Framework Laptop 12 vs Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 (2025)
52
out of 100
VS
63
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Value for money (Beta)
Key Differences
Advantages of the Framework Laptop 12
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 4 versus 2
- Display has support for touch input
- User-upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and an SSD
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 (2025)
- Around 2.5x better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
- MacBook with the Apple M4 (10-Core) chip maintains its performance even when running on battery power.
- Thinner bezels and 17% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Backlit keyboard
- Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits
- 21% sharper screen – 225 versus 186 pixels per inch (PPI)
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 1.3 kg (2.87 lbs) | 1.24 kg (2.73 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 287 x 213.88 x 18.45 mm 11.3 x 8.42 x 0.73 inches |
304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches |
| Area | 614 cm2 (95.1 inches2) | 654 cm2 (101.3 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~70.3% | ~82% |
| Side bezels | 12.1 mm | 5.6 mm |
| Colors | Black, Gray, Green, Purple | Black, Silver, Gold, Blue |
| Material | Plastic | Aluminum |
| Transformer | Yes | No |
| Opening angle | 360° | 130° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Passive |
| Vapor chamber | No | No |
| Liquid metal | No | No |
| Number of fans | 1 | - |
Display
| Size | 12.2 inches | 13.6 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| PPI | 186 ppi | 225 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels | 2560 x 1664 pixels |
| HDR support | No | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | Yes | No |
| Coating | Glossy | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | - | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Air 13 M4 (2025)
13.6″ (16:10 ratio) = 83.1 in2
Laptop 12
12.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 66.9 in2
~24% more screen space
| Contrast | 1200:1 | 1494:1 |
| sRGB color space | 68% | 99.9% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 93.4% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 50% | 99.4% |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | - | 2:40 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | Yes | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes | Yes, 70 W |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | Left |
| Charge power | 60 W | 30 / 35 / 70 W |
| Cable length | - | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | 310 grams | 170 / 183 / 207 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 1.5 GHz | 4.46 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 4.3 GHz | - |
| Cores | 5 (1P + 4E) | 10 (4P + 6E) |
| Threads | 5 | 10 |
| L3 Cache | 6 MB | - |
| Integrated GPU | Intel Xe3 Graphics (1-Core) | Apple M4 GPU (10-core) |
| Fabrication process | 2 nm | 3 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | - | 18 W |
| Type | Integrated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| GPU base clock | 300 MHz | 500 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 2300 MHz | 1470 MHz |
| FLOPS | 0.6 TFLOPS | 3.8 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory type | DDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory bus | - | 128 bit |
| Memory speed | 5.6 Gbps | 7.5 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 128 | 1280 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 8 | 80 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 4 | 40 |
| GPU performance | 0.6 TFLOPS | 3.8 TFLOPS |
| Blender GPU | - | 972 |
| Solar Bay | - | 14646 |
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 1x8 GB | 2x8 GB |
| Clock | 5600 MHz | 7500 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | LPDDR5X |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 1 | - |
| Max. ram size | 64 GB | - |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x256 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 1 | - |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 2.0 | 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W | - |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
| Loudness | - | ~77 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v7 | v6E |
| Bluetooth | v5.3 | v5.3 |
| Fingerprint | No | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | No | No |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 4x USB 3.2 | No |
| USB Type-C | 4x USB 4.0 | 2x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | No | Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | 4x HDMI 2.0 | No |
| DisplayPort | 4x v1.4 | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | Yes | No |
| SD card reader | Yes | No |
| Proprietary charging port | No | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | No | Yes |
| Key travel | 1.5 mm | 1 mm |
| Size | 11.1 x 6.9 cm | - |
| Surface | Plastic | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | No |
Further details
Notes on Laptop 12:
- The official configurator lets you choose between a MicroSD or standard SD slot.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 2