[DigitalToday reporter Choo Hyun-woo (추현우)] Apple announced new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models featuring its latest M5 chip. It pairs a thin and light aluminium design with the next-generation M5 chip to boost performance and portability at the same time.

With a 10-core CPU and an up to 10-core GPU equipped with a per-core neural accelerator, the laptops deliver AI task performance up to 4 times faster than the M4 model and up to 9.5 times faster than the M1. It improved speed and efficiency across AI workflows, including on-device LLM operation and the use of Apple Intelligence.

Memory bandwidth is 153GB/s, up 28 percent from the M4. It also shows a clear generational performance gap in creative work such as ray tracing-based 3D rendering, AI video enhancement and image processing. Web browsing is up to 50 percent faster than PC laptops equipped with Intel Core Ultra X7 processors.

Base storage doubles to 512GB, with configurations available up to 4TB. SSD read and write speeds are also up to 2 times faster than the previous generation. It supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 through Apple's N1 wireless chip and offers up to 18 hours of battery life. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports can connect up to 2 external displays.

Pre-orders for the new MacBook Air begin on March 4, with a release set for March 11. Prices start at 1.79 million won for the 13-inch model and 2.09 million won for the 15-inch model.