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MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) vs MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)

MacBook Air (13-inch, M5)1MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) against MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)
FigureMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Price£1,2993Apple UK store£1,4993Apple UK store
ChipM5chipM5chip
CPU10-coreCPU10-coreCPU
GPU8-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base512GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released11 March 20264ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026.11 March 20264ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026.
Security updatesNot available5Security updatesNot available5Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) is £1,299 on Apple’s UK store; the MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) is £1,499 on Apple’s UK store.

True to scale

MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) · 304.1 × 215 mm footprintMacBook Air (15-inch, M5) · 340.4 × 237.6 mm footprint

Footprints from above, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. 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 MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Dimensions11.3 x 304.1 x 215 mm11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm
Weight1.23 kg1.51 kg
ColoursSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, MidnightSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 4
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.6No USB-A ports.7
HDMINo HDMI port.8No HDMI port.9
SD card slotNo SD card slot.8No SD card slot.9
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Display size13.6 in15.3 in
Resolution2560 x 16642880 x 1864
Pixel density224 ppi224 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina displayLiquid Retina display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.8No nano-texture display option.9

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
ChipApple M5 chipApple M5 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1010
Super cores410411
Efficiency cores610611
GPU cores810
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM5 with 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU or 10-core GPUM5 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU
Memory (base)16GB16GB
Memory (maximum)32GB32GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB16GB, 24GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents12No, as Apple documents12
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s153 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB512GB
Storage (maximum)4TB4TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 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 MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Battery capacity53.8 Wh66.5 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles131,000 cycles13
Video playback (claimed)18 h18 h
Wireless web (claimed)15 h15 h
Included power adapterNo power adapter in the box.8No power adapter in the box.9
Fast chargingYesYes

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth66
EthernetNo Ethernet port.8No Ethernet port.9
External displays (base)22

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Camera12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Camera resolution12 MP12 MP
SpeakersFour-speaker sound systemSix-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingThree-mic array with directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate14macOS 27 Golden Gate14
Model identifierMac17,315Mac17,415
Model year20262026

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M5 (13-inch)1MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)3,576163,58516
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)17,0621617,16916
Geekbench 7 (Metal)65,8071671,20716

Sources

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

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) · Apple’s figure · read 14 Sep 2026

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

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

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

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

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  7. MacBook Air (15-inch, M5): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 14 Sep 2026

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  8. 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

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  9. MacBook Air (15-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 (15-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  11. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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  16. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air M5 (13-inch). 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.

MacBook Air M5 (15-inch). 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 (15-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5, 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 MacBook Air M5 (13-inch)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Air M5 (15-inch)?

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