Apple’s M5 MacBook Air hasn’t even hit store shelves, yet it’s already facing criticism for the one thing Apple usually excels at — performance under pressure. For a company that built its reputation on seamless hardware and software integration, early reports surrounding the M5 chip raise some serious concerns. While Apple fans are excited about the next generation of Apple Silicon, the leaks suggest that the M5 might not be the leap forward many were expecting. Beneath the polished aluminum body and sleek design lies a device that, once again, seems to prioritize marketing over meaningful improvement. This information is also featured on 9to9trends’ YouTube channel, so be sure to check it out.
Thermal Throttling: Apple’s Silent Problem
According to Vadim Yuryev from Max Tech, Apple’s latest M5 chip is already showing signs of thermal throttling — a problem that continues to haunt the MacBook Air lineup. In Cinebench 2024 tests, the M5’s single-to-multi-core ratio reportedly dropped from 5.38x on the M4 to 5.07x. That means the chip performs well initially but quickly loses power once heat builds up. Essentially, Apple’s new processor shines for a few seconds before the system temperature rises and performance nosedives. For a laptop that’s supposed to represent cutting-edge engineering, that’s not a good look.
Yes, the M5 MacBook Air has always been fanless, but that’s no longer a valid excuse. Competitors like ASUS and Dell have managed to create slim, quiet laptops that handle thermals better. Apple’s “thin at all costs” design obsession seems to be backfiring. When you pay over a thousand dollars for a premium machine, you expect it to perform consistently — not to overheat halfway through a rendering project or a long editing session.
Raw Specs Look Great — But Reality Tells Another Story
On paper, the M5 MacBook Air sounds impressive. It’s powered by a 10-core CPU featuring four performance cores and six efficiency cores, built on TSMC’s refined 3nm N3P process. Apple claims around a 15% boost in multi-core performance over the M4, while the 10-core GPU promises roughly 45% better graphics performance thanks to improved ray tracing. The Neural Engine has also been expanded to 16 cores, and unified memory bandwidth now reaches 153 GB/s, supporting up to 32 GB of RAM.
Those numbers sound exciting — until you realize that the M5 MacBook Air limited thermal envelope means you’ll rarely see that performance in sustained workloads. Apple seems to be chasing efficiency benchmarks more than practical computing power. Even the much-hyped “four times faster AI tasks” feel exaggerated, especially when the device throttles under continuous stress. It’s clear that while the M5 chip is technically powerful, the Air’s design is holding it back.
Storage and Memory: Finally Catching Up
One of the few bright spots in this otherwise underwhelming refresh is the potential upgrade in base configuration. The M5 MacBook Air could finally start with 16 GB of unified memory and 512 GB of storage — something users have been demanding since the M1 generation. The M5 MacBook Pro already offers nearly double the storage speeds of its predecessor, and if Apple extends that to the Air, it’ll be a welcome improvement.
However, it’s hard not to suspect that these upgrades will come with a price hike. Apple has a long history of turning long-overdue improvements into “premium” selling points. At a rumored starting price of $1,099, the Air risks drifting even further away from its original identity as a lightweight, affordable Mac. Instead of being the perfect balance of power and portability, it’s slowly becoming a watered-down version of the MacBook Pro — with all the compromises and fewer advantages.
Design Stagnation: The Same Look, Third Year Running
Here’s where things get even more disappointing: Apple is reportedly keeping the exact same design introduced with the M2 MacBook Air back in 2022. That’s three generations with zero external change. According to MacRumors, no major design updates are planned for the M5 Air, as Apple seems content with the current aesthetic. While it’s still a beautifully built machine, it’s hard to ignore how dated it’s beginning to look compared to fresher designs from competitors like HP’s Spectre or Lenovo’s Yoga series.
Apple fans will have to wait until 2027 for a meaningful redesign, when the company is rumored to adopt oxide TFT LCD displays that promise better brightness consistency and power efficiency. But again, even that’s just LCD — not OLED. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is already moving toward OLED and mini-LED displays at similar or lower price points. Apple’s refusal to adopt OLED for its Air lineup feels more like a cost-cutting strategy than a technical limitation. The rumor that ProMotion (120Hz refresh rate) could eventually reach the Air adds some hope, but that’s still speculative at this point.
Marketing Hype vs. Real-World Use
Apple has mastered the art of making small updates sound revolutionary. With every new chip, the company floods the stage with graphs, vague performance claims, and buzzwords like “next-generation efficiency” or “industry-leading AI acceleration.” The reality, however, is often less dramatic. While the M5 Air will undoubtedly handle office tasks, browsing, and light creative work with ease, that’s not enough for professionals or even serious hobbyists. Once you push it with sustained workloads — like video editing, coding, or 3D rendering — the limitations become painfully obvious.
Even in simple day-to-day tasks, thermal throttling can subtly affect responsiveness over time. Apple’s refusal to address this issue head-on shows how the company prioritizes aesthetics and marketing consistency over real engineering innovation. The M5 MacBook Air is powerful, but trapped inside a chassis that doesn’t allow it to breathe, it’s like a race car forced to drive with the handbrake on.
Release Date and Price Expectations
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is testing the new 13-inch and 15-inch M5 MacBook Air models, codenamed J813 and J815, with macOS 26.2. The official launch window is expected in early 2026, likely around March, in line with Apple’s typical spring product cycle. Pricing is expected to start at $1,099, with older M4 and M3 Airs likely dropping below $899 once the new model arrives. While Apple is unlikely to make drastic pricing shifts, the increasing base configurations could justify the slightly higher cost — at least on paper.
Final Thoughts: The Beauty of Limitations
At this point, it’s fair to say the M5 MacBook Air isn’t shaping up to be the game-changer Apple wants it to be. It’s another iteration that focuses on incremental gains and marketing-friendly numbers rather than tackling long-standing flaws like heat management and design stagnation. The Air still has its strengths — it’s light, efficient, and reliable for casual users — but for anyone who demands real power, it continues to fall short.
Apple needs to stop pretending that “efficiency” is the same as “performance.” The M5 chip proves that there’s untapped potential trapped inside this device, waiting for better cooling and design freedom. Until that happens, the M5 MacBook Air will remain what it has always been: a beautiful, overpriced machine that works best when you don’t push it too hard.
