Chip upgrade brings pro-level power, long battery life and plenty of storage, but the Air now faces real competition
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pple’s latest MacBook Air is its most powerful yet, comes with double the starting storage and is better than ever for getting work done and as the benchmark for a consumer laptop. But this year the new lower-cost MacBook Neo has muddied the waters.
The M5 MacBook Air starts at £1,099 (€1,199/$1,099/A$1,799) for the 13in version, which is £100 or equivalent more than last year’s excellent M4 version, but comes with at least 512GB of storage. It sits above the £599 MacBook Neo and below the £1,699 M5 MacBook Pro, making the Air Apple’s mid-range machine.
As with the last few versions, nothing has changed on the outside. The Air is still Apple’s thinnest laptop, looking and feeling every bit a quality machine with its recycled aluminium body, rounded corners and one-finger opening.
