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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) ($1,299) vs Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) ($772) — side-by-side specs, weight, pros and cons to help you pick the right ultraportable laptop.
Spec-by-spec
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) | Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,299 | $772 |
| Weight | 1230g | 1240g |
| Chip | M5 (up to 10-core CPU / 10-core GPU) | M3 |
| Display | 13.6" Liquid Retina, 500 nits | 13.6" Liquid Retina |
| Battery | Up to 18 hours | — |
| Cooling | Fanless | Fanless |
| Ports | 2× Thunderbolt, MagSafe 3, headphone | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt, headphone |
| Weight | 1.23 kg (2.7 lb) | 1240g (Apple published) |
| Displays | — | Two external with lid closed |
Pros & Cons
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5)
- Fanless — silent under any load
- 1.23 kg genuinely sling-friendly
- 18-hour battery is real, not optimistic
- MagSafe frees a Thunderbolt port
- Longest software support in the class
- $200 more than the M4 it replaced
- Only two Thunderbolt ports
- Sustained heavy exports throttle without a fan
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
- Two external displays, which the M2 could not do
- Faster chip in the same 1240g body
- Fanless and silent
- Better SSD than the base M2
- Marginal gain over an M2 for most tasks
- 8GB base memory again
- Still throttles under long exports
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is the better value at $772. If weight matters most, Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) carries lighter at 1230g. Both are part of our curated ultraportable laptop index — tap through to check current pricing.
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