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The new 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 (starting at $1,599) doesn’t radically alter the formula set by its two predecessors, but it does offer stronger performance, faster SSD speeds and epic battery life—all in the same elegant design of recent M-series notebooks. If you’re upgrading from an older MacBook, there’s a lot to like here. First up is the M5 chip, which delivers around 12 to 15% stronger performance than the Apple M4. That might not sound like a lot, but when you’re playing graphically demanding games or rendering videos, you’ll appreciate the performance boost. The chip’s energy efficiency also allows the MacBook Pro to last well over 18 hours on a single charge. Then we have the vibrant 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, with its smooth 120Hz refresh rate and sharp 3024 x 1964 resolution. Sure, the display is the same as last year’s model, but that means you can upgrade to a nano-texture glass option that virtually eliminates screen glare. An OLED panel would’ve been nice, but I can’t complain much about this laptop’s bright and colorful display. Like with its display, the MacBook Pro retains the same design. I’m a big fan of the sturdy aluminum chassis and overall practical design, so I’m happy it’s business as usual here. Like before, we get three USB-C ports and the ability to support two external displays at once. Thanks to that, this MacBook Pro is an effective desktop replacement. If you own the MacBook Pro M4, then you can skip this latest iteration since it’s not a substantial upgrade. However, if you have an older machine and need something more powerful for working at home or on the road, the new MacBook Pro M5 is arguably the best MacBook to suit your needs. Find out more in my full review. MacBook Pro M5 review: Cheat sheet What is it? The 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 is an update of last year’s model, featuring the new Apple M5 chip that delivers better graphics and performance. The new MacBook Pro M5 also has a faster SSD and can last for over 18 hours on a single charge.Who is it for? For power users who need a powerful, long-lasting laptop that’s easy to carry around.How much does it cost? The M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 on Apple's website and packs an M5 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Our configuration is valued at $2,349 and includes the nano-texture display option and 1TB of storage.What do we like? We like the fast M5 performance, anti-reflective nano-texture panel, 18-hour+ battery life, sharp 12MP webcam and the sleek utilitarian design.What don’t we like? It’s only a small spec bump from the previous model. MacBook Pro M5 review: Specs MacBook Pro M5 review: The ups The MacBook Pro M5 might not be a monumental update, but it’s still a brilliant laptop in its own right thanks to its minimalist design, strong M5-driven performance, anti-reflective display, sharp 12MP webcam and long-lasting battery life. Strong M5 performance The 14-inch MacBook Pro I reviewed features an Apple M5 chip with 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, along with 32GB of Unified Memory (RAM) and a 1TB SSD. Like the M4 chip, the M5 is manufactured on a 3nm process, which allows plenty of transistor space for features like hardware-accelerated mesh shading, ray tracing and Dynamic Caching. In short, the MacBook Pro M5 offers strong performance and enhanced graphics for games and 3D apps. As expected, the MacBook Pro M5 is more than capable of handling my everyday workflow, which usually consists of well over 30 open tabs, Slack, and the occasional YouTube video. Cropping and resizing photos on GIMP is also a breeze. The M5 MacBook Pro also turned in impressive numbers in our lab tests. On Geekbench 6, which tests overall CPU performance, Apple’s latest laptop performed markedly better than its M4-powered predecessor. The M5 laptop also outperformed the Intel Core Ultra 7-powered Dell 14 Premium. In our Handbrake video transcoding test, the M5 MacBook Pro transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 3.31 seconds. As you can see in the table above, that’s decidedly faster than the MacBook Pro M4 and Dell 14 Premium. In our gaming tests, we run several titles through their respective built-in benchmark tool with the graphics set to Ultra. At that setting, Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at 57 frames per second at 1200p resolution. That’s a 21 fps difference between its predecessor. The Dell 14 Premium, which packs an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, delivered slightly lower performance in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. However, Borderlands 3 and especially Civilization VI performed much better. While this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison (no pun intended), it is interesting that the M5 chip is generally being outperformed by a last-gen Nvidia laptop GPU. However, games that have been specifically optimized for Apple silicon fare much better, performance-wise. For instance, I got Resident Evil 4 Remake to run at around 50 to 55 frames per second at 1080p resolution with MetalFX upscaling turned off in the game’s settings. With MetalFX enabled, the frame rate hovered between 100 and 120 FPS. You’ll have an overall better time playing the best PC games on one of the best gaming laptops, but the MacBook Air M4 can also deliver strong gaming performance for games optimized for M-series devices. Vibrant display This is actually the first time I’ve tested a MacBook Pro with a nano-texture panel. I didn’t notice a difference at first, but when I switched between this and a traditional glass panel, I was stunned by how reflective its display was in comparison to the M5 MacBook Pro’s screen. Like we said in our M4 MacBook Pro review, the nano-texture display option is a revelation. Thanks to the anti-reflective screen, colors pop off the screen. This was evident when I fired up a video called “OLED Test 12K HDR 120fps” on YouTube. The golden hue of a scene featuring honey was vibrant and really jumped out from the all-black background. The same was true for the colorful flowers featured in the video. Without glare getting in the way, everything appeared more vivid and lifelike. Our lab tests