M5 MacBook Air vs M5 MacBook Pro - You Can't Get Fooled!

Apple just released the new M5 MacBook

Air with a faster M5 chip, double the

storage, faster SSD speeds, and a higher

starting price. I didn't see that

coming. And I definitely didn't see

Apple also raising the starting price of

the M5 MacBook Pro, the one they

released in October. So now, both of

these laptops are more expensive. So,

which one should you buy? and what are

things you should know before you

purchase any of these laptops. Now, yes,

I do not have the new M5 MacBook Air.

This is the M4 version, but most of the

changes here are things that Apple has

already updated with their M5 MacBook

Pro, which I do own. And things like the

form factor, the display, the ports,

have received no changes. So, I can make

some fair assumption about the

differences between these devices before

pre-orders go up so you can make an

informed buying decision. So, first of

all, let's go over what's new with the

M5 MacBook Air because there's a few

more changes and options that you

haven't been able to do on a MacBook Air

ever before. Now, yes, the big feature

is the M5 chip. This is going to get you

around a 20% increase in CPU performance

over the M4 and around a 30% increase in

GPU performance. It also now has neural

accelerators, which gives it up to four

times faster performance for AI

workloads. Basically, all the same

things that we already saw with the M5

MacBook Pro release are just now put

into the super thin and lightweight

design of the MacBook Air, which also

means that Apple has also updated the

networking chip in here to the new N1

chip, which grants the MacBook Air Wi-Fi

7 and Bluetooth 6. Besides that, the

biggest upgrade from my point of view is

doubling the storage because the M5

MacBook Air now starts at 512 GB of

storage as opposed to the old 256 GB

option. And Apple has also made the

storage twice as fast as before, which

again they also did in the M5 MacBook

Pro, which did result in some really

fast read and write speeds even on the

base models. On top of that, Apple will

now also let you configure the MacBook

Air with more storage than ever before

because there's now a new 4 terbyte

option. That is a lot of storage for a

MacBook Air. I need to know who out

there is putting 4 terabytes on their

MacBook Air. But yes, basically all the

chip uh storage, the networking upgrades

that the M5 MacBook Pro received are now

just here on the MacBook Air. And yes,

the starting price is now $100 more than

the previous M4 version. But don't be

fooled because Apple technically didn't

raise the prices if you're comparing the

512 GB version of the M4. They actually

lowered it by $100. And the same is true

for that M5 MacBook Pro. They raised the

starting price by $100, but it now comes

with 1 TBTE of storage instead of 512

GB. overall providing a better value if

you are going for those storage

upgrades. I have long said that 256 GB

is pretty low for a laptop. So, I'm glad

Apple eliminated that option and the Air

now comes with 512 GB, which I think is

more than enough for most users. In the

same breath, for pro users, especially

dealing with large file sizes or

downloading large applications, 512 GB

could also be kind of low. So making

pros start at 1 TBTE feels more

appropriate. Now yes, you can view this

starting price increase as a half glass

empty or half glass full situation

depending on your level of optimism. My

optimism is currently high for some

reason. It's usually pretty low, but

yeah, I'm going to I'm going to be nice

to Apple here and say overall these are

better values than before. Okay, let's

go over configurations and decide which

laptop is right for you. Now, yes, the

M5 Air starts at $1,099

for 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of

memory. Now, another area where you need

to be careful is that old 512 GB option

on the M4 did actually give you a higher

bend M4 chip with the full 10 core CPU

and GPU. Now, this is still an option on

the Air, uh, but selecting it does bring

it back to the $1,200 price point for

this M5 version. I actually don't think

most users need that higherend chip

upgrade. It's highly unlikely that

you're using a computer like the MacBook

Air for higher GPU workloads. And it's

probably even rarer that you're using it

to game. Even though, yeah, if you get

like the right optimized title, you can

actually get some decent gaming

performance out of the MacBook Air. But

again, if you are tempted to upgrade to

this higherend 10 core M5 chip on the

Air, uh I would make the recommendation

that you actually just bump up the

storage to 1 TBTE because that will

actually add on that full 10 core M5

chip automatically for $100 more. So,

it's kind of like, okay, at that point,

if you're going to upgrade the M5 chip,

just add on that 1 TB for $100 more.

