Apple Reveals the New M5 MacBook Air

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

In a third announcement today, Apple revealed the M5 MacBook Air. The design and colors of the new Air remain the same, but its capabilities have been enhanced with the M5 chipset and other updates to the hardware.

John Ternus hits the highlights in Apple’s press release:

The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop. With M5, MacBook Air powers through a wide range of tasks, from everyday productivity to creative workloads, and is even faster for AI. Now featuring double the starting storage, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in a sleek and durable design with long battery life, MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for anyone who values the unrivaled combination of performance and portability.

Apple says that the M5 Air can perform AI tasks up to four times faster than the M4 model and up to 9.5 times faster than the M1 Air. That’s thanks to the M5, which features 10 CPU cores and up to 10 GPU cores with Neural Accelerators.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

But there are other hardware changes that boost the Air’s performance as well. Its unified memory is now 153GB/s, a 28% improvement over the M4 model. SSD storage is two times faster, starts at 512GB (double the M4 model), and can be configured up to 4TB, the most ever for the Air. Apple’s N1 chip means users will enjoy Wi-Fi 7 speeds and Bluetooth 6, too. Also, Apple rates the M5 Air’s battery life at over 18 hours.

Sadly, the M5 MacBook Air remains a Thunderbolt 4 laptop with two ports available and support for running two external displays. While I would have liked to see the Air add Thunderbolt 5 support, the practical circumstances where I’ve wanted Thunderbolt 5 over 4 are few, so the limitation is understandable.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

It’s telling that for both the M5 Air and M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pros, Apple is comparing performance against the M4 models as well as earlier laptops. Even just one generation on from the M4, the M5’s gains are impressive. Of course, most users will be upgrading from an even earlier model, where the differences are more pronounced.

The M5 MacBook Air comes in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver. The starting price for the 13” model is $1,099, and the 15” model is $1,299, with educational buyers paying starting prices that are $100 less for each. The MacBook Air will be available for pre-order tomorrow, March 4, with deliveries and in-store availability starting March 11.

Apple Announces M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros

Apple has introduced new MacBook Pros featuring the M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets. The big news here is speed because the design of the MacBook Pro has not changed.

According to John Ternus, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering:

MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max redefines what’s possible on a pro laptop, now up to 4x faster than the previous generation. With Neural Accelerators in the GPU, the new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do — all while maintaining exceptional battery life. Combined with even faster unified memory and storage, it empowers users to take their work even further, unleashing new possibilities and pushing the boundaries of what they can do.

Let’s take a closer look at what Apple says these new laptops can do.

The specs are impressive. The M5 Pro and Max are based on Apple’s Fusion Architecture that combines two dies onto one system on a chip and features up to 18 CPU cores with 6 super cores and 12 new performance cores. According to Apple, that results in up to 30% faster CPU performance. As for the GPU with its Neural Accelerator, Apple says the performance exceeds the M4 Pro and M4 Max by up to 50%, which is a substantial single-generation increase. Apple also notes that the Neural Engine is faster and more powerful. As for unified memory, the M5 Pro supports up to 64GB with 306GB/s bandwidth, with the M5 Max doubling both the memory capacity and bandwidth.

Other specs and features include:

  • 2× faster SSD read/write speeds
  • storage that starts at 1TB for the M5 Pro model and 2TB for the M5 Max model
  • a Liquid Retina XDR display with 1000 nit brightness for SDR content, 1600 nits for HDR content, and a nano-texture option
  • 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports, plus HDMI with support for up to 8K output, an SDXC card slot, and MagSafe 3 charging
  • support for two external displays for the M5 Pro model and four external displays for the M5 Max model
  • Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 via Apple’s N1 chip
  • a 12MP Center Stage camera, six speakers, and a microphone array, and
  • up to 24 hours of battery life with fast charging at 96W achieving a 50% charge in about 30 minutes.

Apple also lists substantial speed increases for the M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets over the M4 generation they replace. The numbers are impressive but will require real-world testing to confirm.

I’ve been using an M4 Max MacBook Pro for over a year, and it’s the most powerful Mac I’ve ever used. I’m slightly stunned at the performance claims for the M5 Pro and Max just one generation later, but this is the kind of power needed for high-end workflows, including running local LLMs.

The new MacBook Pros come in silver and space black. The 14” model with the M5 Pro starts at $2,199, with the Max starting at $3,599. The 16” M5 Pro model starts at $2,699, with the Max variant starting at $3,899. All models also offer lower starting prices for educational buyers. Pre-orders begin tomorrow, March 4, with delivery and in-store availability beginning next Wednesday, March 11.

Apple Introduces Two New Studio Displays

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

Today, Apple introduced a revision of its Studio Display and the new Studio Display XDR, which replaces the Pro Display XDR in its product lineup. Let’s take a look at the specs.

Both displays are 27 inches diagonally with 5K resolutions. The new Studio Display features P3 wide color, 600 nits of brightness, and 14 million pixels. There’s a 12MP Center Stage camera, a six-speaker surround sound system built in, and an array of three microphones. According to Apple, the speakers’ bass is 30% deeper than before.

The base model Studio Display also includes two Thunderbolt 5 ports and two additional USB-C ports for peripherals and charging at 96W when using a Thunderbolt 5 cable. And if money is no object, you can daisy chain up to four Studio Displays. As in the past, the display is available in both a glossy and a matte, nano-textured finish, and a VESA mount adapter is available.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

The Studio Display XDR, which replaces the Pro Display XDR, has significantly better specs. Like the Studio Display, it’s a 5K 27” display, but it uses mini-LED for backlighting with over 2,300 local dimming areas, and it can output 1000 nits in SDR and 2000 of peak HDR brightness, which is considerably more than ever before.

