Forget the MacBook Neo — this record-low price on the new MacBook Air 13 M5 could be the better value buy

The new Apple MacBook Neo has undoubtedly been one of the most popular tech launches of the year so far. So popular, in fact, that it seems to have overshadowed the brand's other recent launch, the latest MacBook Air M5. I imagine that's partly why you can pick up the MacBook Air M5 for $949 (was $1,099) at Amazon.

A $150 price cut this soon after launch is rare on a new Apple MacBook, but I'm certainly not complaining. This is a fantastic record-low price on a machine that we still think is an exceptional buy for most people.

Our recently published review awarded it an impressive four and a half stars out of five, praising its performance and design. While it's an iterative upgrade over the M4 version, Apple has definitely stuck to a winning formula here.

Today's price at Amazon brings the Air ever-so-closer to the Neo's admittedly compelling $599 price. It's still a lot pricier than the budget model, but it could just be worth springing for if you're looking for a more capable and fully-featured laptop.

Record-low MacBook Air M5 at Amazon

Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5): was $1,099 now $949 at Amazon

Processor: Apple M5
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB

Amazon has just listed a brand new record-low price on the latest Apple MacBook Air 13 — barely a month after this model's release. With an impressive $150 discount, this deal addresses our main complaint with the M5 Air: namely, that it's pricier than the previous model. Now, you're getting the latest chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a bigger 512GB SSD for much less, with a price that arguably challenges even the budget MacBook Neo when it comes to outright value.

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Is the MacBook Air a better buy right now?

It really depends on your use case. The MacBook Neo is more than enough for basic tasks and even some demanding applications (within reason). The Air is a better buy if you have more serious workloads in mind, however.

For example, even though the Neo's A18 chipset is good, the MacBook Air's M5 chip provides more headroom and multitasking capacity. That's aided by the fact that the baseline MacBook Air also comes with 16GB of RAM, which is a significant step-up from the Neo's 8GB.

Other upgrades include a faster SSD (better loading speeds), a haptic mouse pad, and much better audio thanks to the Air's more advanced speakers. Perhaps most crucially, however, the Air features two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, which let it support two external 1440p monitors.