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MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) vs MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)

MacBook Air (15-inch, M5)1MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air M5 against MacBook Pro M5
FigureMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Price£1,4993Apple UK store£1,9994last Apple UK store price
ChipM5chipM5chip
CPU10-coreCPU10-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base1TB5storage, base
Battery lifeUp to18 hrsvideo playback, claimedUp to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released11 March 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026.22 October 20257ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 15 October 2025.
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air M5 is £1,499 on Apple’s UK store; the MacBook Pro M5 is £1,999 as Apple’s last UK store price, per Apple UK Store (archived 5 October 2026).

True to scale

MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) · 340.4 × 237.6 mm footprintMacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) · 312.6 × 221.2 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 (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Dimensions11.5 x 340.4 x 237.6 mm15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm
Weight1.51 kg1.55 kg
ColoursSky Blue, Silver, Starlight, MidnightSpace Black, Silver
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jackThree Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports23
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 4
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.9No USB-A ports.10
HDMINo HDMI port.11HDMI port
SD card slotNo SD card slot.11Yes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesYes
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes
Touch BarNot available12No Touch Bar.13

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Display size15.3 in14.2 in
Resolution2880 x 18643024 x 1964
Pixel density224 ppi254 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina displayLiquid Retina XDR display
Brightness500 nitsNot available14
Brightness (SDR, outdoor)Not available151,000 nits16
Peak brightness (HDR)Not available171,600 nits
Refresh rateNot available18120 Hz
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.11Yes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
ChipApple M5 chipApple M5 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1010
Super cores419416
Efficiency cores619616
GPU cores1010
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM5 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPUM5 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU20
Memory (base)16GB16GB
Memory (maximum)32GB32GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB16GB, 24GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents21No, as Apple documents21
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s153 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB1TB5
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 (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Battery capacity66.5 Wh72.4 Wh
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles221,000 cycles22
Video playback (claimed)18 h24 h
Wireless web (claimed)15 h16 h
Included power adapterNo power adapter in the box.11No power adapter in the box.13
Fast chargingYesYes

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth65.3
EthernetNo Ethernet port.11No Ethernet port.13
External displays (base)22

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Camera12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Camera resolution12 MP12 MP
SpeakersSix-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming23

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate24macOS 27 Golden Gate24
Model identifierMac17,425Mac17,226
Model year20262025

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M5) against Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)
SpecificationMacBook Air M51MacBook Pro M52
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)3,585273,64327
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)17,1692717,95027
Geekbench 7 (Metal)71,2072772,66327

Sources

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

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

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  3. Apple UK store — 15-inch MacBook Air M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU — From £1,499 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple UK Store (archived 5 October 2026) — 14-inch MacBook Pro M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB, 1TB, £1,999.00 · third-party figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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

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

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  11. 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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  12. Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro

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  13. MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  14. Doesn’t apply: Apple’s one SDR brightness figure is the outdoor one

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  15. Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no outdoor brightness for this display

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  17. Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display

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  18. Not published by Apple. 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

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

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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  23. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: 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.

MacBook Pro M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, 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 (15-inch)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M5 (14-inch)?

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