The first M5 Mac has arrived, with the updated MacBook Pro gaining the new chip as part of the first wave of updates to the Apple Silicon chip.
Usually among the first models to launch for a new Apple Silicon chip generation, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro is the new standard edition model in the MacBook Pro range.
While Apple made an unusual move in introducing the M4 MacBook Pro range with M4 Pro and M4 Max variants available from launch, the M5 shift is a step back. Specifically, the core M5 chip is made available first, followed by the Pro and Max variants months down the road.
The M5 chip is, once again, a performance improvement over the M4. Using a 10-core CPU with four performance cores and six efficiency cores, the M5 is also accompanied by a 10-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine.
Like the iPhone 17 range's A19 Pro chip, the GPU benefits from a change in architecture, with each GPU core gaining Neural Accelerators. This means the GPU works with the Neural Engine on AI models and graphics work, improving performance further.
Apple claims this results in a 3.5 times faster AI performance than M4, and up to 6 times faster than M1. CPU performance is also up 20% for multi-core tasks versus the M4, as well as up to 1.8 times faster for AI video enhancements in Topaz Video, 1.7 times faster for Blender renders, and 1.2 times faster for Xcode compiles.
Graphical performance is also up approximately 1.6 times, thanks to the GPU changes. The unified memory bandwidth has also swelled to over 150GB/s.
Faster AI performance is a big feature of the M5 14-inch MacBook Pro - Image Credit: Apple
This time, the model starts with 16GB of unified memory, with options for 24GB or 32GB. Storage options have expanded to four, with the 512GB to 2TB range increased to include a 4TB capacity.
Just like most other spec-bump updates, nothing else has changed about the MacBook Pro's appearance. It's still 0.61 inches thick when closed, with a footprint of 12.31 inches by 8.71 inches, and a weight of around 3.4 pounds.
The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display has a resolution of 3,024 by 1,964, giving it a pixel density of 254 pixels per inch. ProMotion supports adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz, with the screen also having a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, a peak brightness of 1,600 nits for viewing HDR content outdoors, Wide-Color P3 support, and TrueTone.
Just like last time, you can also add a Nano-texture display treatment to minimize environmental reflections.
Battery life is said to last for up to 24 hours of video streaming, thanks to its 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery.
Externally, the port selection continues to be three Thunderbolt connections that support USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4. A MagSafe 3 connection, HDMI, SDXC memory card slot, and a headphone jack round out the list.
Wireless networking includes Wi-Fi 6E support, with Bluetooth 5.3 for connecting to accessories. A 12MP Center Stage camera is located in the notch, while a six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers and a "studio-quality" three-mic array handles audio duties.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 starts from $1,599. Preorders start on Wednesday, with availability starting October 22.
