Products
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.9
Updated Oct 31, 2025 08:00 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Jun 20, 2025 03:17 PM
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Size
13.6"
Operating System
macOS
Size
14"
Operating System
Windows 11
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (2025)
The Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (2025) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) are very different laptops. The former is a Windows convertible with touch and pen input support, while the latter is a more traditional clamshell model running macOS. The MacBook Air is a better device overall, providing a superior user experience with its sharper, brighter, and more colorful display, more tactile keyboard, easier-to-use haptic touchpad, and significantly better webcam. Apple's M4 SoC is also noticeably faster than the Dell's Intel Lunar Lake chips, capable of handling more demanding workloads. Plus, unlike the Dell 14 Plus, the MacBook Air is fanless, allowing you to work in complete silence.
Variants
- MacBook Air 13 (MW133LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6C4LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW123LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0X3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC654LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0W3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6U4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6V4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6T4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW103LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6A4LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0Y3LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- 14 Plus 2-in-1 (LDB04250) (Ice Blue - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
- 14 Plus 2-in-1 (LDB04250-5418BLU-PCA) (Ice Blue - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
- 14 Plus 2-in-1 (LDB04250-7137BLU-PUS) (Ice Blue - Ultra 7 256V/16GB/1TB)
- 14 Plus 2-in-1 (LDB04250-7586BLU-PCA) (Ice Blue - Ultra 7 256V/16GB/1TB)
- 14 Plus 2-in-1 (LDB04250-9168BLU-PUS) (Ice Blue - Ultra 9 288V/32GB/1TB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.1
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
2 in 1
Build Quality
9.5
8.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
7.5
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
360°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
No
Portability
9.1
8.3
Dimensions Photo
Size
13.6"
14"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.7" (1.9 cm)
Width
12.0" (30.4 cm)
12.4" (31.4 cm)
Depth
8.5" (21.5 cm)
8.9" (22.5 cm)
Volume
51.9 in³ (849.7 cm³)
81.9 in³ (1,342.4 cm³)
Weight
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
3.4 lbs (1.6 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (89.4 cm³)
9.7 in³ (159.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
6.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
8.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2560 x 1664
1920 x 1200
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
224 PPI
162 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
86%
85%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
7.6
7.1
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,494 : 1
1,190 : 1
Brightness
8.4
6.9
Maximum Brightness
445 cd/m²
296 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
2 cd/m²
23 cd/m²
Reflections
9.0
6.8
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.57%
5.11%
Indirect Reflections
0.24%
0.91%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.33%
4.2%
Black Uniformity
8.8
7.9
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.680%
0.880%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.8
3.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.68
5
Avg. Gamma
2.25
2.06
Avg. Color dE
1.08
6.69
Avg. Color Temperature
6,767 K
6,051.5 K
Color Gamut
9.4
4.0
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.98%
64.79%
sRGB uv
99.94%
51.4%
Adobe RGB xy
87.95%
50.32%
Adobe RGB uv
93.47%
45.1%
Gamut HDR
DCI-P3 xy
99.44%
50.37%
DCI-P3 uv
99.45%
42%
Rec. 2020 xy
71.86%
36.13%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.27%
30.59%
Flicker
9.0
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
Yes
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
100%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
7.7
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
7.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
61 gf
65 gf
Actuation Force
37 gf
34 gf
Pre-Travel
0.77 mm
0.93 mm
Total Travel
0.86 mm
1.37 mm
Touchpad
9.2
7.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
7.0
Size
15.8 in² (102.0 cm²)
14.3 in² (92.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Plastic
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.2
5.9
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
77 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
12.1 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.7
4.4
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
141 Hz
339 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
17 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.6 dB
1.2 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
6.6
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
6.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
Yes
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
5.0
8.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
1
