MacBook Air Price Hiked, New Neo Slashes Entry Cost

Apple has redefined its entry-level laptop lineup, with the MacBook Air now starting at $1,099 following a $100 price increase. The new M5 MacBook Air boasts a standard 512GB SSD, a significant upgrade from the previous 256GB, making it a better value proposition compared to last year's models. This change positions the MacBook Neo as Apple's new most affordable laptop option.

The M5 chip powering the latest MacBook Air brings substantial improvements. It features a new GPU architecture with enhanced AI and ray-tracing capabilities, alongside faster unified memory with 153GBps bandwidth. Read/write speeds on the SSD have also doubled, offering a significant performance boost over the M4 generation.

The 13-inch M5 MacBook Air is no longer the default choice for budget-conscious buyers, with the cheaper MacBook Neo now recommended for most students. However, the 13-inch Air remains a strong contender for users prioritizing a compact, high-performance laptop.

For those considering the upgrade, the 15-inch M5 MacBook Air is presented as a superior option, offering a better balance of screen size, system weight, and price, especially with the enhanced storage. It competes favorably with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, providing a sweet spot for productivity and portability.

Performance benchmarks show the M5 chip outpacing its predecessor, the M4, in both single- and multicore tests. Graphics performance is now on par with the M5-equipped 14-inch MacBook Pro. Despite these gains, users with M4 or M3 MacBook Airs may not find sufficient reason to upgrade, especially if they are content with their current design, which has not seen a major overhaul since the M2 model.