Apple has finally updated its popular MacBook Air with the new M5 chip, following its introduction in other models last year. The new laptop promises significant performance gains, especially in AI tasks, alongside a welcome storage upgrade and new connectivity features, but it comes at a higher cost.
The headline change is the M5 chip. Apple claims it delivers up to 4x faster AI performance than the M4 and up to 9.5x faster than the M1. It also offers improved memory bandwidth for smoother multitasking and substantially better 3D rendering and ray-tracing capabilities.
Perhaps the most notable practical improvement is the doubling of the base storage to 512GB, with configurations now available up to 4TB. The SSD itself is also faster, offering doubled read and write speeds.
Other upgrades include the new Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, powered by Apple's N1 wireless chip. The design remains fanless, thin, and lightweight, with up to 18 hours of battery life. It runs the latest macOS Tahoe with the new Liquid Glass interface.
Pricing has increased, with the 13-inch model starting at $1,099 and the 15-inch at $1,299. Pre-orders begin March 4, with availability starting March 11.