Products
Framework Laptop 13 (2025)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Sep 08, 2025 04:25 PM
SEARCH
Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.9
Updated Oct 31, 2025 08:00 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Size
13.5"
Operating System
Windows 11
Size
13.6"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
Framework Laptop 13 (2025)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) and the Framework Laptop 13 (2025) are ultraportable laptops with completely different approaches. The Framework is a modular Windows laptop where every part is replaceable and upgradeable, while the MacBook runs macOS and has all its components soldered down. The MacBook has a fanless design, so it's silent at all times, but it thermal throttles during long sessions. While the MacBook is a better machine to use, the Framework's modularity and repairability make it more flexible, and it's a great option if you support the right-to-repair movement.
Variants
- Laptop 13 (Base) (Ryzen AI 5 340/16GB/256GB)
- Laptop 13 (Extended Productivity) (Ryzen AI 5 340/16GB/512GB)
- Laptop 13 (Performance) (Ryzen AI 7 350/16GB/512GB)
- Laptop 13 (Extended Performance) (Ryzen AI 7 350/16GB/512GB)
- Laptop 13 (Extended Pro) (Ryzen AI 9 HX 370/32GB/1TB)
- 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)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.4
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
8.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.4
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
180°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.8
9.1
Dimensions Photo
Size
13.5"
13.6"
Thickness
0.7" (1.8 cm)
0.5" (1.3 cm)
Width
11.7" (29.8 cm)
12.0" (30.4 cm)
Depth
9.1" (23.0 cm)
8.5" (21.5 cm)
Volume
75.3 in³ (1,233.7 cm³)
51.9 in³ (849.7 cm³)
Weight
2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
Charger Size
5.3 in³ (87.5 cm³)
5.5 in³ (89.4 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.6 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
8.9
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
9.5
6.0
RAM Slots
2
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
2256 x 1504
2560 x 1664
Aspect Ratio
3:2
16:10
Pixel Density
200 PPI
224 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
85%
86%
Refresh Rate
5.9
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
7.6
7.6
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,497 : 1
1,494 : 1
Brightness
8.3
8.4
Maximum Brightness
438 cd/m²
445 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
8.2
9.0
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Matte
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.97%
1.57%
Indirect Reflections
3.61%
0.24%
Calculated Direct Reflections
0.37%
1.33%
Black Uniformity
7.8
8.8
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.905%
0.680%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
6.7
9.8
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
4.27
1.68
Avg. Gamma
2.05
2.25
Avg. Color dE
3.06
1.08
Avg. Color Temperature
6,748.7 K
6,767 K
Color Gamut
8.5
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.65%
99.98%
sRGB uv
99.26%
99.94%
Adobe RGB xy
75.54%
87.95%
Adobe RGB uv
86.79%
93.47%
Gamut HDR
DCI-P3 xy
76.43%
99.44%
DCI-P3 uv
82.59%
99.45%
Rec. 2020 xy
54.87%
71.86%
Rec. 2020 uv
60.35%
73.27%
Flicker
10
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.6
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
63 gf
61 gf
Actuation Force
32 gf
37 gf
Pre-Travel
1.03 mm
0.77 mm
Total Travel
1.63 mm
0.86 mm
Touchpad
8.0
9.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
8.0
9.5
Size
13.5 in² (87.0 cm²)
15.8 in² (102.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.8
8.2
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
77 dB SPL
77 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.2 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
0.1
2.7
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
359 Hz
141 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
10 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
0.9 dB
2.6 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.3
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
8.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
Yes
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
8.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
0
USB-C Ports
4
2
Thunderbolt
No
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.4
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
AMD
Apple
Model
Ryzen AI 7 350
M4
Core Count
8
10
Thread Count
16
10
GPU
Brand
AMD
Apple
Model
Radeon 860M
M4
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
2
Unknown
Type
DDR5
LP-DDR5x
Speed
5,600 MHz
7,500 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
512 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
430 GB
211 GB
Drive 1
Western Digital PC SN740 SDDPNQD-512G
Apple SSD AP0256Z
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)
9.3
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,106 points
CPU Multi-Thread
10,886 points
GPU Compute
30,060 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)
9.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,951 points
Multi-Thread
12,886 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)
8.7
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
2.7 min
GPU Render Time
2.7 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)
5.8
Basemark Image
Overall Score
22,396
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
22 fps
1% Low
15 fps
0.1% Low
10 fps
1% Low Delta
19 ms
0.1% Low Delta
58 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
56 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
6.4
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
42 fps
1% Low
28 fps
0.1% Low
26 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
15 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
147 fps
Avg. Turn Time
7.19 s
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
9.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,596.3 MB/s
2,845.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
3,750.9 MB/s
2,863.3 MB/s
Random Write Speed
105.0 MB/s
46.3 MB/s
Random Read Speed
57.9 MB/s
68.1 MB/s
Battery
7.9
9.0
Capacity
61 Wh
54 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
10.2 hrs
12.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
7.9 hrs
11.9 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
1.8 hrs
3.2 hrs
Charge Time
3.2 hrs
2.8 hrs
Counter-Strike 2
5.4
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
48fps
1% Low
25fps
0.1% Low
22fps
1% Low Delta
19 ms
0.1% Low Delta
25 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
119fps
Thermals And Noise
6.4
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
29 °C (84 °F)
26 °C (79 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
52 °C (126 °F)
49 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
48.0 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
No
No
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
4.1
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
29 fps
1% Low
13 fps
0.1% Low
12 fps
1% Low Delta
43 ms
0.1% Low Delta
50 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
48 fps
Performance Over Time
9.9
7.3
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
87 °C
91 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
1% loss
6% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
80 °C
81 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
11% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
None
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Framework Laptop 13 (2025)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Comments
Framework Laptop 13 (2025) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 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.