Skip to content
MacIQ

Mac Studio (M5 Max) vs MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)

Mac Studio (M5 Max)1MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M5 Max against MacBook Air M5
FigureMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Price£2,4993Apple UK store£1,2994Apple UK store
ChipM5 MaxchipM5chip
CPU18-coreCPU10-coreCPU
GPU32-coreGPU8-coreGPU
Memory36GBunified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base512GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released22 September 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.11 March 20267ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026.
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M5 Max is £2,499 on Apple’s UK store; the MacBook Air M5 is £1,299 on Apple’s UK store.
Kind of Mac
The Mac Studio M5 Max is a desktop; the MacBook Air M5 is a laptop. The MacBook Air M5 has a built-in 13.6-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M5 Max has none of them.

True to scale

Mac Studio (M5 Max) · 197 × 95 mm frontMacBook Air (13-inch, M5) · 304.1 × 215 mm footprint

A desktop and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.

Body

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm11.3 x 304.1 x 215 mm
Weight2.7 kg1.23 kg
ColoursSilverSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
PortsFour Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, two USB 3 (USB-A) ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI 2.1 port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M5 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports942
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 5Thunderbolt 4
USB-A ports2No USB-A ports.10
HDMIHDMI 2.1 portNo HDMI port.11
SD card slotYesNo SD card slot.11
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available12Yes
KeyboardNot available13Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDNot available14Yes

Display

Display: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Display sizeNot available1513.6 in
ResolutionNot available152560 x 1664
Pixel densityNot available15224 ppi
Display typeNot available15Liquid Retina display
BrightnessNot available15500 nits
Wide colour (P3)Not available15Yes
Nano-texture optionNot available15No nano-texture display option.11

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
ChipApple M5 Max chipApple M5 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1810
Super cores616417
Performance cores1216Not available18
Efficiency coresNot available19617
GPU cores328
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU16M5 with 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory (base)36GB16GB
Memory (maximum)128GB1632GB
Memory options36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)1616GB, 24GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNot available20No, as Apple documents21
Memory bandwidth460 GB/s153 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB512GB
Storage (maximum)8TB164TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB16512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Battery capacityNot available553.8 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles22
Video playback (claimed)Not available518 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available515 h
Included power adapterNot available23No power adapter in the box.11
Fast chargingNot available5Yes
Maximum continuous power480 WNot available24

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth66
Ethernet10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector)No Ethernet port.11
External displays (base)52

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
CameraNot available2512MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Camera resolutionNot available2512 MP
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker26Four-speaker sound system
MicrophonesNot available20Three-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1MacBook Air M52
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate27macOS 27 Golden Gate27
Model identifierMac17,1428Mac17,329
Model year2026302026

Sources

  1. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Default for Mac Studio M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M5 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  3. Apple UK store — Mac Studio M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 512GB — From £2,499 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

    ↩

  4. Apple UK store — 13-inch MacBook Air M5, 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU — From £1,299 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

    ↩

  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

    ↩

  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

    ↩

  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5 · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

    ↩

  9. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac Studio M5 Max: Thunderbolt 5. MacBook Air M5: Thunderbolt 4.

    ↩

  10. MacBook Air (13-inch, M5): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  11. MacBook Air (13-inch, M5): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  12. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

    ↩

  13. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard

    ↩

  14. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature

    ↩

  15. Doesn’t apply: no built-in display

    ↩

  16. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

    ↩

  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

    ↩

  18. Apple names this chip’s cores differently: 4 super cores, 6 efficiency cores

    ↩

  19. Apple lists this chip’s cores as 6 super cores, 12 performance cores, with no efficiency cores

    ↩

  20. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model. Read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  21. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

    ↩

  22. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

    ↩

  23. Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box

    ↩

  24. Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power

    ↩

  25. Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera

    ↩

  26. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

  27. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

    ↩

  28. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

    ↩

  29. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

    ↩

  30. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

    ↩

Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M5 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Air M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.

If you own one of them

Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M5 Max? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M5 (13-inch)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.