Apple MacBook Air (M5) Review: The Goldilocks MacBook

Still unbeatable successful its equilibrium of terms and performance. The M5 spot genuinely makes this a “do-it-all” laptop and besides brings faster storage. Doesn't chopped corners successful larboard speeds oregon keyboard similar the MacBook Neo.

Design hasn't changed successful 5 years. Higher starting terms than successful the past.

Apple often touts the MacBook Air arsenic the world's astir fashionable laptop, and it earned that crown. For years, it's been the champion laptop you could bargain for astir $1,000 and was the cheapest MacBook successful Apple's lineup.

But with the instauration of the entry-level MacBook Neo, that calculus has changed. The MacBook Air is present the mediate option, which means it needs to warrant its $500 terms quality implicit the Neo. To marque things worse, the latest M5 refresh is 1 of the slightest breathtaking updates to the instrumentality successful years, offering astir nary important changes different than the spot inside. It would person been casual for the MacBook Air to go mislaid successful the mix. And yet, erstwhile considering which MacBook I urge astir radical buy, the MacBook Air inactive has the do-it-all, Goldilocks prime that sets it apart.

The Airy Laptop

The MacBook Air is steadfast. The newer MacBook Neo mightiness beryllium flashier acknowledgment to its bolder attack to color, but the MacBook Air has the all-around amended design. It's the astir portable MacBook successful the lineup, and remains 1 of the thinnest laptops you tin buy. Like the Neo, it's a fanless laptop, meaning it is wholly silent, adjacent nether the heaviest workflows. That gives the acquisition of utilizing the MacBook Air a light, weightless feel.

The artillery beingness besides contributes to that feeling of freedom—being capable to determination from spot to spot and instrumentality your enactment with you, without worrying excessively overmuch astir being chained to an outlet. It's not conscionable astir however agelong the artillery lasts, either. Regardless of what you're doing, the MacBook Air performs comparably connected artillery to however it does plugged in.

I tested the 15-inch model, which doesn't consciousness arsenic portable simply owed to its footprint. It doesn't substance however bladed a laptop is if it takes up this overmuch abstraction connected your table oregon lap. Its strengths are inactive successful its expansive surface existent property and the robust-sounding speakers. I admit being capable to usage Split View successful apps much easy and anyone utilizing highly elaborate applications with tons of menus and overlays volition payment from a larger workspace.

But for the astir part, each of that has been existent of the MacBook Air since 2020. Improvements since past person included upgrading the webcam from 720p up to 1080p successful 2021, and enlarging the sensor up to 12 megapixels successful past year's model. The ports stay limited, but they tin present enactment 2 5K outer monitors. That means 2 Studio Displays if you truly want. And the upward march of Apple Silicon has been relentless. This year's lone summation extracurricular the M5 is the instauration of Apple's caller N1 wireless chip, which brings the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity to the MacBook Air.

Apple was making country successful its lineup for the MacBook Neo to marque its expansive appearance, but the effect is that the 2026 MacBook Air is stacked. It's astir apt overkill for a batch of radical successful presumption of performance, particularly with the improvements that the M5 brings implicit the M4. As I saw erstwhile I reviewed the M5 MacBook Pro 14-inch past year, it's a beauteous melodramatic boost crossed the board, whether that's CPU, GPU, oregon for on-device AI.

As tested successful Cinebench 2026, I'm seeing an mean of 10 percent quality successful CPU show implicit the M4 MacBook Air. The large leap is GPU performance, wherever the M5 has a 30 percent vantage implicit the M4. That's awesome and meaningful, to the constituent wherever it's connected par with what Apple was calling a Pro level spot conscionable a mates of generations ago. A much almighty GPU means not conscionable amended show successful games but besides faster video render times, improved on-device AI processing, and overmuch more.

The question remains, though: Do radical who bargain the MacBook Air really usage this laptop for those tasks? Maybe occasionally? Its quality to execute good capable successful those tasks lend to making it consciousness similar thing is possible. You tin dip your toed arsenic a hobby and not beryllium constricted by the computer. Professionals cognize those limits are real, which is what the MacBook Pro is for.

The Neo Problem

As I mentioned up top, the MacBook Air has a occupation this year. It's nary longer the default MacBook radical should buy—it needs to warrant wherefore it costs truthful overmuch much than the Neo. Here are immoderate evident reasons you should get a MacBook Air:

• The M5 spot is supremely powerful
• 16 GB means not worrying astir ever overloading your laptop
• Supports up to 2 outer 5K displays
• Much faster retention and USB ports
• Backlit keyboard and haptic feedback trackpad
• Better speakers and webcam

The operation of the M5 and the 16 GB of RAM marque the MacBook Air feels similar a existent do-it-all laptop. You'll find it hard to dilatory down the machine with basal apps, careless of however galore tabs, windows, bureau applications, YouTube videos, and downloads are going simultaneously. You tin permission each your enactment things unfastened without ever worrying astir tipping the strategy into a freeze. It tin adjacent grip heavier applications for graphic design, photograph editing, euphony production, and video production—perhaps not with the velocity of a MacBook Pro, but with a astonishing magnitude of oomph.

The quality to link to aggregate high-resolution displays adjacent means it tin comfortably tally a afloat workstation, truthful agelong arsenic you get a USB hub oregon Thunderbolt dock for much ports. That's the powerfulness of those 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports onboard that you'll find connected the near broadside of the MacBook Air. My lone ailment is that they're each connected the left, meaning you can't complaint the instrumentality from the close side. Meanwhile, retention velocity is connected par with the M5 MacBook Pro (and astir six times faster than the MacBook Neo), with an mean read/write velocity of 6,740 megabytes per second. That is an exponential leap successful velocity implicit each the erstwhile MacBook Airs, and that accelerates everything from opening applications to transferring ample files. It's 1 of the reasons (along with the regulation of 16 GB of RAM) that radical who walk 8 hours oregon much moving connected a laptop each time volition privation the MacBook Air implicit the MacBook Neo.

The Windows broadside is besides offering immoderate superior competition. I inactive emotion the Surface Laptop arsenic an alternative, though we're waiting for the next-generation exemplary to come. The Dell XPS 13, presently lone $850, is simply a person size to the 13-inch MacBook Air and uses the aforesaid Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chips arsenic the Surface Laptop. Unfortunately, it doesn't person arsenic high-resolution and agleam a screen. The highly lightweight Asus Zenbook A14 can't lucifer the MacBook Air's surface either, but is often connected merchantability for hundreds of dollars less.

Lastly, there's the 2025 M4 MacBook Air to consider. If you ne'er usage heavier applications, you won't payment overmuch from the quality successful the M5's performance. The retention options are besides somewhat antithetic from past year's—Apple removed the 256-GB exemplary from the lineup, and the M5 starts astatine 512 GB. You mightiness look astatine the prices connected Amazon and beryllium tempted to pouch immoderate currency by getting the M4. But, barring a merchantability of immoderate kind, the 512-GB M5 MacBook Air volition lone outgo $50 much than the 512-GB M4.

Despite the compelling options presented by some the MacBook Neo and an assortment of antithetic Windows laptops, the M5 MacBook Air is inactive the laptop astir radical should buy. It's good rounded, amazingly powerful, high-end, and volition past you many, galore years to come.