Apple’s new M5 Pro and M5 Max announcements wouldn’t feel complete without fresh MacBook Pro hardware, and that’s exactly what just arrived. The updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro lineup keeps the familiar look, but packs a long list of meaningful internal upgrades, starting with a welcome change buyers will notice immediately: every model now begins with 1TB of storage as standard.
While the chassis and overall design remain the same, Apple’s focus this generation is clearly on performance, efficiency, and smarter connectivity. Both sizes continue to use Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED displays, delivering up to 1,600 nits of HDR brightness and up to 1,000 nits of SDR brightness. If you prefer a matte-like finish for reducing reflections, the nano-texture display option is still available as a paid upgrade.
One of the biggest under-the-hood additions is Apple’s in-house N1 wireless chip, the same wireless silicon that debuted in the iPhone 17 series. Together with Wi‑Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, it’s designed to improve speed, reliability, and responsiveness for modern wireless workflows, whether you’re moving large files, streaming high-bitrate content, or working in busy network environments.
Connectivity also gets a strong boost for creators and power users. The new MacBook Pro models include three Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port with support for up to 8K resolution, an SD card reader, and MagSafe 3 for charging. For multi-display setups, the M5 Pro models support up to two high-resolution external monitors, while the M5 Max models can drive up to four, making them much more flexible for studio desks and mobile editing bays.
On the camera side, every M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro comes with a 12MP Center Stage camera and support for Desk View, aiming to improve video calls and presentations. Audio is upgraded with studio-quality microphones and a six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio for clearer voice capture and more immersive playback.
Performance improvements are a major theme across both chip tiers, and Apple is emphasizing gains in SSD speed, battery life, AI workloads, creative applications, and gaming.
M5 Pro MacBook Pro highlights include up to 2x faster SSD performance with read and write speeds reaching 14.5GB/s, and up to 24 hours of battery life. Apple also claims up to 270 percent faster AI image generation versus M4 Pro, up to 290 percent faster LLM prompt processing compared to M4 Pro, up to 40 percent faster performance in Maxon Redshift versus M4 Pro, and up to 60 percent faster gaming performance in Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled compared to M4 Pro.
M5 Max MacBook Pro models also get up to 2x faster SSD performance with read and write speeds up to 14.5GB/s, along with up to 24 hours of battery life. For AI and pro apps, Apple cites up to 280 percent faster AI image generation compared to M4 Pro, up to 300 percent faster LLM prompt processing versus M4 Max, up to 200 percent faster video effects rendering performance in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio compared to M4 Max, and up to 250 percent faster AI video-enhancing performance in Topaz Video compared to M4 Max.
Pricing starts at $2,199 in the U.S. for the 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro ($2,049 for students) and $2,699 for the 16-inch model ($2,499 for students). For the M5 Max range, the 14-inch model starts at $3,599 ($3,299 for students) and the 16-inch version starts at $3,899 ($3,599 for students). There are no new color options this time around, with Silver and Space Black returning.
Pre-orders begin March 4, and the official release is set for March 11.
