Apple unveils new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with M5

Source: TechCrunch

Apple announced its new slate of laptops on Tuesday morning, including new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models that use Apple’s M5 chips. The Pro models were unveiled alongside the brand‑new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which Apple describes as its most advanced CPU cores yet.

The updated M5 chips are specifically designed to make the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro better at handling intensive AI tasks, a growing focus for Apple hardware. According to Apple, both the new Air and Pro can handle AI workloads up to 4× faster than their M4 predecessors.

MacBook Air

The Air targets everyday users while still offering AI‑centric performance gains. Key specs include:

• Battery life: Up to 18 hours (a six‑hour improvement over the last Intel‑based models from 2020)
• Camera: 12 MP Center Stage camera for video calls
• Audio: Three‑mic array and a sound system supporting Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos
• Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack

[Image: MacBook Air ports])
Image Credits: Apple

The lineup comprises:

MacBook Pro

Aimed at developers and creative professionals, the Pro models leverage the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, delivering:

• Up to 4× faster LLM prompt processing than M4 Pro/Max
• Up to 8× faster AI image generation than M1 Pro/Max
• Up to 2× faster read/write performance compared with the previous generation

Additional features:

• Battery life: Up to 24 hours
• Fast charging: 96 W (or higher) USB‑C adapter can charge to 50 % in 30 minutes
• Ports: Thunderbolt 5, six‑speaker sound system, MagSafe, headphone jack

[Image: MacBook Pro lifestyle])
Image Credits: Apple

Pricing and configurations:

Available in black or silver colorways.

Availability

All models will be available for preorder on Tuesday, March 4, with shipments beginning Wednesday, March 11.