Apple launches M5 MacBook Air with higher base storage and higher price
Apple has refreshed the MacBook Air with a new M5 processor as part of its big week of updates, bringing performance upgrades while leaving the overall design largely untouched. The new laptops continue to come in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes, with pre-orders opening March 4th and retail availability beginning March 11th.
Visually, the new MacBook Air is almost indistinguishable from last year’s model. Apple has kept the same aluminium body, keyboard, and speaker setup, along with the Liquid Retina display introduced in the previous generation. The 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch panels still offer up to 500 nits of brightness and retain the display notch that houses the webcam. The laptops are available in the same four colours as before — Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, and Midnight — and the weight difference compared with the M4 model is negligible.
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The biggest change sits inside. The MacBook Air now runs on Apple’s M5 chip, which the company says improves performance across both traditional computing workloads and newer AI-driven features. The chip includes a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, along with neural acceleration built into each core to speed up machine-learning tasks.
Apple says the new chip can deliver up to four times faster performance in AI-related tasks compared with the M4 MacBook Air. Much of that improvement is tied to Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of AI features that run partly on the device itself. MacBook Air models dating back to the M1 generation already support Apple Intelligence, so the M5 upgrade is more about handling those workloads faster rather than enabling entirely new capabilities.
Outside AI features, Apple is also promising modest gains in creative and productivity tasks. According to the company, 3D rendering in Blender and image processing in Affinity Photo can run up to 1.5 times faster than on the M4 model. Memory bandwidth has also increased, moving from 120GB/s to 153GB/s, which should help with heavier workloads and multitasking.
Apple has also changed the base storage configuration. The new MacBook Air now starts with 512GB of storage, replacing the 256GB entry option offered on the previous generation. Apple says the SSD itself has been upgraded as well, delivering up to twice the read and write speeds compared with the earlier model. Buyers who need additional space can configure the laptop with up to 4TB of storage, which is a new option for the MacBook Air lineup.
The shift in storage also reflects in the pricing. The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at Rs 1,19,900, while the 15-inch model starts at Rs 1,44,900. For comparison, the M4 MacBook Air launched in March 2025 starting at Rs 99,900, although that entry configuration included only 256GB of storage. Since the new model begins with 512GB, the effective comparison is closer to last year’s higher storage tier.
Apple has also upgraded connectivity on the new laptops. The MacBook Air now includes the company’s N1 wireless chip, which enables support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The previous generation supported Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Battery capacity remains unchanged at 53.8Wh for the 13-inch model and 66.5Wh for the 15-inch version, with Apple continuing to claim up to 15 hours of web browsing or 18 hours of video playback.
Other hardware features remain largely the same. The MacBook Air still includes a 12MP Center Stage camera, a three-microphone array, MagSafe charging, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays.
For users still running Intel-based Macs or early Apple silicon models such as the M1 MacBook Air, the new version should deliver a clear improvement in performance and storage. However, those who upgraded recently to the M3 or M4 MacBook Air may find the changes incremental unless their workflows benefit from the faster chip or the higher base storage.
Pre-orders for the new MacBook Air opened March 4th, with the laptops scheduled to reach stores starting March 11th.
