Apple
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026)
$1099Cheaper
Released 2026-03
Best Laptops · head-to-head
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026) is cheaper at $1099. Every spec and price links to its source.
Apple
$1099Cheaper
Released 2026-03
Asus
$1399
Released 2024-01
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405, 2024) wins 3 of the 4 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 1. The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026) is the cheaper at $1099. Get the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405, 2024) for the stronger spec sheet, the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026) to spend less.
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The numbers that decide it, drawn to scale — longer bar wins, the accent bar is the stronger figure.
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | | |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $1099 | $1399 |
| Brand | Apple | Asus |
| Released | 2026-03 | 2024-01 |
| Display (in) | 13.6 | 14 |
| Resolution | 2560x1664 | 2880x1800 |
| CPU | Apple M5 (10-core, 4 super + 6 efficiency) | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Meteor Lake, 6P+8E+2LPE, up to 5.1 GHz) |
| GPU | Apple M5 integrated (8-core or 10-core) | Intel Arc Graphics (integrated) |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 32 |
| Storage (GB) | 512 | 1000 |
| Weight (kg) | 1.23 | 1.24 |
| Battery (Wh) | 53.8 | 75 |
| OS | macOS 26 | Windows 11 Pro |
| Ports | MagSafe 3, 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack | 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), 1x USB-A 10Gbps, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Release | 2026-03 | 2024-01 |
Sources — Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026): apple.com (verified 2026-06-15). Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405, 2024): en.wikipedia.org (verified 2026-06-15).
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (10 of 10). Matching specs are omitted.
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Three whitelisted testers lab-reviewed the 13-inch MacBook Air (M5) (Tom's Hardware, TechRadar, Tom's Guide); all rate it the best mainstream ultraportable, praising fast M5 performance, roughly 15.5-hour battery life, and the doubled 512GB base storage with a much faster SSD. Shared gripes: a $100 price hike (no longer $999), an incremental update over the M4, and — noted by Tom's Hardware — the fanless chassis throttling under sustained load. (3 sourced reviews, 3 lab-tested.)
Praised: Fast M5 performance that handles everyday and heavier creative workloads; All-day battery life (~15.5 hours in web testing); Doubled 512GB base storage plus much faster SSD.
Flagged: $100 price increase over the M4 (no longer starts at $999); Only an incremental upgrade over the M4, especially for M4 owners; Display notch remains and there is still no touchscreen.
Three whitelisted lab testers (Tom's Hardware, Notebookcheck, PCWorld) rate the 2024 Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405, Core Ultra 7 155H) a superb-screen, well-priced ultraportable with strong bursty performance and long light-load battery, undercut by Meteor Lake throttling and near-constant fan/electronic noise. All three tested the same UX3405MA config; every quote and measured value was confirmed verbatim in the fetched text. (3 sourced reviews, 3 lab-tested.)
Praised: Vivid, sharp, bright 120Hz 2880x1800 OLED display with accurate colors; Thin, light (~1.2kg / 2.82lb), premium metal build; Good value for the specs (32GB RAM / 1TB SSD).
Flagged: CPU throttles hard under sustained load (Meteor Lake power drop); Noisy/near-constant fan plus electronic coil-whine noise; Soldered, non-upgradeable RAM.