Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2026)

Outright fast; exceptionally well-built; long-lasting battery; packed with premium software and cross-device continuity; fair price; quick keyboard feedback; responsive haptic trackpad; crisp, clear video quality from webcam; loud, clear sound from...

Aging display; divisive camera notch; display has a 60Hz refresh rate while market has advanced; OLED option or other upgrade increasingly feels like a missed opportunity; limited ports (only USB Type-C)

The MacBook Air continues to serve as a benchmark for other ultraportable laptops to beat, earning our Editors’ Choice award once again. The Air is outright fast (not just relatively so), remains exceptionally well-built, has a long-lasting battery,...

Strong performance and 16GB of RAM minimum;Long battery life;Comfortable keyboard and trackpad

No longer starts at $1,099 (but base model now starts with 512GB of storage);Display notch is still there, still kind of awkward

But with the introduction of the entry-level MacBook Neo, that calculus has changed. The MacBook Air is now the middle option, which means it needs to justify its $500 price difference over the Neo. To make things worse, the latest M5 refresh is one of...