Apple unveils M5 MacBook Air with 512GB base storage

Apple's M5 MacBook Air just dropped with doubled base storage, a bespoke wireless chip, and AI performance gains that dwarf the M4 model.

M5 chip highlights

• A 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU sit at the heart of the M5.
• Neural accelerators baked into every GPU core push AI tasks 4x past the M4.
• Unified memory bandwidth hits 153 GB/s, a 28-percent jump over last gen.
• Third-gen ray tracing and upgraded shader cores supercharge gaming and 3D work.

Storage and connectivity upgrades

• Base storage doubles to 512 GB, with configs stretching up to 4 TB.
• SSD read/write speeds are twice as fast as the previous generation.
• Apple's N1 chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 onboard.
• Two Thunderbolt 4 ports handle accessories and dual-display output.

Design and display details

• MacBook Air keeps its slim aluminum build in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes.
• Sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver are the color options.
• Liquid Retina display pumps out 500 nits with one-billion-color support.
• Battery life tops out at 18 hours on a single charge.

macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence

• Liquid Glass UI debuts alongside the new macOS Tahoe release.
• Live Translation works directly inside the Messages app.
• Smarter Shortcuts can pull data from PDFs and pipe it into spreadsheets.
• Live Activities from iPhone now surface on Mac through iPhone Mirroring.

Pricing and availability

• The 13-inch M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099, or $999 for education buyers.
• Its 15-inch sibling kicks off at $1,299, with a $1,199 education tier.
• Pre-orders open March 04 at 6:15 a.m. PST.
• In-store pickup begins March 11.