What’s happened? Apple has announced a new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the next-generation M5 chip. It comes with a handful of upgrades, like a faster CPU, a GPU with integrated Neural Accelerators, quicker storage, and improved battery life.
- The 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 for the base variant, which comes with 16GB of memory (153 GB/s memory bandwidth) and 512GB of storage. While pre-orders for the device are already available, it will begin arriving in stores starting October 22, 2025.
- Underneath the notebook’s familiar exterior lies the new M5 chip, which comprises a 10-core CPU that delivers up to 20% faster multithreaded performance compared to the M4 chip. The 10-core GPU, with integrated Neural Accelerators, offers 1.6 times faster graphics performance in pro apps and 1.6 times higher frame rates in video games.
- The 14-inch MacBook Pro runs on macOS Tahoe, which features a Liquid Glass interface, enhanced Spotlight Search, borrows Live Activities from the iPhone, and integrates Live Translation into system apps like Messages, FaceTime, and Phone.
Why is this important? Along with the GPU and a new 16-core Neural Engine, the M5 chip is up to 3.5 times better at handling on-device AI workflows. Additionally, the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro offers up to 4TB of storage, with twice the SSD performance (read/write speed) of the previous generation.
- With such immense computational power at its disposal, users will experience noticeably faster text-to-image generation via diffusion models in apps like Draw Things and speedier large language models (LLMs) in LM Studio. Apple also claims up to 1.7 times faster 3D rendering in Blender and up to 1.2 times quicker build performance in Xcode.
- With the M5 chip, the new MacBook Pro lasts up to 24 hours between charges, which is four hours more than the predecessor. Although the device comes with a 70W USB-C power adapter in the box, you can upgrade to the faster 96W adapter by paying an additional $20.
Why should I care? The performance gains directly contribute to a better user experience across multiple scenarios and use cases, like students transcribing their lectures, creators storyboarding a project with AI tools or exporting a video, 3D artists rendering sophisticated designs, or businesses running local models to gain insights from data.
- While these upgrades may be incremental for M4 MacBook Pro users, they’d make a significant difference for Intel-based or M1 users. If you’re one of them, and you’ve been eyeing a new MacBook for some time, the latest Pro version could be the right fit for you.
- It’s not that the M4 MacBook Pro isn’t good at these tasks, but the M5 brings a significant boost in raw computational power, reducing the time it takes for the MacBook to complete them.
OK, what’s next? While the new M5-powered MacBook Pro offers significant CPU and GPU upgrades, it also sets a precedent for the upcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max models. However, among all the upgrades, Apple is holding back in a couple of aspects.
- For instance, the 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR ProMotion display (1,600 nits peak brightness) with optional nano-texture glass, which has been carried forward from the M4 MacBook Pro. Furthermore, the wireless connectivity standards, such as Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.3, haven’t been improved either.
- And so has the 12MP Center Stage camera, the six-speaker audio system (with studio-quality microphones), the support for two 6K (60Hz) external displays, and the I/O options, including three Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe 3 port, and an HDMI port.
- Last but not least, the MacBook Pro is still available in the classic yet old finishes: Space Black and Silver.
