GoKawiilis a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
Not much has changed in the new MacBook Air for 2026: It now has the M5 chip, Wi-Fi 7, and faster storage starting at 512GB instead of 256GB. It’s just as outstanding a computer as last year’s model, even if it’s a shame it’s $100 more expensive.
The bigger change has happened to the Air. The MacBook Neo now exists, and it’s an awesome little computer for $500 less than the base 13-inch Air. The Neo’s existence doesn’t invalidate the Air or make it pointless, and I doubt the Neo will cannibalize too much of the Air’s sales. The Air is a more capable, faster, and sleeker machine. Having the Neo sit beneath it does paint it in a new light, though. It’s now the step-up upgrade from the Neo that still cedes plenty of room to the beefier MacBook Pros above it.
But is the Air now an awkward middle child or the perfect middle ground? I have good news on that front.
Everything from my review of the 13- and 15-inch M4 MacBook Airs rings true in the new M5 model. (This time I only have the 15-inch, but the changes are the same across both sizes.) The screen is bright, colorful, and accurate enough for some color-sensitive work. The keyboard is solid. The 12-megapixel Center Stage camera is the best built-in webcam around. The battery easily lasts a full work / school day and much more. (I easily got 13 to 14 hours on a full charge while web browsing, messaging, and streaming a bit of music and video with minimal sleeping and brightness between 50 to 100 percent.) And the six-speaker setup on the 15-inch model still gets loud as hell for such a thin laptop.
Component report card Screen: B
Webcam: A
Keyboard: B
Trackpad: A
Port selection: C
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