Apple has announced the MacBook Air with M5, raising the starting price to $1,099 while doubling the base storage and improving SSD speeds. The update focuses on performance, storage, and connectivity, while keeping the thin and light design that defines the MacBook Air lineup. You now get 512GB of storage as standard, along with 16GB of RAM across all models.
The previous M4 MacBook Air started at $999 with 256GB storage. This new model returns to the $1,099 starting price seen in earlier generations, but Apple offsets that increase by offering double the base storage and faster read and write speeds. You can also configure storage up to 4TB for the first time on a MacBook Air.
Apple announced the new MacBook Air with M5 in an official press release, confirming pre orders begin March 4, with availability starting March 11 in 33 countries and regions.
“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.”
Apple describes the laptop as “the world’s most popular laptop,” and positions this update as a step forward in performance, AI capability, and wireless connectivity.
Performance gains with M5
The M5 chip brings a 10 core CPU and up to a 10 core GPU, along with a Neural Accelerator in each core. Apple says this improves responsiveness for everyday work and speeds up demanding creative and AI workflows. The chip also supports faster unified memory with 153GB per second bandwidth, which improves multitasking and app launch speeds.
According to Apple, performance improvements include:
- Up to 4x faster AI tasks compared to M4 models
- Up to 9.5x faster AI tasks compared to M1 models
- Up to 6.5x faster 3D rendering in Blender compared to M1
- Up to 2.7x faster image processing in Affinity compared to M1
- Up to 50 percent faster web browsing compared to select Intel Core Ultra laptops
The new SSD delivers up to 2x faster read and write speeds than the previous generation, which helps when importing large photo libraries, editing video, or running local AI workloads.
Design, display, and connectivity
Apple keeps the familiar design, offering 13 inch and 15 inch models in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver. Both feature a thin aluminum body with a fanless design.
Key hardware features include:
- 13.6 inch or 15.3 inch Liquid Retina display with 500 nits brightness
- 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support
- Up to 18 hours of battery life
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays
- MagSafe charging
- Wi Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 powered by Apple’s N1 wireless chip
- Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support
Apple also includes macOS Tahoe, which adds Apple Intelligence features such as Live Translation in Messages, improved Reminders categorization, and enhanced Shortcuts actions.
Pricing and availability
The 13 inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,099, while the 15 inch model starts at $1,299. Education pricing lowers the starting prices to $999 and $1,199 respectively. Pre orders begin March 4 at 6:15 a.m. PST, and shipping starts March 11.
With double the starting storage, faster SSD speeds, and upgraded wireless connectivity, the MacBook Air with M5 targets students, creative professionals, and business users who want more performance without moving to a MacBook Pro.
