Apple has unveiled updates to its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro lines featuring the new M5 chip family, alongside refreshed Studio Displays. The laptops come with increased base storage but higher starting prices, while the displays introduce mini-LED technology in a new high-end model. These announcements are part of a series of product reveals leading to an event in New York City on March 4.
Apple revealed the MacBook Air M5 on March 3, 2026, with the 13-inch model starting at $1,099 and the 15-inch at $1,299, marking a $100 increase from the M4 versions. Base storage has doubled to 512GB, and the laptop includes 16GB of unified memory with 153GB/s bandwidth, a 28% improvement over the M4. The M5 chip offers four times faster AI performance than the M4 and up to 50% faster rendering in applications like Blender. Connectivity upgrades include Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 via the new N1 chip. Design, Liquid Retina display, and battery life remain unchanged, with up to 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of wireless web browsing. Pre-orders begin March 4, with availability on March 11.
The MacBook Pro lineup now features M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in 14-inch and 16-inch models. The 14-inch M5 Pro starts at $2,199 with 1TB storage and 24GB RAM, up from $1,999 and 512GB previously. The 16-inch M5 Pro is $2,699 with 1TB, and M5 Max configurations start at $3,599 for 14-inch and $3,899 for 16-inch with 2TB storage. The base M5 MacBook Pro rises to $1,699 with 1TB storage. The M5 Pro and Max include an 18-core CPU with six 'super cores' and 12 performance cores, delivering up to 30% better performance for pro workloads and 35% faster graphics with ray tracing compared to M4 equivalents. GPUs reach up to 20 cores for Pro and 40 for Max, with over 4x peak GPU compute for AI. Storage is up to twice as fast, and battery life is rated at 24 hours. The design and Liquid Retina XDR display are unchanged, with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.
Apple also introduced updated Studio Displays. The standard 27-inch 5K model remains $1,599, with an improved 12MP Center Stage camera, Thunderbolt 5, and 600 nits brightness. The new Studio Display XDR, at $3,299, features a 27-inch 5K mini-LED panel with 120Hz refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits HDR brightness, and 1,000 nits SDR. It includes Adaptive Sync, a height-adjustable stand, and Thunderbolt 5 ports. Both displays support nano-texture glass for $300 extra and are available for pre-order March 4, shipping March 11.
These releases follow earlier announcements of the iPhone 17e and iPad Air M4, with a New York City event scheduled for March 4, where a budget MacBook Neo may debut.
