Apple just refreshed MacBook Air with M5, and rolled out a new MacBook Pro lineup powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max. Pre-orders start March 4, and the new models hit stores March 11.
MacBook Air with M5: the everyday Mac got a real upgrade
MacBook Air is still the thin, silent, toss-it-in-a-bag laptop people love, but this update is bigger than a simple chip swap. The new Air uses M5 with a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, plus a Neural Accelerator inside each GPU core. Apple’s angle is clear: more speed for creative apps, and a lot more headroom for on-device AI workflows.
Two changes you’ll notice immediately if you’re shopping:
- Base storage is now 512GB, and you can configure up to 4TB.
- There’s a new Apple wireless chip (N1) enabling Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.
Everything else that makes the Air a safe pick is still here: 13-inch or 15-inch, Liquid Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, up to 18 hours of battery, Spatial Audio, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays. Colors are sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
Pricing (US): $1,099 for 13-inch, $1,299 for 15-inch (education pricing is lower).
MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max: built for heavy work and on-device AI
If MacBook Air is the “most people” laptop, the new MacBook Pro is Apple going full throttle for developers, creators, researchers, and anyone pushing big projects daily.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models jump to M5 Pro and M5 Max, with a new CPU design (up to 18 cores) and a next-gen GPU where each core includes that Neural Accelerator idea again. Apple claims huge gains for things like LLM prompt processing and AI image generation, plus big boosts in graphics performance.
The Pro upgrade that feels the most practical: storage and speed.
- Up to 2x faster SSD performance, with Apple citing speeds up to 14.5GB/s in testing.
- Starting storage is now 1TB on M5 Pro models, and 2TB on M5 Max models.
You also get the Pro perks people actually pay for: up to 24 hours of battery life, Liquid Retina XDR with optional nano-texture, Thunderbolt 5, HDMI with up to 8K, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3, and the same Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 6 wireless upgrade.
Pricing (US): starts at $2,199 for 14-inch M5 Pro and $2,699 for 16-inch M5 Pro. M5 Max starts at $3,599 for 14-inch and $3,899 for 16-inch.
macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence: the “new Mac” vibe
Both MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lean into macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence, with features like Live Translation, smarter Shortcuts actions, and deeper system-level automation. The hardware updates are cool, but the bigger story is that Apple is clearly tuning these Macs for a future where more AI runs locally, not in a browser tab.
Which one should you get?
- MacBook Air (M5): best for students, everyday work, travel, and light creative projects, especially now that 512GB is standard.
- MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/Max): for sustained heavy workloads, pro apps, big external display setups, and anyone who wants maximum on-device performance without compromise.
Also read our post on the new iPhone 17e and iPad Air announcement.
