Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) vs ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)
41.4Performance51.6
29.8Display38.4
55.3Battery70.7
79.6Portability79.4
2 spec wins — Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3)8 spec wins — ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)
InnoReviews verdict
ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) wins this laptop face-off, 57.5 to 48.4, pulling ahead mainly in battery (+15) and performance (+10). Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) still makes sense if its price or standout specs fit your needs better.
Which would you pick?
Key differences
Reasons to pick the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3)
- 11% higher Geekbench 6 (single): 3,130 vs 2,817
- Lower launch price: $1,299 vs $1,700
Reasons to pick the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)
- Stronger performance score: 52 vs 41
- Stronger display score: 38 vs 30
- Stronger battery score: 71 vs 55
- 300% higher RAM: 32 GB vs 8 GB
- 300% higher storage: 1,024 GB vs 256 GB
Display
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 15.3 ″ | 16 ″+5% |
| Panel type | IPS (Liquid Retina) | OLED touchscreen (Lumina, 100% DCI-P3, HDR True Black 500) |
| Resolution | 2880x1864 | 2880x1800 |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz+100% |
| Peak brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
Performance
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Apple M3 (8-core) | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 |
| Graphics | Apple M3 10-core GPU | AMD Radeon 890M Graphics |
| RAM | 8 GB | 32 GB+300% |
| RAM type | LPDDR5 (unified) | LPDDR5X (on board) |
| Storage | 256 GB | 1,024 GB+300% |
| Storage type | SSD | M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
Benchmarks
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single) | 3,130+11%Top 14% | 2,817Top 43% |
| Geekbench 6 (multi) | 12,066Bottom 29% | 13,363+11%Top 50% |
Battery
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 67 Wh | 78 Wh+17% |
| Charging | 35 W | 65 W+86% |
Design
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 1.51 kg | 1.5 kg+1% |
| Thickness | 11.5 mm+3% | 11.9 mm |
| Material | Recycled Aluminum | Ceraluminum |
Connectivity
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt / USB 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm | 2x USB4 Type-C (40Gbps, display/PD), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, SD 4.0 card reader, 3.5mm combo audio jack |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Webcam | 1080p FaceTime HD | FHD with IR |
| Biometrics | Touch ID | IR camera (Windows Hello) |
Software
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3) | ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | macOS Sonoma | Windows 11 Pro |
Related comparisons
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3)vs Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 (Snapdragon)VSApple MacBook Air 15 (M3)vs Acer Swift Go 14 (2024)VSApple MacBook Air 15 (M3)vs HP HyperX OMEN 15VSApple MacBook Air 15 (M3)vs MSI Stealth 16 AI StudioVSASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4)VSASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)vs Dell XPS 14 (2026)VSASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)vs ASUS TUF Gaming A16 (2024)VSASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura EditionVS