What Happened
According to Lifehacker, Amazon is currently offering a $200 discount on both sizes of the M5 MacBook Air. This price cut brings the 13-inch model down to $1,099.99 from its $1,299 price point, and the 15-inch model down to $1,299 from $1,499. Tracking tools indicate these are the lowest prices for the laptops since Apple implemented price hikes in June.
Details and Specifications
Apple initially announced a lineup of products in March, which later saw price increases in June due to a global memory shortage, as reported by Lifehacker and Mashable. The M5 MacBook Air is available in 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display sizes and comes in four color options: midnight black, sky blue, silver, and starlight. According to Mashable's review and specifications, the laptop features an all-aluminum body measuring 0.44 inches thick and weighing 2.7 pounds.
Under the hood, the M5 chip includes a 10-core CPU, an 8-core GPU, and Neural Accelerators designed to support AI workloads. The base model features 16GB of memory (configurable to 24GB or 32GB) and a 512GB SSD for storage (configurable up to 4TB). Other hardware features include Touch ID, a Magic Keyboard, a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, a MagSafe 3 charging port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 4, DisplayPort, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and the Apple N1 chip. Mashable's testing recorded a battery life of 17 hours and 40 minutes during video playback tests, alongside a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 16,099 and a single-core score of 4,025.
Background and Context
Apple introduced the M5 MacBook Air earlier in the year, with Mashable praising its engineering, performance, and user experience, ultimately awarding it a Mashable Choice Award. Reviewers noted that the base model offers double the storage compared to previous generations, starting at 512GB. While Mashable's reviewer considered the laptop potentially overpowered and slightly overpriced for the average user following the June price increases—which raised the 13-inch starting price from $1,099 to $1,299 and the 15-inch model from $1,299 to $1,499—the current $200 discount helps offset those cost adjustments.
What It Means for Buyers
Lifehacker notes that finding new M4 MacBook Air laptops has become difficult, and refurbished M4 models often cost around the same as the M5 variant that includes 512GB of storage. Consequently, the $200 price drop makes purchasing the newer M5 version a practical choice for consumers seeking value, though reviewers suggest that owners of existing M3 or M4 MacBook Air models can comfortably hold onto their current machines a bit longer.