User level: Level 1 (0 points)I'm looking at a refurbished Macbook Air to replace my old MacBook Pro M1. Should I get M5 or M4?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: M4 and M5 differences
Posted on Oct 23, 2026 1:26 PM
User level: Level 10 (242,520 points)Oct 23, 2026 1:38 PM in response to LillianJane
M5 is the current one, and if budget allows I'd favor the newer model, rather than the older one.
With that said, there's very little difference between the M4 and M5 models outside of the CPU and extra memory and storage configurations available, but if looking at refurbished models the extra RAM and storage options may not be available anyway.
The 13" MacBook Air with the M5 CPU is up to 15% faster in multi-core CPU performance and delivers up to 4x faster AI performance than the M4 modelaccording to EndGadget.
For specific differences, see the following website to compare them.
click here ➜ https://www.apple.com/mac/compare/?modelList=MacBook-Air-M5,MacBook-Air-M4,MacBook-Air-M3
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256381749