The XDR model refreshes adaptively from 47Hz to 120Hz and features P3 wide color, Adobe RGB, and more than 80% Rec. 2020 coverage, and it has a special DICOM medical imaging preset and Medical Imaging Calibrator that is pending FDA clearance. The display can charge a connected device via Thunderbolt 5 at 140W, too, and comes with either a tilt- and height-adjustable stand or a VESA mount. Other specs mirror the base model Studio Display.

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

I love the new Studio Display XDR’s specs. However, I wish it were both larger and cheaper. Still, for the price, you are getting a much brighter, more capable, and color-accurate display, so I’m not surprised. This is not a gaming monitor, but the sort of display that video and image professionals need, as is clear from its medical calibration capabilities.

The new displays are available for preorder starting March 4 with delivery and in-store availability beginning March 11. The Studio Display is $1,599, with the XDR model coming in at $3,299 and educational customers paying $100 less on both models.

David Pogue Tells the Origin Story of the iPhone in Wired’s Excerpt of His Upcoming History of Apple→

Source: Apple.

Source: Apple.

David Pogue’s Apple: The First 50 Years is set to be published in a week, but today, Wired has an excerpt about the origins of the iPhone. It’s a fascinating story that I’m sure most readers know, but Pogue’s excerpt contains a wealth of details and quotes from those who were there that does an excellent job of putting the events in context.

One of my favorite parts covers the prototyping of multi-touch years before the iPhone was released:

In late 2003, Apple commissioned FingerWorks to build a bigger version of their multi-touch pad: 12 x 9.5 inches, a better approximation of a computer screen’s size. Kerr’s team set up a test rig in the design studio of Infinite Loop 2. They mounted an LCD projector on a tripod, shining directly down onto the trackpad. They taped a sheet of white paper over it so that the projector’s image—generated by a nearby Power Mac—would be bright and clear. Then the fun began: developing ways to interact with the on-screen elements. You could slide a finger to move an icon in the projected image. You could spread two fingers apart to enlarge a map or a photo. Using both hands, you could tap, move, and stretch objects. It was magical.

If Wired’s excerpt today is any indication of the rest of the 600-page book, it should be a great read.

David Pogue’s Apple: The First 50 Years is set to be released on March 10, but it can be preordered now in the Apple Books app, from Amazon, and from other retailers.

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Apple Unveils iPhone 17e

Alongside the M4 iPad Air, Apple has announced the iPhone 17e. Apple’s budget smartphone model features the A19 chip, the C1X cellular modem (which Apple says is 2× faster than the 16e’s C1), and a 48MP Fusion Camera, and it starts at $599.

Kaiann Drance, Vice President of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing, is quoted in Apple press release as saying:

iPhone 17e combines powerful performance and features our users love at an exceptional value, making it a compelling option for customers looking to upgrade to the iPhone 17 family. We know our customers want a product that will last, and iPhone 17e delivers just that. With A19 for incredible performance, double the entry storage, a smarter camera system, and enhanced durability, iPhone 17e is designed to stay fast, secure, and valuable for years to come.

The iPhone 17e also includes Apple’s Ceramic Shield 2 to protect the front of the device, an improved anti-reflective coating, and IP68 water resistance. The OLED display measures 6.1” diagonally and can achieve up to 1200 nits of peak brightness when using HDR. We’ve seen the A19 before, but as a refresher, it’s a 6-core, 3-nanometer process chip with a 4-core GPU with Neural Accelerators and a 16-core Neural Engine.

The camera is Apple’s 48MP Fusion camera with a 2× cropped telephoto mode. The camera can take 48MP images but defaults to 24MP. Other familiar camera features are available, too, including Night mode, the latest generation of Apple’s HDR processing, and Portrait mode.

Unlike the iPhone 16e, the 17e also supports MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging at up to 15W. When used with a 20W or more wired charger, the 17e will fast-charge, too, filling the battery to 50% in about 30 minutes.

The iPhone 17e, which can be ordered beginning March 4, starts at $599 with 256GB of storage and comes in black, white, and soft pink matte finishes, with the option to upgrade to 512GB of storage. Deliveries and in-store availability begin March 11.

Apple Introduces M4-Powered iPad Air

Apple has announced a new iPad Air featuring the M4 chip and 12GB of unified memory. According to the company, the new Air is 30% faster than the M3 iPad Air and 2.3× faster than the M1 Air. Apple says the 50% boost in unified memory enables better AI performance. The new models come in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray, with storage configurations of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said of the new Air:

iPad Air gives users more ways than ever to be creative and productive, offering powerful performance and incredible versatility to help them turn their ideas into reality. With its blazing performance thanks to M4, incredible AI capabilities, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, there’s never been a better time to choose or upgrade to iPad Air.

The M4 iPad Air is available in 11” and 13” sizes and features the Apple-designed N1 and C1X chips for networking and wireless connectivity. The N1 brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support to the Air, while Apple says the C1X reduces cell network energy consumption by 30% compared to the M3 iPad Air. Of course, the M4 chipset itself also unlocks new functionality for the Air, including hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing for gaming.

The 11” iPad Air starts at $599, and the 13” model begins at $799. Education market pricing starts $50 lower for each model. Both Air models support the Apple Pencil Pro, the USB-C Apple Pencil, and Apple’s Magic Keyboard case. Preorders begin this Wednesday, March 4, with deliveries and in-store availability starting March 11.

AppStories - Ep. 474 - 30 minutes

Our Apple Hardware Wish List for 2026

JohnFederico

This week on AppStories, Federico and John cast our wishes for Apple hardware in 2026, covering everything from the latest rumored gear to more outrageous hopes.

On AppStories+, John and Federico share their top three everyday uses of AI tools.

This episode is sponsored by:

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AppStories Episode 474 - Our Apple Hardware Wish List for 2026

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