M5 MacBook Air Reviews: More performance than expected

The M5 MacBook Air officially launches tomorrow, and the first reviews have already been published. The reviews paint a clear picture: Apple's new mid-range notebook offers a noticeable improvement, especially in performance.

Although the device's exterior has hardly changed, testers report significant improvements thanks to the new M5 chip and faster SSDs. Users of older MacBook Air models, in particular, could benefit from this update.

With its current lineup, Apple has clearly structured its MacBook series. The MacBook Neo represents the affordable entry point, while the MacBook Pro remains the most powerful option. The M5 MacBook Air is positioned precisely between these two devices.

Initial reviews indicate that this mid-range model remains a surprisingly powerful laptop despite its position in the market. Testers report that the device demonstrates ample performance reserves, particularly in everyday workflows and even with more demanding tasks.

High-performance mid-range MacBook

Several reviews emphasize that the M5 MacBook Air is a very powerful device despite its thin design. According to Lance Ulanoff of TechRadar, the new 13-inch model handles demanding tasks with ease.

In his test, he ran several applications simultaneously to examine the device's performance. First, he opened Lightroom and loaded several RAW images. He then launched Final Cut Pro and imported an 8K video at 30 frames per second. Afterward, he created three copies of this video and began editing a project in which all four videos played back simultaneously.

Simultaneously, he opened Pixelmator Pro, edited a photo, and then installed Chrome, where he opened 25 tabs. Afterward, he installed and launched the game Lies of P. He also installed Steam and downloaded the extensive open-world simulation game Inzoi.

Despite this combination of image editing, video workflows, gaming, and numerous open browser tabs, the M5 MacBook Air continued to run stably, according to the test. At one point, a system message appeared indicating that Inzoi was consuming many processes and a lot of battery power, and that a power-saving mode might be advisable. However, after the game was closed, the battery level was still at almost 90 percent.

Ulanoff therefore writes that it was generally difficult to really push the M5 chip with its 16 GB of RAM to its limits.

Benchmark tests show measurable improvements

Benchmark tests also confirm the performance increase of the new M5 MacBook Air. According to Tony Polanco of Tom's Guide, the device achieves a multi-core score of 17,276 points in the Geekbench 6 test.

For comparison: Last year's M4 MacBook Air scored 14,921 points. This shows a clear performance increase.

The M5 model also performed faster in the Handbrake test, which requires a laptop to convert a 4K video to 1080p. The M5 MacBook Air completed the task in 4 minutes and 34 seconds, more than 20 seconds faster than its predecessor.

These improvements may seem relatively small at first glance. However, according to several reviews, such performance gains add up significantly in everyday use.

Particularly significant improvements compared to older models

Dan Moren of Six Colors points out that the improvements will be particularly noticeable for users of older devices.

While the jump from the M4 to the M5 is relatively moderate, the comparison with older generations looks quite different. According to Moren, the performance improvements in single-core performance compared to previous MacBook Air models are approximately:

38 percent compared to the M3
57 percent compared to the M2
75 percent compared to the M1

This shows that the M5 MacBook Air can represent a noticeable upgrade, especially for users of older devices.

A significantly faster SSD provides an additional boost

Another key factor in the performance increase is the new generation of SSDs in the M5 MacBook Air. Apple says these SSDs are up to twice as fast as those in the previous model. According to tests by Dan Moren at Six Colors, the actual improvements could be even greater.

The new model now starts with 512 GB of SSD storage, twice as much as its predecessor. At the same time, the maximum capacity increases to 4 TB, which matches the maximum of most MacBook Pro models.

Significant improvements were also evident in speed. In the Blackmagic hard drive tests, Moren observed a 125 percent improvement in read speed. The write speed was even more impressive: here, the increase was 219 percent compared to his personal M4 MacBook Air.

Additional tests with AmorphousDiskMark showed even higher results. There, the M5 MacBook Air achieved improvements of at least 250 percent in memory performance.

Who will benefit from the upgrade?

Many reviews emphasize that the M5 MacBook Air is not a necessary upgrade for owners of an M4 MacBook Air. The differences to its direct predecessor are relatively minor.

However, the situation is different for older devices. According to Zarif Ali of Pocket-lint, an upgrade is particularly worthwhile for users of an M2 MacBook Air or older.

The reason lies primarily in the greater performance reserves of the new chip, the higher memory bandwidth and the improved basic memory configuration.

Users still with an M1 MacBook Air or an Intel MacBook could experience a noticeable improvement, according to tests. This includes better everyday responsiveness, new AI features, and overall greater future-proofing of the device.

The M5 MacBook Air impresses above all with its performance

The first M5 MacBook Air reviews paint a relatively clear overall picture. Apple hasn't fundamentally changed the device, but has primarily improved its performance.

The new M5 chip, significantly faster SSDs and a higher base memory configuration ensure that the MacBook Air remains a very powerful laptop.

Owners of an M4 MacBook Air don't necessarily need to upgrade. However, for users of an M2, M1, or older Intel MacBook, the M5 MacBook Air could represent a significant upgrade. (Image: Apple)