Apple is continuing its big week of announcements. Yesterday, we saw the technology giant release a new iPhone 17e along with a powerful upgrade to the iPad Air. Now it’s the turn of the MacBook range to get some changes with a major boost to both the Pro and Air models. Apple is promising “game-changing performance” from these machines thanks to upgraded processors. The biggest boost comes to the MacBook Pro with these more premium laptops now getting M5 Pro and M5 Max chips inside.

Owners could see a speed bump of up to 30 percent when performing memory-intensive tasks. These upgraded processors will also offer over seven times quicker AI image generation and up to 1.6 times faster gaming performance. All of this will be achieved whilst using less power, with Apple promising up to 24 hours of battery life before things run flat.

Other features include a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display, Wi-Fi 7 data speeds, a 12MP Centre Stage camera, an impressive speaker and studio-quality mics.

The new Pro machines will be available in 14 and 16-inch sizes with prices starting from £2199.

The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at £2199, and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at £2699. Those wanting the Max chip will find things start from £3599.

They will arrive in stores next week

“MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max redefines what’s possible on a pro laptop, now up to 4x faster than the previous generation,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With Neural Accelerators in the GPU, the new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do — all while maintaining exceptional battery life. Combined with even faster unified memory and storage, it empowers users to take their work even further, unleashing new possibilities and pushing the boundaries of what they can do.”

So that’s the MacBook Pro, but what about the new Air?

This more affordable laptop has received a spec bump, with the popular device now featuring the standard M5 processor and more storage. That means it’s not only faster but offers more space to store files, photos and more.

Thanks to the power of M5, Apple says users will see nine times faster performance than some previous Air PCs. There’s also improved SSD which makes saving files a lot quicker than before.

Other extras include a Liquid Retina display, 18 hours of battery life, a 12MP Centre Stage camera, Wi-Fi 7 and decent speakers.

It comes in 13 or 15-inch sizes with prices starting from £1,099.

That is more expensive than the £999 M4 Air, but you do get that extra storage.

“The new MacBook Air with M5 brings incredible performance and even more capability to the world’s most popular laptop,” added Ternus.

“With M5, MacBook Air powers through a wide range of tasks, from everyday productivity to creative workloads, and is even faster for AI. Now featuring double the starting storage, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, in a sleek and durable design with long battery life, MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for anyone who values the unrivalled combination of performance and portability.”