M5 MacBook Air vs M4 MacBook Air: What’s actually changed?

Source: 9to5Mac

Today Apple launched a new MacBook Air powered by the M5 chip. Here’s everything new in the M5 MacBook Air vs last year’s M4 model.

M5 chip

The M5 chip is the big highlight of the new MacBook Air. From Apple’s press release:

M5 delivers incredible performance for everything users want to tackle, from everyday productivity to creative workflows. MacBook Air with M5 features a 10‑core CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core for even more responsiveness. Combined with an up‑to‑10‑core GPU with a powerful Neural Accelerator in each core, MacBook Air with M5 delivers up to 4× faster performance for AI tasks than MacBook Air with M4, and up to 9.5× faster than MacBook Air with M1. This makes it an incredibly capable platform for AI — whether using Apple Intelligence across apps and system experiences at home, or running LLMs on device in an enterprise.

If you’re already using an M4 MacBook Air, the M5 chip almost certainly won’t be worth the upgrade. It does bring solid year‑over‑year improvements, and the new MacBook Air is aimed at owners of older models such as the M1.

More and faster storage

The M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099, $100 more than the M4’s $999 base price. That extra cost buys double the starting storage:

• 512 GB standard storage (up from 256 GB)
• Configurable up to 4 TB, double the previous maximum

Apple also says the new SSD “delivers 2× faster read/write performance compared to the previous generation.”

N1 wireless chip for Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6

Apple’s N1 wireless chip, first seen in the iPhone 17 line, now appears in the M5 MacBook Air, replacing the third‑party wireless solutions used in the M4 model.

Key benefits

• Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) vs Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) in the M4
• Bluetooth 6 vs Bluetooth 5.3
• Improved performance and reliability for cross‑platform features like AirDrop and Personal Hotspot

Better charger in the box

Apple upgraded the power adapter that ships with the M5 MacBook Air. The previous M4 model included a 30 W USB‑C Power Adapter; the new M5 version comes with a 40 W Dynamic Power Adapter (60 W max). You can also buy the adapter separately here.

For more details on the adapter, see our previous coverage.

M5 MacBook Air vs M4: wrap‑up

Everything else about the M5 MacBook Air is largely identical to last year’s M4 model: same industrial design, color and size options, 18‑hour battery life, 12 MP Center Stage camera, and overall feature set.

If you’re upgrading from an older MacBook Air (e.g., M1), the M5 is a fantastic option. It isn’t intended for current M4 users.