MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs MacBook Air 13-inch (M4)

Even the colors carried over: midnight, starlight, silver and sky blue on both. Apple announced the M4 model on 5 March 2025, in US stores from 12 March 2025, and the M5 almost exactly a year later, on 3 March 2026, with pre-orders the next day and stores from 11 March 2026. Same screen, same body, same 16GB, same camera. What separates them is a short list: storage, wireless, memory bandwidth and the charger in the box.

What a year changed

Spec	MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)	MacBook Air 13-inch (M4)
Announced	3 March 2026	5 March 2025
Storage	512GB; up to 4TB	256GB; up to 2TB
Wireless	Apple N1: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Memory bandwidth	153GB/s	120GB/s
CPU	10-core: 4 super, 6 efficiency	10-core: 4 performance, 6 efficiency
GPU	8-core or 10-core; Neural Accelerators, ray tracing	8-core or 10-core; ray tracing
External displays	Two with the lid open: up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz each, or one at up to 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz	Two at up to 6K at 60Hz, plus the built-in screen
Charger in the box	40W Dynamic Power Adapter, 60W Max	30W (8-core GPU) or 35W Dual USB-C Compact (10-core GPU)
Memory	16GB; 24GB or 32GB to order	Same
Camera	12MP Center Stage, 1080p video	Same
Display	13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560 × 1664, 224 ppi, 500 nits	Same
Battery	53.8 Wh; up to 18 hours video streaming, 15 hours web	Same
Ports	MagSafe 3, headphone jack, two Thunderbolt 4	Same
Weight	2.7 lb (1.23 kg)	2.7 lb (1.24 kg)
US launch price	$1,099; $999 education	$999; $899 education

512GB to start, and room for 4TB

The base M4 comes with a 256GB SSD, and you could order 512GB, 1TB or 2TB. The base M5 comes with 512GB, and the options are 1TB, 2TB or 4TB. You can’t add storage or memory to either after you buy it, so a 256GB M4 stays a 256GB M4.

For base models that makes this simple: the M5 doubles the drive for $100 more. It’s murkier if your M4, or the one you’re looking at, was ordered with 512GB or 1TB. Then the storage argument is gone, and the $100 is paying for Wi-Fi 7, faster memory and a few extra display modes.

Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6

The M4 tops out at Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3. The M5 moves to Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6 on Apple’s own N1 wireless chip, and adds Thread, with Wi-Fi 7 limited by country or region. On a Wi-Fi 6E router it changes nothing; it pays off if you’ll keep this laptop past your next router upgrade.

Faster memory, more display modes, a bigger charger

Both CPUs have 10 cores: four fast ones, which Apple calls performance cores on the M4 and super cores on the M5, and six efficiency cores. The GPUs start at 8 cores with a 10-core option on each, and both have hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The measurable chip difference is memory bandwidth, which rises from 120GB/s to 153GB/s, a bit over a quarter more. Neural Accelerators are new in the M5’s GPU, and the M5’s media engine covers H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW and decodes AV1. There’s no benchmark from Apple for either chip.

Both drive two external monitors with the lid up, each at up to 6K and 60Hz, so a typical two-monitor setup works on either. Only the M5 lists higher refresh rates: two screens at 4K and 144Hz, or a single one at up to 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz or 4K at 240Hz. The ports themselves are identical: two Thunderbolt 4 ports (up to 40Gb/s), MagSafe 3 and a headphone jack. Neither Air offers HDMI or an SD slot.

In the M4’s box you’ll find a 30W USB-C adapter if it has the 8-core GPU, and the 35W Dual USB-C Compact adapter if it has the 10-core GPU; fast charging takes Apple’s 70W USB-C Power Adapter. The M5’s box has Apple’s 40W Dynamic Power Adapter, rated 60W Max; it fast-charges from 70W or more over USB Power Delivery, and the 35W dual and 70W adapters are options at purchase. Both include a MagSafe cable.

What the M4 already has

Center Stage isn’t new: the M4 has the same 12MP Center Stage camera, which records 1080p video and can show an overhead view of your workspace. It also starts at 16GB of memory, with 24GB or 32GB to order, and neither Air comes with 8GB. The speakers are the same too (four, with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos), as are the three microphones with Wide Spectrum and Voice Isolation modes, the backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and the Force Touch trackpad.

The screen didn’t change either. It’s a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina panel with 2560 × 1664 pixels (224 per inch), 500 nits of brightness, 1 billion colors, P3 wide color and True Tone. It isn’t a touchscreen or mini-LED, and neither Air has ProMotion or a 120Hz mode. Both bodies are 0.44 inches thick and 11.97 by 8.46 inches across, and both weigh 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg for the M4, 1.23 kg for the M5, though Apple notes weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process). Neither has a fan, and Apple calls the M5 completely silent.

Each launched with the Mac software of its day: macOS Sequoia for the M4, and macOS Tahoe with Apple Intelligence for the M5.

Same battery, same ratings

Both have a 53.8-watt-hour battery, and Apple’s ratings are identical: 18 hours of video streaming and 15 of wireless web. Apple tested matching machines (10-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB) with one difference: the M4 it tested in January 2025 had 256GB, and the M5 it tested in January 2026 had 512GB. Both ran with the screen eight clicks up from the bottom, and the web test used 25 websites. The bigger drive didn’t move the numbers.

What $100 more buys

The M4 launched at $999, or $899 for education. The M5 costs $1,099 ($999 for education). Compared base to base, that’s $100 for twice the storage, Wi-Fi 7 and the faster memory, with 16GB on both. An M4 configured with 512GB or 1TB closes the storage gap, and then the $100 is buying Wi-Fi 7, 153GB/s, Neural Accelerators and the extra display modes.

The M4 is the previous model now, so you’ll mostly find it refurbished or through education sales. A refurbished M4 with the storage you need at a clear discount is a sensible buy; a base 256GB M4 at nearly the M5’s price isn’t. Before you buy, compare a discounted M4’s price with the M5’s current one on apple.com.