Apple’s latest MacBook Air M5 roadmap has finally surfaced, and instead of exciting fans, it has triggered a wave of disappointment—because everything meaningful is still years away. Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has outlined Apple’s long-term strategy, and it’s clear that the MacBook Air, the company’s most popular laptop, continues to sit at the bottom of Apple’s priority list. According to his new report, Apple won’t bring OLED to the MacBook Air until 2028. Yes, 2028. This information is also featured on 9to9trends’ YouTube channel, so be sure to check it out.
The year when half the tech industry will probably be showing off new categories of devices, while the Air is just catching up to what premium laptops have already been using for years. OLED will eventually bring deeper blacks, better contrast, richer colors, and improved battery efficiency, but Apple has decided that Air users don’t get that improvement anytime soon. Instead, their carefully arranged roadmap pushes every other product ahead.
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First the iPad mini, then the MacBook Pro, then the iPad Air, and only after all of those will the Air finally get its turn. Even worse, Gurman says the MacBook Pro models are expected to gain touchscreens around late 2026—a feature that Air users won’t see for a very long time. Meanwhile, the base iPad continues to stay stuck with LCD and watches the rest of the lineup move ahead. In short, Apple is only giving the bare minimum to the Air for several more years.
The MacBook Air M5 and M6 Air: LCD Again, and Again
The situation becomes even more discouraging when you look at the next two MacBook Air cycles. The MacBook Air M5 will still use LCD. The M6 Air will still use LCD. And Apple doesn’t seem interested in changing that until the OLED transition is ready. There was a rumor floating around that the Air would get oxide TFT LCD technology in 2027, but now that information seems pointless. Why would Apple upgrade the LCD panel for a single year only to abandon it immediately after in 2028? It doesn’t make financial or strategic sense, which is why that rumor now appears to be nothing more than noise.
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At best, the next Air models might get slightly better brightness or marginal enhancements, but nothing close to the level of change users have been expecting. And for those hoping Apple might bring ProMotion to the Air before OLED finally arrives, the reality is grim. Gurman’s report makes it clear: Apple is almost certainly saving ProMotion for the OLED generation. That means no 120Hz smoothness for at least four more years.
A Familiar Design Again for the M5 Air
The next MacBook Air—powered by the MacBook Air M5 chip—is scheduled for early 2026, following the same spring release timing Apple used for the M3 and M4 models. Gurman says Apple already has the 13-inch and 15-inch models prepared internally with the codes J813 and J815. But anyone hoping for a redesign or display change will be disappointed because Apple is sticking with the same familiar chassis yet again.
The MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips might launch around the same time, but there’s also a good chance Apple will release those Pro models earlier in January—just like it did with the M2 versions—while the Air is pushed to spring. Apple’s pattern is predictable: the Pros get all the premium features and the spotlight, while the Air gets quiet internal bumps months later.
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The MacBook Air M5 is already being tested with macOS 26.2, following the same development pattern Apple has used for years. The M4 Air shipped with macOS 15.3, and its internal builds appeared long before launch. So, early 2026 is set. But while the internals are certainly improving, the outside remains unchanged. Same display. Same design. Same limitations. Apple clearly knows it doesn’t need to try very hard because the Air sells anyway.
The M5 Chip: Strong Upgrade, But Mostly Invisible
The only real uplift is coming with the next MacBook Air M5 chip, which is at least a meaningful improvement—although it still won’t change daily use for most people. Built on TSMC’s refined 3nm N3P process, the MacBook Air M5 is more efficient and more powerful. The chip includes a 10-core CPU, updated accelerators for up to four times faster AI performance, significantly better graphics with about 45% improvement thanks to third-gen ray tracing, and around 15% faster multi-core performance compared to the M4. Apple also raised unified memory bandwidth to nearly 153 GB/s, expanded the neural engine to 16 cores, and allowed up to 32GB of unified memory.
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These upgrades matter in creative apps, coding, rendering, heavy GPU tasks, and AI workflows. But for the average person browsing, streaming, or doing office work, the jump from M4 to M5 will feel mild at best. Storage could improve, too. The M5 MacBook Pro showed nearly double the storage speed compared to the previous generation, and the Air might follow the same trend. Apple may even bump the base model to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage—though that’s still unconfirmed. Considering the iPhone 17 now starts at 256GB, it only makes sense for the Air to raise its minimum storage.
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Why 2026 Might Be a Good Time to Buy an Older Air
Ironically, the biggest benefit of the MacBook Air M5 launch is not the new model—it’s that the M4 and M3 Air prices will fall. The M4 Air is already selling for around $749 in some markets, and once the M5 launches, older models will become even cheaper. If someone doesn’t care about AI performance or GPU-heavy work, the M4 Air already offers excellent value with strong battery life, 16GB standard RAM, two external display support, and a reliable design that works for most users. The MacBook Air M5 will simply make the older models more affordable.
OLED Is the Real Upgrade—and Apple Knows It
When you look at Apple’s whole strategy, it becomes obvious why the Air keeps getting delayed upgrades. Apple wants to save the biggest improvements—OLED, touchscreens, major redesigns—for the MacBook Pro first. The Air receives slow, incremental updates that keep it competitive but never exciting. Apple spreads out changes to maintain yearly sales instead of giving everything at once. And that’s why the real MacBook Air people want—the OLED version—won’t exist until 2028.
Apple is fully aware that OLED is the update that finally transforms the Air experience, and they’re intentionally making users wait years for it. In short, the MacBook Air M5 coming in early 2026 adds performance but no meaningful visible upgrade, the design remains unchanged, and OLED doesn’t arrive until 2028. For a company that sells “innovation,” this timeline feels more like intentional slow-walking than progress.
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Last update on 2026-02-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
