13 cd/m²
4 cd/m²
Reflections
7.7
8.9
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Matte
Glossy
Total Reflections
4.067%
1.73%
Indirect Reflections
4.909%
0.16%
Calculated Direct Reflections
0.84%
1.57%
Black Uniformity
0.3
7.4
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
8.934%
1.071%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
5.0
6.8
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
22°
25°
Color Washout From Right
20°
28°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
29°
40°
Color Shift From Right
22°
46°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
27°
28°
Brightness Loss From Right
25°
31°
Black Level Raise From Left
16°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
15°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
15°
29°
Gamma Shift From Right
14°
32°
Vertical Viewing Angle
3.0
6.8
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
6°
25°
Color Washout From Above
24°
25°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
3°
37°
Color Shift From Above
13°
41°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
22°
27°
Brightness Loss From Above
26°
28°
Black Level Raise From Below
6°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
3°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
2°
37°
Gamma Shift From Above
2°
35°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
1.2
9.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
8.25
1.75
Avg. Gamma
2.31
2.2
Avg. Color dE
7.62
1.21
Avg. Color Temperature
7,968 K
6,883.6 K
Color Gamut
4.1
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
67.29%
99.96%
sRGB uv
52.08%
99.84%
Adobe RGB xy
50.64%
88.07%
Adobe RGB uv
46.05%
92.88%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
50.27%
99.57%
DCI P3 uv
42.6%
99.15%
Rec. 2020 xy
36.13%
72.25%
Rec. 2020 uv
31.19%
73.92%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
5.1
7.6
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
6.0
7.5
Numpad
Yes
No
Backlighting
No
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
59 gf
63 gf
Actuation Force
37 gf
37 gf
Pre-Travel
0.97 mm
0.76 mm
Total Travel
1.62 mm
0.85 mm
Touchpad
6.3
8.8
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
6.0
9.0
Size
12.1 in² (78.3 cm²)
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
Material
Plastic
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.7
8.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
72 dB SPL
79 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.9 dB
4.5 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
-0.9
1.6
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
217 Hz
247 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
7 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
0.9 dB
1.9 dB
Webcam & Microphone
4.4
8.2
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
4.0
8.5
Resolution
480p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
6.0
4.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
3
0
USB-C Ports
1
2
Thunderbolt
No
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
No
Yes
USB-C Display Out
No
Yes
HDMI
1.4
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
No
Security Lock
Yes
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
4.1
5.0
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Core i3-1005G1
M1
Core Count
2
8
Thread Count
4
8
GPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
UHD Graphics G1
M1
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
8 GB
Modules
1
2 (Soldered)
Type
DDR4
LP-DDR4X
Speed
3,200 MHz
4,266 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
204 GB
218 GB
Drive 1
Western Digital PC SN530
SDRGJHI4
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
5.9
8.8
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,138 points
1,721 points
CPU Multi-Thread
2,414 points
7,437 points
GPU Compute
5,051 points
19,359 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
6.5
9.1
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,049 points
1,497 points
Multi-Thread
2,391 points
6,855 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
1.6
6.2
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
16.0 min
7.3 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
2.2
6.1
Basemark Image
Overall Score
4,922
26,868
Storage Drive Performance
9.1
9.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
791.6 MB/s
2,580.5 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,040.1 MB/s
2,487.4 MB/s
Random Write Speed
111.7 MB/s
51.5 MB/s
Random Read Speed
47.6 MB/s
60.5 MB/s
Battery
5.4
8.8
Capacity
37 Wh
50 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
6.1 hrs
13.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
3.8 hrs
6.6 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.9 hrs
2.6 hrs
Charge Time
2.1 hrs
3.1 hrs
Borderlands 3
1.1
2.4
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
7 fps
15 fps
1% Low
2 fps
6 fps
0.1% Low
1 fps
3 fps
1% Low Delta
293 ms
86 ms
0.1% Low Delta
1,551 ms
302 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
18 fps
32 fps
Civilization VI
2.2
5.6
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
7 fps
32 fps
1% Low
6 fps
23 fps
0.1% Low
6 fps
21 fps
1% Low Delta
43 ms
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
46 ms
17 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
30 fps
71 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.52 s
11.63 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
5.1
7.7
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
65 fps
1% Low
23 fps
N/A
0.1% Low
19 fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
21 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
30 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
87 fps
94 fps
Counter-Strike 2
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
0.0
2.0
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
13 fps
1% Low
N/A
9 fps
0.1% Low
N/A
5 fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
31 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
135 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
17 fps
26 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.9
8.3
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
28 °C (83 °F)
28 °C (82 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
41 °C (105 °F)
47 °C (117 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
26.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
44.8 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Performance Over Time
9.9
7.5
Performance Over Time Graph
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
92 °C
N/A
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
0% loss
13% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
69 °C
N/A
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
3% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 10
macOS
Additional Software
Yes
None
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
No
Fingerprint Sensor
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ASUS X515 (2020)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
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ASUS X515 (2020) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020): Main Discussion
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