M5 MacBook Air: Too powerful for its own good (and my wallet)

https://mashable.com/review/m5-macbook-air

Publish Date: 2026-03-14 05:00:00

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
The M5 MacBook Air performs like a Pro
The M5 MacBook Air is too powerful, in fact
We gotta talk about the price
Seriously, though, it’s a damn fine laptop
M5 MacBook Air review: Final thoughts
How We Tested

The newest MacBook Air from Apple is a near-perfect machine, but it’s not getting a near-perfect rating. And it’s not just because it arrived with a base price increase. It’s because this sleek and lightweight laptop, now powered by Apple’s M5 silicon, is too powerful for its own good, which means its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s undoubtedly one of the best laptops and MacBooks in the world right now. And if you decide to invest, I don’t think you’ll regret it.

I’m still stress testing the M5 Air, so consider this a review in progress. A full battery run-down test is coming soon.

The M5 MacBook Air performs like a Pro

Liquid Glass looks particularly good on the MacBook Liquid Retina display.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The new MacBook Air is definitely an iterative upgrade. Like its predecessor, it comes in 13.6 and 15.3-inch models, and you can choose from silver, sky blue, starlight, and midnight black. It’s a mere 0.44 inches tall and a measly 2.7 pounds.

It’s remarkably thin and lightweight, yet it never feels fragile or flimsy in the slightest. On the contrary, the MacBook’s signature…

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