Apple has announced a new MacBook Air powered by its M5 chip, bringing faster CPU and GPU performance, doubled starting storage and upgraded wireless connectivity to its most popular laptop line.
The updated MacBook Air is available in 13-inch and 15-inch models and goes up for pre-order on March 5, with units arriving to customers from Wednesday, March 11. Pricing for the 13-inch model starts at A$1,799 including GST, while the 15-inch starts at A$2,199 including GST.
John Ternus, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, described the update as a meaningful step forward for the product line. “With M5, MacBook Air powers through a wide range of tasks, from everyday productivity to creative workloads, and is even faster for AI. Now featuring double the starting storage, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in a sleek and durable design with long battery life, MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for anyone who values the combination of performance and portability.”
M5 Chip Performance
At the centre of the update is the M5 chip, which features a 10-core CPU and an up-to-10-core GPU. Apple has added a Neural Accelerator to each GPU core, which the company claims makes the new MacBook Air up to 4x faster for AI tasks compared to the M4 model, and up to 9.5x faster than the M1 model.
The M5 also features faster unified memory with 153GB/s of bandwidth, which Apple says represents a 28 per cent improvement over M4, contributing to smoother multitasking and faster app launches.
For graphics-intensive work, M5 includes enhanced shader cores and a third-generation ray-tracing engine. Apple claims up to 6.5x faster 3D rendering with ray-tracing in Blender compared to the M1 MacBook Air, and up to 1.5x faster than the M4 model.
For AI-specific tasks, Apple points to up to 6.9x faster AI video enhancement performance in Topaz Video compared to M1, and up to 1.9x faster than M4. Image processing in Affinity is rated at up to 2.7x faster than M1 and up to 1.5x faster than M4.
Web browsing performance is claimed to be up to 50 per cent faster than a PC laptop with an Intel Core Ultra X7 processor, with more demanding tasks getting up to 2x faster performance.
Storage and SSD Speed
MacBook Air with M5 now ships with 512GB of storage as standard, double the 256GB that came with the previous generation. The top configuration has also been expanded, with the new model configurable up to 4TB for the first time.
Apple says the new SSD delivers 2x faster read and write performance compared to the previous generation, which the company expects to benefit users importing large photo libraries, running on-device AI workloads or working with large project files.
Related: Best Business Laptops for Work & School
Related: Best Gaming Laptops
Related: Best Portable Laptop
Design and Display
The MacBook Air retains its fanless aluminium design and is available in four colours: sky blue, midnight, starlight and silver, across both 13-inch and 15-inch models.
The 13-inch model features a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, while the 15-inch model carries a 15.3-inch panel. Both offer 500 nits of brightness and support for 1 billion colours.
Battery life is rated at up to 18 hours on a single charge, with fast-charge capability included. Apple notes this is six hours more than an Intel-based MacBook Air.
Camera, Audio and Connectivity
MacBook Air with M5 includes a 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View, a three-microphone array for voice clarity during calls, and a speaker system with support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.
The new model introduces Apple’s N1 wireless chip, which enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Apple says the N1 chip delivers improved performance and reliability over the previous generation’s wireless capabilities.
Connectivity includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays simultaneously, a headphone jack and MagSafe for dedicated charging.
macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence
MacBook Air with M5 ships with macOS Tahoe, which includes a redesigned interface featuring what Apple calls a Liquid Glass aesthetic, allowing users to customise folders, app icons and widgets with colour options.
Apple Intelligence features are integrated across the operating system, including Live Translation in Messages, updated Reminders that automatically categorise actions, and expanded Shortcuts functionality that can interact directly with Apple Intelligence models. Example automations cited by Apple include extracting information from a PDF and adding key details to a spreadsheet.
Continuity features include the Phone app on Mac for relaying cellular calls from a nearby iPhone, and Live Activities in iPhone Mirroring that allow users to act on notifications directly from their Mac. A new Edge Light effect for video calls is also included, designed to evenly illuminate a user’s face in varied lighting conditions.
Environment
Apple says MacBook Air with M5 is made with 55 per cent recycled content, including 100 per cent recycled aluminium in the enclosure and 100 per cent recycled cobalt in the battery. The device is manufactured using 50 per cent renewable electricity across the supply chain. Packaging is 100 per cent fibre-based.
Pricing and Availability
Pre-orders are open at https://apple.com/au/store. Units begin arriving on March 11.
The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,799, with an education discount price of $1,639. The 15-inch model starts at $2,199, with an education discount to $2,029. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight and silver.
Prospects
With ‘Microslop’ doing its damndest to alienate Windows and MS Office users with its hostile OneDrive, Edge and CoPilot features, MacBooks are looking more and more attractive. The MacBook Air carries the broadest appeal and this new model hits a minimum spec that shouldn’t cause performance issues for most tasks. However, Apple has also announced a new, cheaper MacBook Neo, but time will tell if that’ underpowered or not.
Last Updated on 6 March 2026 by Nick Ross
