Apple revealed its next-generation MacBook Air and MacBook Pro on March 3, 2026, featuring M5-series chips that boost AI performance up to 4 times that of earlier models.
- Apple revealed its next-generation MacBook Air and MacBook Pro on March 3, 2026, featuring M5-series chips that boost AI performance...
- Designed for creators and professionals, the new laptops combine speed with sleek portability.
- Apple’s base M5 in the MacBook Air packs a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, each with a Neural Accelerator.
- “The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop,” said...
Keep reading for the full breakdown on AI performance laptop — everything you need to know is covered below.
Designed for creators and professionals, the new laptops combine speed with sleek portability. Pre-orders start March 4, with shipments from March 11.
M5 series chips boost MacBook Air and Pro
M5 series chips drive the next-gen MacBook Air and Pro with breakthrough AI muscle. Apple’s base M5 in the MacBook Air packs a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, each with a Neural Accelerator. This setup delivers up to 4x faster AI task performance than the MacBook Air with M4.
Unified memory bandwidth hits 153GB/s, up 28 per cent from M4, for smoother multitasking on M5-series chips in MacBook Air and Pro. MacBook Pro gets M5 Pro and M5 Max variants with up to 18-core CPUs, including six “super cores” billed as the world’s fastest.
“The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.
Storage and battery upgrades in next-gen MacBook Air and Pro
Apple’s latest MacBook Air begins at 512GB, doubling its previous base, with SSD read/write speeds up to 2x faster across M5 series chips in both Air and Pro models. Storage can be expanded to 4TB for large files, and MacBook Pro comes standard with 1TB on M5 Pro and 2TB on M5 Max.
The MacBook Air with M5 series chips delivers up to 18 hours of battery life, perfect for all-day use without needing a plug, while the MacBook Pro reaches up to 24 hours. Both models support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and feature Thunderbolt 4/5 ports.
Pricing starts at $1,099 for the 13-inch MacBook Air and $1,299 for the 15-inch. The MacBook Pro begins at $2,199 for the 14-inch M5 Pro and $3,899 for the 16-inch M5 Max. MacBook Air is available in sky blue and midnight colours.