Alongside its affordable iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air announced on Monday, Apple has unveiled updates for the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and its infrequently updated desktop display line. It seems Apple is reserving its anticipated new entry-level MacBook for an in-person event in New York City on Wednesday, but today’s announcements are likely to please those looking to upgrade.

The MacBook Air now features the newest M5 chip. This is a somewhat minor enhancement but aligns it with Apple’s latest processor that was introduced in the MacBook Pro last autumn. There are no other major hardware changes—it now comes with 512 GB of base storage utilizing “faster SSD technology”—but buyers can still opt for a 13- or 15-inch display.

This laptop also includes Apple’s N1 wireless chip, supporting Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in line with the latest connectivity standards. It retains the standard 16 GB of RAM, though there’s a regrettable $100 price hike due to the extra storage. The starting prices are now $1,099 for the 13-inch variant and $1,299 for the 15-inch variant. Apple announces that pre-orders will commence on Wednesday, with sales starting on March 11.

More significantly, Apple is broadening the M5 chip family with the M5 Pro and M5 Max, now available in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. As with previous generations of Apple silicon, the “Pro” and “Max” versions deliver markedly improved multicore CPU and graphics performance.

The M5 Pro and M5 Max can be configured with up to 18 CPU cores (12 performance cores and 6 “super” cores), a boost from 16 on the M4 Max. The M5 Pro can be upgraded to include up to 20 GPU cores, while the M5 Max can go up to 40 GPU cores. Apple claims a 30 percent enhancement in multithreaded CPU performance for the M5 Pro compared to the M4 Pro. The M5 Max CPU upgrade is a bit more modest—just 15 percent higher than the M4 Max, according to Apple.

Thanks to higher memory bandwidth, a more efficient Neural Engine, and improved GPU architecture, Apple asserts that both the M5 Pro and M5 Max provide “over 4X the peak CPU compute for AI” compared to the last generation and deliver 20 percent better GPU performance.

The new MacBook Pros maintain the same hardware configuration that has remained unchanged since 2021—identical port options, Mini-LED display, speakers, and webcam. Even the reported 24-hour battery life remains stable with the M4 models, launched in late 2024. Notably, Bloomberg reported last week that Apple plans to introduce a more significant update for the MacBook Pro this year, expected to reveal the M6 chip, an OLED touchscreen, and a sleeker design.