That's a lot of storage, and then you

get the full 10 core GPU. And uh yeah,

if you actually care about the GPU, it's

also likely that you'll be installing

higher-end programs and take up more

storage, kind of like a prouser on a

budget. So that would be my

recommendation if you do want that full

10 core chip. But I stress for most

people, I actually recommend that new

base model for $1,100 with 512 GB of

storage, 16 GB of memory, with the power

of the M5 chip. That is a great value

MacBook. It is going to handle basic,

intermediate, and even advanced tasks at

super fast speed. And that is a laptop

that is going to serve you well for like

the next 10 years. Like I am not

kidding. This thing will last you a

while if you take care of it and will

provide more than enough power than the

everyday user even knows what to do

with. Still, the M5 Air isn't a perfect

computer because it does have some

shortcomings compared to the M5 MacBook

Pro. Now, one of those shortcomings

isn't performance per se because for

most tasks, the M5 MacBook Air and Pro

will behave very similarly, as most

tasks utilize short bursts of the CPU.

But if you are someone that edits video,

plays games, does 3D renders, works with

local AI, edits large batches of photos,

or does anything that really just

stresses the CPU and GPU for an extended

period of time, then yes, the M5 MacBook

Pro will have better performance, even

though it does use the same chip because

it does have a thicker design that

allows for an internal fan to help cool

off the M4 chip. So, the performance is

kind of situational and it's probably

not the reason why you should spend $600

more on the MacBook Pro or $400 more if

you are comparing them at the same one

TBTE storage option. The real reason to

really go for the Pro for most users is

the other benefits that come with it.

That includes a much better miniledd 120

Hz prootion display that has double the

brightness, better picture quality,

deeper black levels, a higher contrast

ratio, and that super buttery smooth 120

Hz panel. It also has a better speaker

system that gets louder and has a deeper

bass and more clarity than the MacBook

Air. and it has more ports with the Air

only having two USBC Thunderbolt ports,

a headphone jack, and a MagSafe charger.

The MacBook Pro gets all of that with

one additional Thunderbolt port on the

other side, as well as an HDMI port, an

SD card slot, and because of the bigger,

thicker design powered by the same M5

chip. That also means that Apple put a

bigger battery in the M5 MacBook Pro and

Apple rates it at 24 hours of battery

life while the Air is rated at 18 hours.

I think for most users, the display or

the additional ports is really the main

benefit of going for the base model M5

MacBook Pro. Now, yes, both of these

Macs do have other configurations for

the Air. There is an optional 15-in

version which does get you a bigger

screen than the 14-inch MacBook Pro. And

you even get a better six speakeraker

system that doesn't sound as good as the

Pros, but does sound better than the

13-in Air. That 15-in model starts at

$1,300, but it does come with the higher

powered M5 chip as standard, and it is

still.1 lb lighter than the 14-inch

MacBook Pro despite having a bigger

screen size. Now, this video is mostly

focused on just the base M5 versions

because the prices do start to become a

little high when you start comparing it

against the M5 Pro and the M5 Max chip,

and there's a lot of configurations.

Like, you go up to like 8 tab of

storage, 128 GB of memory. It's really

aimed at like a true prolevel user, not

necessarily the consumer level user that

I think both of these products are kind

of targeted at. But if you are a user

that needs tons of power, faster

Thunderbolt 5 ports, more memory

bandwidth, and so on, well then you

should obviously look at that. But you

probably didn't come to this video for

advice on those computers. And that's

really what I think is the best value

here, these cheaper options. And for

most users, I actually do recommend the

cheapest option out of all of them. I

think the M5 MacBook Air represents the

best choice for most users. It's the one

I recommend. And now that the 256 GB

option is removed, I don't have any

major recommendations to make. That base

model is perfectly fine. It is probably

the one you should get. If you need more

storage, more memory, or the slightly

better M5 chip, then by all means, but I

would honestly recommend the base model

to most users. It is a good laptop, good

build quality. It's thinner and lighter

than the MacBook Pro, which is also

nice, right? So, those are all really

good reasons to go for the MacBook Air.

And of course, it has the cheapest price

point, and everyone loves that. Of

course, if you want a better display,

more ports, better battery life, and

yes, a little bit more performance out

of that same five chip, then I still do

recommend this MacBook Pro. It is still

a good buy. Uh, it's just a little bit

more situational now that it starts with

1 TBTE and they're pushing the price up

a little bit higher. It's more of a

prolevel computer because of that, but

still a consumer level option, don't get

me wrong. But that is my take on the M5

MacBook Air verse the M5 MacBook Pro.

Let me know in the comments below which

one would you pick? And if I missed

something, you know, that I didn't cover

about the specs in this video, feel free

to ask about it and I'll do my best to

answer. But as always, thank you for

watching. Subscribe for more and I will

catch you all in the next one.

Maybe not all of