Apple today announced new MacBook Air models with the company's M5 processor, catching it up with the iPad Pro and 14-inch MacBook Pro that received an M5 bump last year. Now, you can get Apple's latest silicon without needing to spend a premium for a MacBook Pro. The new M5 MacBook Air is pricier than its predecessor, starting at $1,099 and scaling with additional RAM and storage.

Like the M4 before it, the M5 chip features a 10-core CPU with four higher-performance cores with six lower-power cores and an integrated 8- or 10-core GPU, but each M5 GPU cores includes a Neural Accelerator to boost AI and ray-tracing performance.

The M5 MacBook Air refresh incorporates a new generation of SSDs which have speedier read and write performance than the last generation. The latest models also feature Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity.

Previously, the 13-inch MacBook Air model started at $999 and included 16GB of RAM but only a 256GB SSD.

The starting price for the M5 MacBook Air is even higher, but the base configuration has more storage than before. The cheapest 13-inch model will cost $1,099 and include the standard 16GB of RAM, but it's also outfitted with a 512GB SSD.

The 15-inch MacBook Air with the M5 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD costs $1,299.

With the Apple education discount, the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air costs $999, bringing it in-line with the starting price for the M4 MacBook Air models. The discount also brings the 15-inch models down to a price of $1,199.

The latest MacBook Air models can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. This M5 refresh does not include any external design changes, and the colors are the same tried-and-true hues from the M4 MacBook Air.

Pre-orders start March 4, and the M5 MacBook Air will start shipping on March 11.

This story is developing...