Apple has officially announced the new M5 MacBook Air. While the starting price has increased by $100, it now comes with double the starting storage, faster SSD speeds, and higher top-end storage.
Higher starting price meets higher base storage
While the M4 MacBook Air started at $999, the new M5 MacBook Air returns to the $1099 price that previous models have had.
The $100 price increase isn’t all bad though. Apple has doubled the base storage from 256GB to 512GB. Apple also includes 16GB RAM across the board compared to just 8GB a few versions ago when the MacBook Air was priced from $1099.
While the M4 MacBook Air was configurable with up to 2TB storage, the new M5 MacBook Air doubles the top-tier storage to 4TB for the first time.
RAM configuration remains the same between models with 16GB, 24GB, and 32GB options.
The move from M4 to M5 also sees the MacBook Air upgrade from Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6 replaces Bluetooth 5.3.
Battery life remains unchanged at 18 hours, and the charger included in the box now appears to be a 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max instead of either the 30W USB-C Power Adapter or 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter.
Like the previous model, the M5 MacBook Air is available in two sizes, 13- and 15-inch, and four colors: sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
Apple says the M5 MacBook Air will be available for pre-order starting on Wednesday, March 4. The M5 MacBook Air will reach customers a week later on Wednesday, March 11.
In the meantime, the excellent M4 MacBook Air in 13-inch and 15-inch configurations will stick around from other retailers while supplies last for anyone looking to avoid the price increase.
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Top comment by Jackson Lawton
Liked by 4 people
Is it worth the price increase, maybe… I mean it’s $100 less than the M4 model with 512GB storage, but still. I bet they increased the storage and thus the price due to the low-cost MacBook supposedly coming out. I just hope it has enough good features to make it a hit for the price. I bet if we look at the iPhone 17e we will get a good idea of what to expect with that MacBook. I just hope they go 12GB RAM instead of 8GB, even if that means sacrificing a few features elsewhere. I wonder though if it will have only 1 USB-C port in addition to a MagSafe and audio port. Though I work in IT and many of the low-cost Chromebooks come with 2 USB ports, with one at least being USB-C, though more and more include 2 of them with charging capabilities, but with lower speeds of course.
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