MacBook Air M5 review: Same but faster

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost four years since Apple gave the MacBook Air a serious glow-up. The 2022 model was a total redesign that bumped its performance with the M2 chip and also improved a number of key components. It was also the first MacBook Air to drop the signature tapered design, and Apple added a 15-inch model one year later to boot. Since then, Apple’s primarily focused on making sure it has a new chip every year — we’re already up to the M5, if you can believe it.  As such, the latest MacBook Air is an expected update that doesn’t change the game. Not that it needed changing: it’s been our favorite ultraportable laptop for years now. But the Air’s place in Apple’s lineup has changed with the simultaneous introduction of the $599 MacBook Neo. And unfortunately, Apple didn’t keep the $999 price that last year’s M4 MacBook Air hit; it’s back up to $1,099, the same price as the M2 and M3 models. Now that there’s the new, inexpensive MacBook Neo out there, wh