Apple on Tuesday announced a new MacBook Air with M5, and the latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The new M5 MacBook Air and the M5 Pro MacBook now have 1TB base storage, while the M5 Max MacBook Pro now has 2TB base storage. Apple says the M5 Pro and the M5 Max are its fastest and most advanced CPU cores.
Apple says the M5 chip brings “exceptional performance and expanded AI capabilities” to the new MacBook Air. The M5 is 4x faster than the M4 when it comes to AI tasks, and 9x faster than the MacBook Air with M1. The same applies to the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro, which are 4x faster than the previous generation and 8x faster than the M1 models.
“M5 Pro is designed for users running complex workflows, like coders optimizing algorithms and photographers processing massive image libraries, while M5 Max is for those pushing the absolute limits, such as engineers running rigorous simulations,” Apple shared in a press release. The M5 MacBook Air is good for gaming and 3D-rendering, thanks to its faster unified memory with 153GB/s of bandwidth. The M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with up to 307GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth.
The new MacBook Pro models get up to 24 hours of battery life, 13 hours more than the Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 3 hours more than the M1 models at a single charge. In terms of connectivity, it comes with three Thunderbolt 5 ports for high-speed data transfer, an HDMI that supports up to 8K resolution, an SDXC card slot for quick media import, and MagSafe 3 with fast-charge capability.
The new MacBook Air gets up to 18 hours of battery life, 6 hours more than the Intel-based MacBook Air. It comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports for connecting accessories with support for up to two external displays, and a MagSafe charging port.
The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,099, and the 15-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,299. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver colours. The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199, and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,699. The new MacBook Pro models are available in space black and silver colours. Pre-order is underway, with availability starting Wednesday, March 11.
Image: Apple
