These are Apple's new MacBooks

Samuel Buchmann

3-3-2026

Translation: machine translated

The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are getting new chips as well as larger and faster SSDs. The design will not change and prices will remain stable.

Apple introduces the M5 Pro and M5 Max, new high-end versions of its current chips. For the first time, they are based on a so-called Fusion Architecture. This involves coupling two 3-nanometre dies to form a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

Both chips contain an 18-core CPU with six «Super Cores» - the new name for performance cores. In addition, there are twelve efficiency cores, which Apple now refers to as «optimised performance cores». Overall, this should provide up to 30 per cent more performance compared to the previous chips.

The GPU consists of up to 20 cores in the M5 Pro and up to 40 cores in the M5 Max. It integrates a Neural Accelerator in each core. The memory bandwidth increases to 307 or 614 gigabytes per second (GB/s). The result should be a four times higher peak computing performance for AI tasks compared to the M4 Pro and M4 Max. According to Apple, graphics performance with ray tracing increases by 35 per cent. In fact, the normal M5 achieved great progress in this area when tested.

New MacBook Pro: faster SSD and Wi-Fi 7

This is the chip basis on which Apple is updating the MacBook Pro. In addition to the computing power, Apple is fixing some of the bottlenecks of its predecessors. At up to 14.5 GB/s, the SSDs are said to be twice as fast as in the M4 generation. However, this should only be noticeable with large data sets.

The MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts with 1 terabyte (TB) SSD, the one with M5 Max even with 2 TB. Also new is the N1 wireless chip, which brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Nothing else has changed. A fundamental redesign is not expected until the M6 generation.

Despite the larger SSDs, prices appear to remain stable at first glance. This is pleasing in view of the current storage crisis. A detailed analysis will follow in the next few days. Here is an overview of the basic configurations with the various chips:

M5 Pro

• 14", M5 Pro (15/16 cores), 24 GB, 1 TB: CHF 1999.- / EUR 2399.-
• 14", M5 Pro (18/20 cores), 24 GB, 1 TB: CHF 2199.- / EUR 2699.-
• 16", M5 Pro (18/20 cores), 24 GB, 1 TB: CHF 2499.- / EUR 2999.-

M5 Max

• 14", M5 Max (18/32 cores), 36 GB, 2 TB: CHF 3399.- / EUR 4199.-
• 14", M5 Max (18/40 cores), 48 GB, 2 TB: CHF 3899.- / EUR 4824.-
• 16", M5 Max (18/32 cores), 36 GB, 2 TB: CHF 3699.- / EUR 4499.-
• 16", M5 Max (18/40 cores), 48 GB, 2 TB: CHF 4199.- / EUR 4999.-

The available colours are Space Black and Silver. You can pre-order the new MacBook Pro from 4 March. It will be delivered from 11 March.

New MacBook Air: M5 and more memory

The MacBook Air also gets the new chip generation. The basic M5 is the same one that is already used in the cheapest MacBook Pro. In the Air, it has a slightly slimmed-down GPU with 8 instead of 10 cores in the cheapest configuration of the 13-inch model. The CPU always has 10 cores. The full version of the chip costs 100 francs or 125 euros extra. It is always included in the 15-inch model, which means that the real price difference between the two sizes shrinks to 50 francs or 125 euros.

The N1 wireless chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 has also been introduced. However, the most important improvement over the old model is the doubled base memory. Instead of 256 GB, 512 GB SSD is now standard. At last! The measly SSD was one of the few points of criticism in my test of the M4 MacBook Air. You can configure up to 4 TB. As with the MacBook Pro, the speed of the SSD should also double.

The price of the MacBook Air will rise by 100 US dollars in the USA, but will remain the same in Switzerland and Germany. The 13-inch model starts at 1049 francs or 1199 euros with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB RAM. The 15-inch version costs at least 1199 francs or 1499 euros.

Pre-orders for the M5 MacBook Air will be possible from 4 March, with deliveries starting on 11 March.

Samuel Buchmann

Senior Editor

Samuel.Buchmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.

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