Apple has unveiled new versions of its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, featuring the latest generation of its proprietary silicon chips. The updated laptops promise enhanced performance, improved AI capabilities, and expanded storage options for users.
The MacBook Air with M5 chip is geared towards regular users, offering double the starting storage capacity and enhanced wireless connectivity. On the other hand, the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips targets professionals dealing with demanding tasks like AI model training and 3D rendering. Both models are open for pre-orders from March 4, with general availability starting on March 11.
The new MacBook Air is available in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes and boasts a 10-core CPU, up to a 10-core GPU, and a Neural Accelerator in each core. Apple claims that the M5 chip provides up to four times faster AI performance compared to the previous generation and up to 9.5 times faster than the M1 version.
Storage options for the MacBook Air now start at 512GB, doubling the previous base capacity, and can be expanded up to 4TB. The SSD delivers twice the read and write speeds of its predecessor. The inclusion of Apple’s new N1 wireless chip enables support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
Notable features of the MacBook Air include a Liquid Retina display, a 12-megapixel Centre Stage camera, up to 18 hours of battery life, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports that can support two external displays. The laptop retains its fanless design and is offered in four color options: sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver. Pricing for the 13-inch model starts at $1,099, while the 15-inch version begins at $1,299.
The MacBook Pro models now come in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, powered by the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, utilizing Apple’s Fusion Architecture that merges two dies into a single system. The CPUs boast up to 18 cores with six high-performance cores, while the GPUs feature Neural Accelerators in each core.
Apple positions the M5 Pro for users handling complex workflows like algorithm optimization and image processing, while the M5 Max targets users requiring high-performance capabilities such as engineers running simulations. The new chips offer up to four times faster AI performance than the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and up to eight times faster than the M1 Pro and M1 Max models. Memory bandwidth reaches up to 307GB per second on M5 Pro and 614GB per second on M5 Max, supporting up to 128GB of unified memory.
Storage options for the MacBook Pro models start at 1TB for M5 Pro and 2TB for M5 Max, with SSD read and write speeds reaching up to 14.5GB per second, twice as fast as the previous generation. The laptops include three Thunderbolt 5 ports, support for up to four external displays on M5 Max, and the N1 chip enabling Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, and the laptops feature a 12-megapixel Centre Stage camera, studio-quality microphones, and a six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. The laptops are offered in space black and silver color options.
Prices for the 14-inch M5 Pro model start at $2,199, while the 16-inch version starts at $2,699. The M5 Max configurations are priced starting at $3,599 for the 14-inch model and $3,899 for the 16-inch version. Additionally, the older 14-inch MacBook Pro with the standard M5 chip now comes with 1TB of storage as standard, starting at $1,699.