Apple Launches M5-Powered MacBook Air and Pro: Faster Chips, More Storage, Wi-Fi 7 Arrive

Apple announced significant updates to its MacBook lineup, introducing the M5 chip in the MacBook Air and more powerful M5 Pro and M5 Max variants in the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air now starts with 512GB of storage—double the previous base—and supports configurations up to 4TB, paired with SSDs delivering twice the read/write speeds of the prior generation. A new Apple-designed N1 networking chip enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for superior wireless performance. The M5 chip boasts a 10-core CPU touted as the world's fastest, enhanced GPU with ray-tracing, and 28% faster unified memory bandwidth at 153GB/s, promising up to 4x AI performance gains over M4 models.

These upgrades matter for creators, developers, and everyday users seeking peak efficiency without a full redesign. The MacBook Air retains its slim aluminum build, Liquid Retina display, up to 18 hours of battery life, and starts at $1,099—$100 more than before. MacBook Pro models offer even more prowess with up to 18-core CPUs, memory bandwidth reaching 614GB/s on M5 Max, Thunderbolt 5 ports, and base storage of 1TB for Pro and 2TB for Max. Benchmarks highlight massive leaps in AI tasks, 3D rendering, gaming, and video processing, positioning these Macs as leaders in on-device AI and pro workflows.

Pre-orders for the MacBook Air begin March 4, with availability starting March 11. MacBook Pro details align with a similar rollout, signaling Apple's steady push toward M5 dominance across its ecosystem, including new 27-inch Studio Display models.