Apple’s best-selling laptop got even better with Tuesday’s launch of the M5-powered MacBook Air. It features no major design changes, but it sports a faster processor than before, adds storage capacity and shifts to Apple’s N1 chip for improved connectivity.
“The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With M5, MacBook Air powers through a wide range of tasks, from everyday productivity to creative workloads, and is even faster for AI.
“Now featuring double the starting storage, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in a sleek and durable design with long battery life, MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for anyone who values the unrivaled combination of performance and portability,” he added.
MacBook Air launch brings more speed, storage and connectivity
Apple unveiled the first set of M5-powered devices in October, including the 14-inch MacBook Pro, Vision Pro and iPad Pro. Now, it brings the latest Apple silicon chipset to MacBook Air, while at the same time releasing the previously predicted Pro and Max versions for MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Air boasts a faster CPU and GPU, more storage capacity and better wireless networking with the N1 chip.
What’s new with M5
Photo: Apple
The M5 chip features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, with Apple claiming it delivers up to 4x faster AI task performance compared to the M4 MacBook Air, and up to 9.5x faster than the M1. A Neural Accelerator built into each GPU core powers both on-device Apple Intelligence features and locally run large language models.
For everyday creative work, Apple says the M5 offers up to 1.9x faster AI video enhancement in Topaz Video and up to 1.5x faster 3D rendering in Blender compared to the M4. Unified memory bandwidth has increased to 153GB/s, a 28% jump over M4.
Double the storage, faster SSD, N1 connectivity
One of the most notable changes for buyers is the base storage doubling from 256GB to 512GB at no added cost. The new MacBook Air can also be configured up to 4TB for the first time. Apple says the new SSD delivers 2x faster read and write speeds than the previous generation.
A new Apple-designed N1 chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to the MacBook Air — meaningful upgrades for users who rely on fast, stable wireless connections in busy environments like offices, cafes or classrooms.
Familiar design, new color options
Photo: Apple
The physical design remains largely unchanged: thin, fanless, and available in both 13-inch (13.6in) and 15-inch (15.3in) sizes. Both models come in four colors — sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver — with sky blue being a new addition to the lineup.
Other hardware highlights include a 12MP Center Stage camera, a three-mic array, Spatial Audio support, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe charging and up to 18 hours of battery life.
macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence
Photo: Apple
The new MacBook Air ships with macOS Tahoe, which introduces a Liquid Glass design aesthetic and expanded Apple Intelligence features.
Notable additions include Live Translation in Messages, smarter Reminders categorization and more capable Shortcuts automation. Apple Intelligence is currently available in beta across 17 languages.
Pricing and availability
Both models go up for pre-order on March 4 at 6:15 a.m. PT, with in-store availability and deliveries starting March 11. Education pricing brings the 13-inch to $999 and the 15-inch to $1,199. For other users, the new 13- and 15-inch models start at $1,099 and $1,299, respectively. Apple Card holders can take advantage of 0% APR monthly installments and 3% Daily Cash back on purchases made directly through Apple.
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
