Apple to unveil updated MacBook Air with M5 chip next week

Source Domain: mezha.net

Alongside the budget MacBook option, Apple could unveil an updated MacBook Air next week. The main focus will be on the new model, but useful internal improvements are expected that will boost the device’s performance and overall efficiency.

M5 Chip

The M5 chip moves to a third-generation 3nm process, which Apple has already introduced in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro models released last year.

The M5 chip uses a third-generation 3nm process and offers up to a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, with performance up to 3.5x faster than the M4. Multithreaded CPU performance on the M5 is roughly 15% higher than the M4, and GPU performance is about 30% higher. A neural accelerator has been added to each GPU core to speed AI workloads on the GPU. The unified memory bandwidth is 153 GB/s, nearly 30% faster than the previous generation. Unified memory enables the chip to use a shared memory pool to run AI models on the device, boosting GPU throughput and overall performance. The amount of RAM will remain starting at 16 GB, with options to expand to 24 GB or 32 GB.

Third-generation ray tracing, second-generation dynamic caching, and improved shader cores will contribute to better performance in games and other resource-intensive tasks. The new 16-core Neural Engine is more energy-efficient, which could lead to longer battery life. Storage options remain the same: 256 GB base with options of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB.

Design

The MacBook Air received a design update in 2022, and there are currently no signs that Apple is preparing a chassis redesign in 2026. The company often uses a single design for several years before the next update, and design changes are usually tied to the introduction of new key features.

Although rumors surround an OLED display for the MacBook Air after Apple releases new MacBook Pro models with OLED technology by the end of 2026, OLED screens may not appear until the next major design updates.

In 2026, two screen sizes are expected to remain:…

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