Apple Unveils M5 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Major AI Performance Boost

Apple has introduced its latest lineup of laptops, unveiling updated versions of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro powered by its new M5 family of chips. The announcement includes the base M5 chip for the Air and the more powerful M5 Pro and M5 Max processors for the Pro models. According to Apple Inc., these chips feature its most advanced CPU cores yet, designed to push performance boundaries—particularly in artificial intelligence tasks.

The new M5 series is built with AI at its core. Apple says both the refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro can handle AI-related workloads up to four times faster than their M4 predecessors. While everyday users may not immediately notice dramatic changes during routine browsing or document editing, professionals working with machine learning models, large language models (LLMs), 3D rendering, or advanced image generation are expected to experience substantial speed improvements.

For mainstream users, the MacBook Air still brings meaningful upgrades beyond raw processing power. The laptop now offers up to 18 hours of battery life, a 12MP Center Stage camera for sharper video calls, a three-microphone array, and support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. Apple has also doubled the base storage to 512GB. The Air comes in 13-inch and 15-inch models, starting at $1,099 and $1,299 respectively, with color options including sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.

The MacBook Pro models, however, are clearly aimed at developers, AI researchers, and creative professionals. Powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, these laptops are up to four times faster at LLM prompt processing compared to previous Pro chips and significantly faster in AI image generation tasks. Apple says users can now train custom AI models directly on their devices, while video editors, 3D artists, and music producers will benefit from accelerated rendering and processing speeds.

Battery life on the Pro models stretches up to 24 hours, with fast charging that delivers 50% battery in just 30 minutes using a 96W USB-C adapter or higher. Storage now starts at 1TB for the M5 Pro versions and 2TB for M5 Max models. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models begin at $2,199 and $2,699 for M5 Pro variants, and $3,599 and $3,899 for M5 Max versions. Preorders open March 4, with availability beginning March 11—marking Apple’s latest push to position its laptops at the forefront of AI-driven computing.

source: Techcrunch