Apple updates MacBook Air and Pro with AI-focused M5 chips

Apple has announced new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models powered by its new M5 chip architecture. According to Apple, these new laptops can handle AI tasks up to 4x faster than their M4 predecessors. The company stated that the updated M5 chips were specifically designed to improve how the laptops handle intensive AI tasks, which are becoming a central focus for Apple’s hardware development.

The updated MacBook Air lineup includes a 13-inch model starting at $1,099 and a 15-inch model starting at $1,299. Both models now feature a starting storage capacity of 512 GB, which doubles the base storage of the previous generation. The MacBook Air offers 18 hours of battery life and includes a 12MP camera. For connectivity and charging, the laptops feature two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Air models are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver color options.

For technical users, Apple introduced the MacBook Pro equipped with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. These chips are up to 4x faster at LLM prompt processing than the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and up to 8x faster at AI image generation than the M1 Pro and M1 Max. The MacBook Pro offers up to 24 hours of battery life. When using a 96W or higher adapter, the laptops can charge to 50% battery in 30 minutes. The Pro models support Thunderbolt 5, feature a six-speaker sound system, and are available in black or silver colorways. According to Apple, these performance improvements allow AI researchers and developers to train models on their devices, while creative users can benefit from faster 3D rendering, video editing, and music production.

The pricing and storage configurations for the MacBook Pro models are structured as follows:

• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro): Starts at $2,199 with 1TB of starting storage.
• 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro): Starts at $2,699 with 1TB of starting storage.
• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max): Starts at $3,599 with 2TB of starting storage.
• 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max): Starts at $3,899 with 2TB of starting storage.

Preorders for all new models begin on Tuesday, March 4, with general availability starting on Wednesday, March 11.

Why it matters

Apple is positioning its latest hardware specifically to handle intensive AI workloads, signaling that on-device AI processing is becoming a core requirement for its professional and consumer laptop lines.