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.0
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
No
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.4
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M4
Core Ultra 5 226V
Core Count
10
8
Thread Count
10
8
GPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M4
Arc 130V GPU
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
16 GB
Modules
Unknown
8 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x
Speed
7,500 MHz
8,533 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
512 GB
Usable Capacity
211 GB
406 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP0256Z
Micron 2500
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)
9.2
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,877 points
CPU Multi-Thread
8,926 points
GPU Compute
28,397 points
CPU/RAM Performance
8.1
Cinebench 2024 - Single Core
172 points
Cinebench 2024 - Multi Core
725 points
Geekbench 6 - Single Core
3,771
Geekbench 6 - Multi Core
15,137
Blender - CPU (Avg)
72 samples/min
PassMark PT - CPU Mark
23,551
PassMark PT - Memory Mark
4,981
PassMark PT - Memory Mark (Android)
N/A
Mozilla Kraken
276 ms
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.5
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,792 points
Multi-Thread
8,092 points
Low Tier Graphics
7.6
Geekbench 6 - GPU Compute
48,919
Basemark Web 3.0
2,061
PassMark PT - 2D Mark
N/A
PassMark PT - 2D Mark (Android)
N/A
PassMark PT - 3D Mark
N/A
PassMark PT - 3D Mark (Android)
N/A
Novabench 5 - GPU
157.0
mprep - Stress My GPU
9,186
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.6
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.9 min
GPU Render Time
0.8 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
High Tier Graphics
5.3
3DMark - Steel Nomad (DX12)
N/A
3DMark - Steel Nomad (Vulkan/Metal)
789
Basemark GPU (DX12)
N/A
Basemark GPU (Vulkan/Metal)
45,261
GFXBench - High Level Test (Vulkan/Metal)
3,769 Frames
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.1
Basemark Image
Overall Score
40,484
Professional 3D (GPU Accelerated)
1.4
Blender - GPU (Avg)
360 samples/min
Cinebench 2024 - GPU
3,323 points
CPU-Intensive Game Performance
5.0
Civilization VII - AI
16.9 s/turn
Civilization VII - Graphics (Avg)
59.5 fps
Civilization VII - Graphics (1% Low)
55.5 fps
Total War: Warhammer III (Avg)
11.4 fps
Baldur's Gate 3 (Avg)
26.1 fps
Baldur's Gate 3 (1% Low)
15.7 fps
Previous Methodology Score
4.0
Previous Methodology Score Converted
3.5
GPU-Intensive Game Performance
3.0
Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)
11.1 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)
9.6 fps
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)
N/A
Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)
N/A
GTA V (Avg)
N/A
GTA V (1% Low)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)
N/A
Resident Evil 4 (Avg)
N/A
Resident Evil 4 (1% Low)
N/A
Previous Methodology Score
4.8
Previous Methodology Score Converted
2.8
Borderlands 3
3.9
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
26 fps
1% Low
8 fps
0.1% Low
5 fps
1% Low Delta
84 ms
0.1% Low Delta
184 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
51 fps
Ray Tracing Performance
1.2
Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)
9.6 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)
5.3 fps
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)
N/A
Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)
N/A
Civilization VI
6.6
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
41 fps
1% Low
30 fps
0.1% Low
29 fps
1% Low Delta
9 ms
0.1% Low Delta
10 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
138 fps
Avg. Turn Time
7.27 s
Storage Drive Performance
9.3
9.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,845.4 MB/s
1,420.9 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,863.3 MB/s
3,972.8 MB/s
Random Write Speed
46.3 MB/s
79.6 MB/s
Random Read Speed
68.1 MB/s
49.3 MB/s
Battery
9.0
8.7
Capacity
54 Wh
64 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
12.3 hrs
11.1 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
11.9 hrs
15.5 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
3.2 hrs
2.7 hrs
Charge Time
2.8 hrs
2.6 hrs
Counter-Strike 2
6.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
47fps
1% Low
30fps
0.1% Low
22fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
24 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
104fps
Thermals And Noise
8.1
8.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
26 °C (79 °F)
28 °C (82 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
49 °C (121 °F)
44 °C (112 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
34.0 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
Yes
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
5.4
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
1% Low
25 fps
0.1% Low
11 fps
1% Low Delta
16 ms
0.1% Low Delta
72 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
65 fps
Performance Over Time
7.3
7.8
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
91 °C
69 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
6% loss
14% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
81 °C
65 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
11% loss
1% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
Wacom AES 2.0
Secondary Display
No
No
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (2025)
Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) vs Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (2025): Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.