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Apple has officially entered the M5 era on Wednesday. The company not only announced the new M5 chip, focusing on artificial intelligence processing power, but also released the first batch of new devices that will ship with it. If you're interested in purchasing an Apple device with the company's latest and greatest hardware, it's all just around the corner.
However, the list of product announcements was limited. While Apple said M5 versions of the iPad Pro and Vision Pro would be available starting October 22, it only showed off one M5 Mac: the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs still use M4, as do the Pro and Max versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. But after a few days we know when that might change.
More M5 Macs on the horizon
If you've been holding off on buying one of the current M4 laptops in hopes that Apple will update them with M5 chips soon, you'll have to wait a little longer. As Bloomberg's typically reliable journalist Mark Gurman reportsApple doesn't plan to update the MacBook Air line until next spring. This includes many other Mac products, including the Mac Studio M5 and Mac mini versions, as well as new Mac monitors.
It's a similar story with the MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max. While Gurman doesn't say whether these laptops will ship in the spring, he does say Apple plans to update the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the new chips “in early 2026.”
Gurman says the new MacBook Pros will rework Apple's current design, and I'm guessing the same will be true for the M5 MacBook Air. At the end of the day, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 looks identical to its M4 counterpart, with the only noticeable changes (other than the M5 chip) being increased battery life to 24 hours and a faster SSD.
If you're currently putting off buying a new MacBook, I don't think there's much reason to wait for the M5 unless you really want the latest hardware Apple has to offer. The current M4 machines are excellent and, in the case of the MacBook Air, can be had for a very reasonable price, especially when they go on sale. During October Prime Day stores were offering the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 for just $799.which is excellent value for money.
What are your thoughts so far?
Apple is also working on a touchscreen MacBook Pro.
In the same report, Gurman discusses Apple's current plans to release a MacBook Pro with a touchscreen, which would be a significant upgrade—no Mac has that capability. Always Comes with touch screen, barring controversial Touchpad (RIP), which only added a touch strip to the top of the keyboard.
According to Gurman, these touchscreens will be OLED, which the company already uses in its iPad Pro and iPhone. You'll still have a standard keyboard and trackpad, so you can ignore the touchscreen entirely, although Apple is considering replacing Touch ID with Face ID, again copying its iPads and iPhones. At this point, the “notch” (the large cutout for the camera at the top of the screen) can be replaced with a smaller punch hole. reminiscent of Dynamic Island on iPhone.
In addition to the touchscreen, Apple could update the design of the MacBook Pro, making it thinner and lighter, and they will be able to run on M6 chip, not the M5 version. They may also include a new hinge and lid design to compensate for the force of touching the display. Remember, this will be a new design challenge for the MacBook line, which has never before had to deal with users intentionally touching the display.
Gurman says the touchscreen MacBook Pro won't debut until late 2026 or even early 2027. When it does arrive, its price will likely be increased by at least “a few hundred dollars more than current versions.” Currently, the MacBook Pro M4 Pro starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and $2,499 for the 16-inch model. Apple will be updating the hardware significantly, so the increased price makes sense. But if you're looking for a Mac at the best possible price, you'll be hard-pressed to beat the current MacBook Air M4, especially when it's on sale.