confirm my anecdotal experience with the MacBook Pro M5. We found that the display produced 115% of the sRGB color gamut and 81.7% of the more demanding DCI-P3 color space (100% is most accurate for both). Its Delta-E color accuracy score was 0.20, which is also great. The Dell 14 Premium produces more oversaturated colors (sRGB and DCI-P3), but hues on the MacBook Pro’s display are closer to life. HDR brightness is virtually identical to the M4 MacBook Pro, with the new M5 laptop hitting 1,109 nits of HDR brightness over 100% of the display. That’s about twice as bright as the Dell 14 Premium’s HDR brightness. Like all current MacBooks, this M5 laptop has a notch at the top center of the display. I know some still can’t stand it, but after all this time, I don’t even notice it. I’m too fixated by the gorgeous picture quality and the nano-texture display to care. As before, this notebook supports up to two 6K external displays at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or one display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and another display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI. You can also connect to a single 8K 60Hz display or a 4K 240Hz display over HDMI. Practical design The MacBook Pro M5 doesn’t rock the boat when it comes to design, as it’s the same one we’ve had since the 2021 MacBook Pros were launched. That’s not bad, considering how we still get a sturdy slab of machined aluminum that’s functional and elegant. Apple sent us the Space Black version, which is not only visually appealing but is (somewhat) fingerprint-resistant. At 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches and 3.4 pounds, the MacBook Pro M5 makes for an easy travel companion when you need to take it on the road. I haven’t had a chance to travel with this laptop, but carrying it around different parts of my studio apartment is much easier than a bigger and bulkier 16-inch MacBook Pro. As before, it’s easy to open the lid with one hand thanks to the front lip, with a smooth glide on its hinge. The chassis isn’t just here for looks, as it also feels good to hold thanks to its smooth and sturdy surface. Port-wise, the M5 MacBook Pro has three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SD Card slot, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. You also get a MagSafe port on the left-hand side, though you’re free to power the laptop via any of the available USB-C ports. This 14-inch laptop has a relatively spacious keyboard deck that makes for easy typing, even if you have large hands like me. The responsive keys have good travel distance and have just the right amount of resistance when pressed. There’s also the large touchpad, with its smooth surface and satisfying haptic feedback. Typing on this laptop is both seamless and enjoyable. I can’t forget about the Touch ID button, which lets me easily log into the MacBook Pro or bypass writing passwords on specific websites. I know some would have wanted Face ID on the new MacBook Pro, but Touch ID is perfectly fine. Lastly, the speakers flanking the keyboard deck are as punchy and bassy as ever, thanks to their six-speaker setup with force-canceling woofers. Songs from the metal band "Lovebites" sound phenomenal, as do YouTube channels like RGT 85. You can crank the speakers to max, and everything will also sound crystal clear. Epic battery life Apple says the MacBook Pro M5 can last up to 24 hours. Though it doesn’t quite hit that lofty claim, the new laptop is one of the longest-lasting laptops we’ve tested at Tom’s Guide. In our battery test involving continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the laptop’s display set to 150 nits of brightness, the M5 MacBook Pro lasted for 18 hours and 14 minutes. While that’s a little shorter than its predecessor, Apple’s latest MacBook Pro endured ten hours longer than the Dell 14 Premium! I should note that we only had time to perform a single battery test. I’ll update this review after we’ve done our usual three runs, but I suspect we’ll see similar results. In other words, the MacBook Pro M5 is a laptop that can last and last and last. Sharp 12MP webcam The MacBook Pro M5 has the same 12MP Center Stage camera as last year’s model, which was a step up from the 1080p camera of the M3 MacBook Pro. As the “Center Stage” name implies, the webcam does a nice job of keeping you in-frame even if you move a lot. It can also help you look your best during video calls. As you can see in the photo above, the 12MP webcam has no problems capturing the wrinkles on my black shirt. My skin tone is also true to life. Your mileage may vary if you’re somewhere dark, but with halfway decent lighting, the webcam works great. MacBook Pro M5 review: The downs There’s no denying that the MacBook Pro M5 is one of the finest MacBooks yet. Unfortunately, those who own the previous model might want to skip it. Just a spec bump As you’ve seen throughout this review, the MacBook Pro M5 is a relatively modest update of last year’s MacBook Pro M4. Yes, the new laptop has better performance and faster SSD speeds over its predecessor. However, those gains aren’t necessarily worth spending another $1,599 (at a minimum). If you have the M4 MacBook Pro, then I suggest holding off until next year, when we could see the first OLED MacBook Pro make its debut. But in the interest of fairness, those with an M3 MacBook Pro or older might want to consider the new M5 MacBook Pro since it delivers substantial upgrades over those machines. MacBook Pro M5 review: Verdict The MacBook Pro M5 isn’t a major departure from what we’ve gotten before, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering it’s still a fantastic laptop. The M5-driven performance can handle heavy workloads and can run games (optimized for Apple silicon) fairly well. And if you need a laptop that can potentially endure for a couple of days before needing a recharge, this machine won’t disappoint. Those who own a MacBook Pro M4 don’t have to upgrade to this year’s model, since you still have most of the same features. However, if you have an older M-series Pro (or even an Intel one), then you won’t be disappointed with the new MacBook Pro M5. Even if it’s eventually outclassed by the inevitable M5 Pro and M5 Max models in terms of power, this M5 laptop will still be one of the finest around.
