{"id":255013,"date":"2026-05-25T11:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/macbook-air-m5-vs-m4-which-macbook-air-to-buy-in-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T12:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:00:14","slug":"macbook-air-m5-vs-m4-which-macbook-air-to-buy-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/macbook-air-m5-vs-m4-which-macbook-air-to-buy-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"MacBook Air M5 vs M4: Which MacBook Air to Buy in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

MacBook Air M5 vs M4: Which MacBook Air to Buy in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/the-gadgeteer.com\/2026\/05\/25\/macbook-air-m5-vs-macbook-air-m4\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-25 11:12:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: the-gadgeteer.com<\/a><\/p>\n

If you buy something from a link in this article, we may earn a commission. Learn more<\/p>\n

You\u2019re shopping for a MacBook Air in 2026 and facing a rare choice: Apple\u2019s still selling the M4 alongside the newer M5. At first glance the M5 costs $100 more, but it ships with double the base storage and Wi-Fi 7. With retailers already discounting the M5 below its launch price, the decision\u2019s trickier than it looks. Here\u2019s how the specs, street pricing, and real-world use cases break down so you can pick the right one without overpaying.<\/p>\n

Price: <\/strong> From $1,099
Where to Buy<\/strong>: Apple MacBook Air M5 15-inch, 16GB \/ 512GB Starlight | Amazon<\/p>\n

Add The Gadgeteer on Google<\/strong> Addw The Gadgeteer as a preferred source to see more of our coverage on Google.<\/p>\n

ADD US ON GOOGLE<\/p>\n

Why Apple Still Sells the M4 Alongside the M5<\/h2>\n

The M4 MacBook Air arrived in March 2025. The M5 followed exactly one year later on March 11, 2026. Apple set the new model at $1,099 for the 13-inch base configuration, $100 above the M4\u2019s original $999 launch price.<\/p>\n

Despite the refresh, Apple didn\u2019t retire the M4. The 13-inch M4 is still listed on apple.com, with configurations spotted in the $859 to $999 range depending on storage and memory. The pattern is familiar: keeping the previous generation in the lineup gives education buyers and budget-conscious shoppers a lower entry point without forcing Apple to officially discount its newer hardware. Apple also runs its standard education discount on the M5 itself, bringing the 13-inch to $999 and the 15-inch to $1,199 for qualifying students and staff. That program tightens the price gap further if you can claim it.<\/p>\n

That overlap is precisely why this comparison matters right now. For roughly two months after launch, the M5 sat at a clean $100 premium. May 2026 changed that.\"Apple<\/p>\n

Four Concrete M5 Upgrades Over the M4<\/h2>\n

The M5 isn\u2019t a redesign. It\u2019s a focused internal refresh that touches four areas.<\/p>\n

1. The chip.<\/strong> The M5 keeps the same 10-core CPU layout as the…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MacBook Air M5 vs M4: Which MacBook Air to Buy in 2026 https:\/\/the-gadgeteer.com\/2026\/05\/25\/macbook-air-m5-vs-macbook-air-m4\/ Publish Date:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255014,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/the-gadgeteer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Macbook-Air-M5-R-15-inch.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-255013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-macintosh","tag-macbook-air"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255015,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255013\/revisions\/255015"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}