Apple unveils new M5-powered MacBook Air and Macbook Pros
On Tuesday, a day after unveiling the new iPhone 17e, Apple introduced a refreshed lineup of laptops, including updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models powered by its new M5 family of chips. The M5 MacBook Pro has been available for a few months now, but now it’s joined by models powered by the much more powerful M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, which the company calls its most advanced CPU cores to date.
According to Apple, the M5 series was engineered with artificial intelligence workloads in mind, reflecting the growing emphasis on AI across its hardware portfolio. The company claims both the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro can perform AI-related tasks up to four times faster than comparable models equipped with M4 chips.
Considering that the M-series-powered laptops already excel at daily tasks, users won’t notice much of the upgrades right away. However, Apple says the underlying improvements extend throughout the overall experience.
The MacBook Air now delivers up to 18 hours of battery life, which Apple notes is six hours longer than the battery life of its last Intel-based laptops released in 2020. It also includes a 12MP Center Stage camera for video calls, a three-microphone array, and speakers that support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. Connectivity options consist of two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The updated MacBook Air lineup includes a 13-inch version starting at $1,099 and a 15-inch version starting at $1,299. That’s a $100 increas price compared to the last model, but it comes with 512GB base storage, doubling the entry-level capacity of the previous generation.
The MacBook Pro models, meanwhile, are positioned for more demanding users, particularly developers and researchers working with AI systems. Apple says the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips process large language model prompts up to four times faster than the M4 Pro and M4 Max.
Apple states that this level of performance enables researchers to train custom AI models directly on their laptops. Creative professionals may also benefit from accelerated workflows for 3D rendering, video editing, and music production.
In addition to AI gains, the new MacBook Pro offers up to twice the read and write speeds of the previous generation. Storage now begins at 1TB for configurations with the M5 Pro and 2TB for those with the M5 Max. Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours, and with a 96W or higher USB-C power adapter, the laptops can reach 50% charge in 30 minutes. The devices support Thunderbolt 5 and feature a six-speaker audio system.
Pricing for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro chips starts at $2,199 and $2,699, respectively. Versions equipped with the M5 Max begin at $3,599 for the 14-inch model and $3,899 for the 16-inch model. Color options include black and silver.
Preorders for the entire lineup open today, March 4, with availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.
