Apple MacBook Air 13.6" M5 Silver 2026

The MacBook Air M5 is the best thin-and-light laptop we've tested, with a ridiculous 4TB SSD and a chip that punches way above its weight. Skip it if you want to game, but for everyone else, this is the one to beat.

The M5 10-core chip is a genuine surprise. Our database puts the CPU well above average, and the GPU is stronger than you'd expect from integrated graphics. The real story is the storage. That 4TB NVMe drive lands in the 99th percentile, which is just absurd for a laptop this thin. You could dump your entire photo library, a few LLMs, and half of Steam on here and still have room. The 16GB of unified RAM is the one spec that feels a little tight for the price, but macOS handles it well enough for most people.

The Surface Laptop 7th Edition is the closest real competitor, and it's a genuinely good machine. But the M5 Air beats it on raw CPU performance and absolutely destroys it on storage. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is the one to get if you want any gaming chops, but it's heavier and runs hotter. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i and MSI Raider are gaming beasts that don't even play in the same portability league. For pure portability and everyday speed, the Air wins. For anything with a discrete GPU, look elsewhere.

Here's the thing: you're paying a premium for that 4TB SSD, and the price spread is wild. We saw listings from USD 2,299 to USD 3,099 across three US retailers. That's an USD 800 gap for the same machine. Shop around, because the cheapest listing is the only one that makes sense. At USD 2,299, this is a solid deal for a laptop that will last you five years. At USD 3,099, you're getting fleeced.

The MacBook Air M5 is Apple doing what Apple does best: taking a thin-and-light and making it feel almost unfairly capable. The one thing to know? This is the best compact laptop we've tested, full stop. The M5 chip sips power while chewing through everyday tasks, and that 4TB SSD is just showing off. It's not a gaming machine, and it doesn't pretend to be, but for everyone else, this is the default answer.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop, this isn't it. The gaming score in our database is a brutal 23.9 out of 100. Go get an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or a Lenovo Legion Pro 7i instead. You'll trade portability for a real GPU, and you'll actually enjoy playing games on it.

Buy it. If you want a laptop that disappears into your bag and handles everything from spreadsheets to light video editing without breaking a sweat, this is the one. The 4TB config is the sweet spot if you can find it at the lower end of that price range. Just don't expect to play Cyberpunk on it.