Apple just introduced its new 13″ and 15″ MacBook Air models with the latest M5 chip as the successor to last year’s M4 models. The base storage has been increased to 512GB, so the 256GB models are gone, and they have upgraded wireless connectivity.
Key Specifications and Hardware Updates
The new MacBook Air models retain the fanless aluminum design of previous generations and are available in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. Hardware updates for this generation include:
- Upgraded Storage: Base models now begin at 512GB of solid-state storage, doubling the 256GB starting capacity of the previous generation. Apple reports the new SSDs offer up to 2x faster read and write speeds. Configuration options are available up to 4TB.
- Wireless Connectivity: The laptops utilize Apple’s new N1 wireless chip, which introduces support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
- Ports and Battery: Both sizes are equipped with two Thunderbolt 4 ports (supporting up to two external displays), a MagSafe charging port, and an estimated battery life of up to 18 hours.
M5 Processor Performance Claims
The M5 chip is built with a 10-core CPU and an up-to-10-core GPU. According to Apple, the architecture includes a dedicated Neural Accelerator within each GPU core, designed specifically for running AI workloads and Large Language Models (LLMs) on-device. The chip also supports up to 153GB/s of memory bandwidth, a 28% increase over the M4 chip.
Apple has provided the following performance estimates for the M5 MacBook Air:
- General AI Processing: Up to 4x faster performance in AI-related tasks compared to the M4 MacBook Air, and up to 9.5x faster than the M1 model.
- Video Enhancement: Up to 1.9x faster AI video enhancement in Topaz Video compared to the M4 generation (and 6.9x faster than M1).
- 3D Rendering: Up to 1.5x faster 3D rendering with ray-tracing in Blender compared to the M4 generation (and 6.5x faster than M1).
- Image Processing: Up to 1.5x faster performance in Affinity compared to the M4 generation (and 2.7x faster than M1).
- Web Browsing: Up to 50% faster browsing speeds compared to PC laptops equipped with Intel Core Ultra X7 processors.
Apple MacBook Air 13″ and 15″ (M5) specifications
- 13.6″ (2560×1664 pixels) / 15.3″ (2880×1864 pixels) 224 PPI Liquid Retina display with True Tone, Wide colour (P3), 500 nits brightness
- 16GB / 24GB unified memory (Configurable up to 32GB), 512GB SSD storage (Configurable up to 1TB or 2TB)
- Apple M5 chip 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, 8‑core GPU / 10-Core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- macOS
- Magic Keyboard, Touch ID, Force Touch trackpad
- 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View, 1080p HD video recording
- Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers, Support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers, Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking when using supported models of AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, Three-mic array with directional beamforming, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes, Enhanced voice clarity in audio and video calls, 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high‑impedance headphones
- Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40 Gbps), USB 4 (up to 40 Gbps), MagSafe 3 charging port
- Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 6.0
- 53.8 (13″) / 66.5 (15″) watt‑hour lithium‑polymer battery with up to 15 hours wireless web, up to 18 hours video streaming, 30W USB-C Power Adapter (included with M5 with 8‑core GPU), 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter (included with M5 with 10‑core GPU)
Pricing and availability
Both the MacBooks come in four color options: Midnight, Starlight, Silver and new Sky Blue colours with pricing as follows:
MacBook Air 13″ (M5 Chip):
- 16GB + 512GB, 10-Core CPU, 8-Core GPU – Rs. 1,19,900
- 16GB + 512GB, 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU – Rs. 1,29,900
- 24GB + 512GB, 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU – Rs. 1,49,900
MacBook Air 15″ (M5 Chip):
- 16GB + 512GB, 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU – Rs. 1,49,900
- 24GB + 512GB, 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU – Rs. 1,64,900
You can place orders on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 33 countries and regions, including India, starting Wednesday, March 4. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 11.