The silent MacBook Air M5 is on sale after a long time. Alza offers a trade-in bonus with it

A silent laptop for working on a train or in a library, weighing 1.23 kg and not needing to spin up a fan. Alza is now selling the MacBook Air with M5 chip for 31 480 Kč. In addition, it offers a trade-in bonus worth 2 500 Kč if you sell them an eligible older laptop. The specific starlight white variant has 16 GB RAM, 512GB SSD and is in stock.

Quick summary:
✅ Makes sense if: You want a lightweight, completely silent laptop with macOS and have an older device suitable for trade-in.
⚠️ Consider: The keyboard is English, you cannot expand RAM or SSD later, and you need your own power adapter.
💡 In the order, you will pay 31 480 Kč. The amount of 28 980 Kč will only be reached after accounting for the value of the conditional bonus; it is not the regular price in the cart.

How the old laptop bonus works

The Apple trade-in terms state a bonus for a laptop that Alza buys back and values at more than 1 100 Kč. The order for the new Mac is also entered into the application. The general form specifies 30 calendar days from receipt of the new device for completion. The trade-in value of the old laptop itself is handled separately: you hand over your original computer for it.

Alza has a discrepancy in the description of how the bonus is handed over. The Apple trade-in page explicitly mentions a voucher, while the general form, on the other hand, mentions sending it to an account. Therefore, count on the amount of 2 500 Kč as the value of a conditional bonus; payment of money to an account cannot be promised under these terms. Before trading in, have them confirm which form you will receive.

Fanless performance and larger base storage

The M5 chip in this configuration includes ten CPU cores and eight GPU cores. It is accompanied by 16 GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD. For documents, programming, or photo editing, this is a practically oriented setup; however, it’s good to choose the capacity at the time of purchase, as RAM and SSD are integral parts of the computer.

The Liquid Retina display has a diagonal of 13.6 inches, a resolution of 2560 × 1664 pixels, and a stated brightness of 500 nits. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a dedicated MagSafe for charging are available, so power doesn’t have to occupy a data connector. Wi-Fi 7 support is complemented by Bluetooth 6.

What a real test praises and criticizes

Notebookcheck tested the base version with the same memory and storage capacity. It highlighted the processor’s performance, silent operation, and high-quality aluminum body, but had reservations about the 60Hz display and the inability to replace RAM or SSD. In the web browsing test, it measured at 150 nits brightness over 16 hours, and at maximum brightness, just under seven. Battery life therefore significantly depends on settings and usage.

Is silent operation and low weight more important to you in a laptop, or the possibility of later expansion?