Apple has introduced its latest MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip, bringing a significant performance boost and expanded capabilities to its most popular laptop line. The new MacBook Air aims to deliver faster processing, stronger AI performance, and improved connectivity while keeping the iconic thin and fanless design.
At the heart of the updated MacBook Air is Apple’s custom-designed M5 system on a chip. It features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, with a Neural Accelerator in each core that dramatically speeds up AI and machine learning tasks. Apple says the M5 Air delivers up to four times the AI performance of the previous M4 model and up to nearly ten times the AI speed compared with the original M1-based Air, making it a more capable machine for tasks like video enhancement, 3D rendering, and image processing.
Performance improvements aren’t just limited to AI. The M5 also delivers faster graphics and general compute performance across everyday tasks and creative workloads, meaning the new Air can handle demanding apps from Affinity photo editing to rendering in Blender with more ease than before.
Apple doubled the base storage of the MacBook Air, with all configurations now starting at 512 gigabytes of SSD space. Options go all the way up to 4 terabytes for users who need larger local storage for media libraries or creative projects. The M5 Air also supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 thanks to Apple’s custom wireless chip, giving faster and more reliable wireless connectivity.
Despite the upgrades inside, the MacBook Air retains its signature thin and lightweight aluminum design with no fans, helping it stay quiet even under heavy workloads. The laptop is available in both 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, with a Liquid Retina display that delivers bright, vibrant visuals, up to 500 nits of brightness, and support for a wide color gamut. A 12-megapixel camera with Center Stage, spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support, and improved battery life of up to 18 hours round out the experience for both work and entertainment.
The new MacBook Air with M5 can be configured with up to 4 terabytes of SSD storage and is available in multiple finishes. Preorders opened March 4, with availability in stores starting March 11. Pricing starts at about $1,099 in the United States, with regional pricing varying by market.
With these updates, Apple continues to push its custom silicon strategy forward, making on-device AI and creative power more accessible while preserving the sleek design that has made the MacBook Air a market favorite.
