Apple unveiled a faster MacBook Air powered by the new M5 chip on Monday, marking a significant performance upgrade for the company’s popular laptop line. Preorders begin Wednesday, March 4, with availability starting March 11, Apple announced.
The updated MacBook Air features a “faster CPU and next-generation GPU,” according to Apple, and incorporates a Neural Accelerator in each core. This configuration is designed to enhance performance in artificial intelligence workflows and support Apple Intelligence, the company’s forthcoming AI platform. The new model also doubles the base storage capacity to 512GB, and is configurable with up to 4TB of storage. Apple claims a new SSD delivers twice the read/write performance of the previous generation.
Apple states the M5 MacBook Air’s 10-core CPU represents “the world’s fastest CPU core,” and boasts an up to 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator. The company claims the M5 MacBook Air delivers up to four times faster performance for AI tasks compared to the M4 MacBook Air and is more than nine times faster than the M1 MacBook Air.
Despite the performance improvements, the display and battery life remain consistent with the M4 MacBook Air. The M5 MacBook Air will be available with a 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display offering 500 nits of brightness, and maintains up to 18 hours of battery life.
The price of the M5 MacBook Air reflects the performance boost. The 13.6-inch model starts at $1,099, a $100 increase over the previous M4 generation. The 15.3-inch model begins at $1,299. Educational pricing offers a $100 discount on both models, bringing the 13-inch to $999 and the 15-inch to $1,199.
The new MacBook Air with M5 is available for pre-order starting at 9:15 a.m. ET on March 4, according to Apple.
