MacBook Air M5 vs MacBook Air M4 both are on sale right now, but which is
the better buy?

Date:
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:32:45 +0000

Description:
It's a very difficult choice

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The Amazon Spring Sale has yielded some great discounts on Apple MacBooks this week, including the first-ever discount on the brand-new M5 iteration a
model that's barely a few weeks old as of writing.

Right now, you can get the baseline 16GB configuration for $1,049 (was
$1,099) at the retailer thanks to a small but welcome $50 discount. That's
not much, but it's quite impressive considering these machines have just left the factory. Interestingly, I've also spotted the slightly older (but still amazing) MacBook Air 13 M4 with 24GB of RAM for $1,149 (was $1,399) at the retailer, which is another record-low price. In short, you're really spoilt for choice right now if you've been thinking about picking up a new MacBook. There are some differences, however, that are worth thinking about if you're trying to decide between these two models. First, here are those two deals in full: MacBook Air on sale at Amazon 5% OFF Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 16GB
RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,049 $1,099 shop now 18% OFF Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $1,149 $1,399 shop now Which is the better buy right now? (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff) The latest chipset brings incremental gains More RAM is very handy for demanding applications In terms of design, there are functionally no differences between the two models. Both feature
the super-thin, lightweight, and premium aluminum chassis that Apple has utilized for a few generations now. Both are even available in the same colors, which shows you how iterative this year's upgrade actually is.

The two MacBooks also feature the same display: a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina panel with 2,560 x 1,664 resolution and 500 nits of brightness. It's not an OLED display, but it's still fantastic for everyday use and creative work.

Where the two models differ significantly is essentially the chipset, with
the newer model featuring the latest M5 processor. According to Apple, the MacBook Air M5s unified memory is 28 per cent faster than the M4s, and the AI performance is 4x faster. In real-world use, you should see a bump in performance with tasks like video rendering and increased write speeds with the newer model.

With that said, today's price cut on the older M4 model at Amazon is for a configuration with 24GB of RAM a significant upgrade versus the baseline
16GB variant. That's going to give you smoother everyday performance if you use your machine for massive spreadsheets, professional coding, or running a large number of browser tabs.

If you don't need that extra RAM, however, then the M5 model is an obvious pick today. You'll get super-snappy performance for everyday tasks that don't require massive heaps of RAM, as well as a healthy $100 saving overall.

For a full deep dive into these models, check out our Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) review and Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5) review pages. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/macbooks/macbook-air-m5-vs-macbook-air-m4- both-are-on-sale-right-now-but-which-is-the-better-buy


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