Apple has announced a new MacBook at its Spring forward special event, a device that Phil Schiller, Apple VP, said was designed for "extreme portability". It revives the MacBook name, which used to be the entry-level notebook device.

The small format sees it trimmed down in all directions, smaller than Apple's previous diminutive notebook, the MacBook Air 11-inch, which also received a tweak in today's announcement.

So how does Cupertino's latest stack up against it's last ultra portable model? We've crunched the stats for your easy digestion.

The best display in a MacBook ever

Phil Schiller claimed the new MacBook has the best ever display that Apple has put into a notebook. It has a 12-inch display with a resolution of 2304 x 1440 pixels, 226ppi. 

The MacBook Air 11-inch has an 11.6-inch display with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution 171ppi, so it's softer than the new MacBook. 

That's quite a difference in terms of pixel density, meaning the new MacBook will be much sharper than the MacBook Air 11. Not only that, but Apple claims that it is 30 per cent more efficient than previous displays, so you'll get the same brightness for less energy. 

MacBook is thinner, lighter

You knew the new MacBook was thinner and lighter, but the difference is impressive.

The MacBook is 13.1mm thick at its fattest part (the hinge), whereas the MacBook Air 11 is 17mm, so that's a healthy reduction in size.

The MacBook measures 280.5 x 196.5mm compared to 300 x 192mm of the Air 11, so the new model is slightly narrower, but a little deeper.

The MacBook weighs only 920g compared to 1080g of the MacBook Air 11. Both are light, but that's 170g saving for the new model.

Miniaturised inside

One of the key elements in making the MacBook smaller was miniaturising the logic board, with Apple saying it is 67 per cent smaller than the MacBook Air 11. It is also fanless, so it runs silently, which is a characteristic of Core M devices - like the range of Windows tablets and Ultrabooks on that Intel hardware. 

In terms of power, the new MacBook has fifth-gen Intel Core M processors, with 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3GHz options. Graphics is handled by Intel HD Graphics 5300 and there's 8GB RAM and 256 or 512GB SSD options. 

The MacBook Air 11 has been updated, offering fifth-gen Intel Core i5 processors at 1.6GHz, 4 or 8GB RAM. There are options for 128, 256 and 512GB SSD storage, and it offers Intel HD Graphics 6000. The MacBook Air should be more faster and handle graphics better.

Out with connectivity

One of the dramatic changes on the MacBook is the removal of almost all the ports. It offers wireless connections, and then a single USB type-C connection. That USB connection handles charging, offers USB 3.1 data transfer as well as DisplayPort 1.2 connectivity, all in the same port. There's also a 3.5mm headphone socket.

The MacBook Air 11 was considered fairly stripped down, but offers MagSafe charging, 2x USB 3, ThunderBolt 2, as well as the headphone socket. 

For those who like to physically connect, the older design MacBook Air offers plenty of advantages - you'll need adapters to hook up the new MacBook. 

FaceTime camera takes a hit

Apple loves a bit of FaceTime calling (other video services are available), but the new MacBook isn't the video calling darling you might want it to be. 

The front camera on the MacBook is a 480p - seriously SD - whereas the front camera on the MacBook Air is 720p. In reality, the front camera on your phone is probably better than both.

New keyboard and trackpad

Some of the space saving on the new MacBook comes from a complete redesign of the keyboard and the trackpad. The new model has a butterfly mechanism rather than a scissor mechanism underneath, which allows it to be more compact and stop the keys rocking as much when you hit them. 

Each key on the MacBook has its own LED backlighting for more accurate detail in the dark, so the backlighting should be better than the MacBook Air. 

The MacBook has a brand new trackpad, called Force Touch, that will sense the pressure of your touch as well as offering haptic feedback. It should allow you, for example, to draw a thicker line by pressing harder. 

The MacBook Air sticks to the old trackpad, that's just gestures and clicks. 

Same battery life, different charging

One of the key points about the new MacBook is that Apple has used terraced (layered) and contoured battery cells to fill all the spaces in the new MacBook chassis. Apple claimed this allowed 35 per cent more battery than if it had used traditional rectangular cells. 

The result is that the MacBook has a 39.7-watt-hour battery. The MacBook Air has a 38-watt-hour battery. 

The performance, however, is said to be the same, offering 9 hours of wireless internet or 10 hours of iTunes video playback. We're not sure how this would pan out, for example, no something like video encoding, where the new MacBook would have to work harder.

Interestingly, the MacBook USB-C charger is rated 29W, the MagSafe 2 charger is rated at 45W, so this may have an impact on charging rates. 

MacBook offers more colours

The MacBook comes in an array of colour choices. There's the regular silver, there's a bling gold or space grey, just like the iPads. The Apple logo on the rear is polished stainless steel. It's also entirely metal, whereas the MacBook Air has a plastic hinge section on the rear. 

The MacBook Air 11 comes in silver, with an illuminated logo on the rear.

New MacBook is more expensive

The new MacBook starts at £1049 (1.1GHz, 8GB, 256GB), rising to £1299 (1.2GHz, 8GB, 512GB).

The MacBook Air 11-inch starts at £749 (1.6GHz, 4GB, 128GB), but a closer comparison is £979 (1.6GHz, 8GB, 256GB), meaning there's only £70 in it. The MacBook Air is likely to be the better performer, aside from the display. The MacBook is going to be more portable, designed to be fuss free.