‘The bleeding edge of computing power for everyday creatives’ — this is why I’m upgrading to the MacBook Air M5 after years of making do with my elderly Pro
Publish Date: 2026-03-20 03:00:00
Source Domain: www.techradar.com
Another Apple launch event has come and dropped a heap of exciting new gadgets into our laps. But while a lot of people have been discussing the surprise announcement of the more affordable MacBook Neo and the powerful new MacBook Pro, I’ve only got eyes for the new MacBook Air M5. In fact, I’m so enamored, I’ve decided it’s finally time to ditch my trusty but dusty MacBook Pro 2017 and belatedly join the 2020s.
For a laptop that’s an absurd nine years old, my MacBook Pro has been aging pretty gracefully — that is until the last few months, when its fraying LCD display flex cable has finally begun to give up the ghost. The colors are so broken that my Retina display looks more like the psychedelic horror show that was mid-1980s EGA computer graphics. Worse, the screen is criss-crossed with lines that makes most apps and images look like they’re upholstered in tweed.
This is a pretty shameful look for a tech journalist — its certainly no longer a candidate for best laptop. But I could cope with the expressionistic graphics for a little longer if it wasn’t for the groaning machinery under the hood.
Article continues below
You may like
My MacBook Pro’s wheezing Intel architecture is increasingly showing its age. I predominantly use my laptop for music-making and digital artwork and many of my workflows have started to push my CPU usage to 140% — the kind of math that would cause my high-school teacher to silently weep about my exam prospects. Frankly, a pre-Apple-Silicon chipset can no longer keep up with creative workflows and redlining my laptop is only further shortening the mayfly-esque lifespan it has left.
Why I’m buying the MacBook Air M5
(Image credit: Future)
OK, it should be abundantly clear already: the MacBook Air M5 is a major step up from what I’m…
