Ahead of the Dashain festival, Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air M5 has received a welcome price reduction in Nepal, while the 15-inch variant maintains its standard pricing. Both models retain Apple's signature fanless aluminum design, running completely silently. The 13-inch version weighs around 2.7 pounds, and both options stay under half an inch thick. Color choices remain identical to the previous generation, offering sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.
Display and Build
Visual specifications stay consistent across both builds. The 13-inch model features a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1664, whereas the 15-inch version packs a 15.3-inch panel at 2880 x 1864 pixels. Both screens deliver up to 500 nits of brightness, P3 wide color gamut, True Tone, and support for 1 billion colors. Additionally, users can connect up to two external displays simultaneously via the built-in Thunderbolt ports.
Performance and M5 Architecture
Under the hood, the M5 processor is built on a third-generation 3nm process. It features a 10-core CPU providing a 15% boost in multi-threaded workloads over the M4. The 10-core GPU introduces a new hardware addition: a dedicated Neural Accelerator within every GPU core to drastically enhance graphics and AI performance. Memory bandwidth has been bumped to 153GB/s, marking a 28% increase compared to the M4 generation.
For heavy 3D workflows and gaming, the M5 chip incorporates a third-generation ray-tracing engine along with updated shader cores. Ray-tracing rendering in Blender is up to 6.5x faster than M1 and 1.5x faster than M4. On-device AI operations see even bigger jumps, performing up to 4x faster than M4 and 9.5x faster than M1. Base unified memory remains at 16GB, with options to configure up to 32GB.
Upgraded Storage, Connectivity, and Battery
Storage receives a major boost this year. The entry-level MacBook Air M5 now starts with 512GB of storage—double the previous base capacity—with SSD read and write speeds that are twice as fast as before. Maximum storage configuration has also expanded to 4TB for the first time on an Air model.
For video calls, there is a 12MP Center Stage camera equipped with Desk View support, paired with macOS Tahoe's new Edge Light feature for a virtual fill light effect. The machine runs on macOS Tahoe, featuring the new Liquid Glass UI styling. Wireless connectivity gets an upgrade via Apple's N1 chip, delivering Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Port selection includes two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Battery life provides up to 18 hours of usage, with fast charging capable of reaching 50% in approximately 30 minutes.
