Apple has introduced a new MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip, adding faster performance, updated wireless connectivity, and more base storage to its laptop lineup. The announcement follows yesterday’s launch of the iPhone 17e and a new iPad Air with an M4 chip, marking a wide refresh across the tech giant’s range of devices.
The MacBook Air with M5 is available in 13-inch and 15-inch models and now starts with 512GB of storage as standard.
MacBook Air with M5
Apple says its M5 silicon features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, with a Neural Accelerator built into each GPU core to improve AI processing. According to Apple, MacBook Air with M5 delivers up to 4x faster AI performance than the M4 version.
The chip includes enhanced shader cores and a third-generation ray-tracing engine to support graphics-heavy tasks such as 3D rendering and gaming. The unified memory bandwidth reaches 153GB/s, a 28 percent increase over M4, which should allow smoother multitasking and faster app launches.
Storage can be configured up to 4TB, and the new SSD provides up to 2x faster read and write speeds compared with the previous generation, which could reduce load times and accelerate large file transfers.
Wireless connectivity has also been updated with Apple’s N1 wireless chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
The design remains thin and fanless, housed in a sleek aluminum enclosure and available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver trims. The 13-inch model features a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, while the 15-inch version includes a 15.3-inch display. Both support up to 500 nits of brightness and can display upto 1 billion colors.
Battery life is rated at up to 18 hours. Apple says this provides extended use across work and entertainment without frequent charging.
The MacBook Air includes a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support, a three-microphone array, and speakers compatible with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. It features two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays, along with MagSafe charging.
It comes with macOS Tahoe, which offers interface customization options and expanded Apple Intelligence features, including Live Translation in Messages and updated Shortcuts actions that connect directly with on-device AI models.
John Ternus, Apple’s SVP of Hardware Engineering, said: “The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop. 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 unrivalled combination of performance and portability.”
Pre-orders begin March 4, with availability from March 11. The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,099, and $999 for education, while the 15-inch model starts at $1,299 and $1,199 for education.
What do you think about the new MacBook Air with M5? Let us know in the comments.
