M5 MacBook Air Review: A Laptop With Real Middle Child Energy

"The refreshed MacBook Air is a laptop caught between two extremes—price and performance. The $600 MacBook Neo is now Apple's entry-level laptop. That little Mac is proof that we don't have to accept poor design for the sake of affordability. The MacBook Air used to be Apple's base level. Now it sits in the middle of the pack between MacBook Neo and the M5 MacBook Pro."

"The 15-inch M5 MacBook Air is a sleek laptop built for handling many demanding tasks. Still, a MacBook Neo or MacBook Pro may serve you better. Last year's M4 MacBook Air started at $1,000. The new model with the M5 chip starts at $1,100. It's a price hike, though that comes with upgrades. Most important is the doubling of the base SSD storage from 256GB to 512GB, alongside 16GB of unified memory."

"In comparison, the M5 MacBook Air handles everything from 3D modeling to video editing with speed and a touch of panache. As good as that sounds, there are more details to consider. The $1,100 13-inch M5 MacBook Air comes with a 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU. You need to spend an extra $100 for the version with the better graphics performance with 10 GPU cores."

Apple's laptop lineup has expanded significantly, creating a crowded market where the M5 MacBook Air struggles to find clear positioning. The new MacBook Neo serves as the entry-level option at $600, while the M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,100 for the 13-inch model and $1,300 for the 15-inch. The M5 MacBook Air doubles base storage to 512GB and includes 16GB unified memory compared to its M4 predecessor. It handles demanding tasks like 3D modeling and video editing effectively. However, buyers must consider whether the MacBook Neo's affordability or the MacBook Pro's superior performance better suits their needs. Upgrading to 1TB storage adds $200 to the price, significantly increasing the total cost.

Read at gizmodo.com