The first reviews of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips were published today by selected publications and YouTube channels, ahead of the laptops launching on Wednesday.
In addition to the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the new MacBook Pro models offer up to twice as fast SSD speeds compared to the previous generation, and storage now starts at 1TB. Battery life has increased slightly on all of the new models, and the N1 chip extends to the MacBook Pro now for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.
Geekbench 6 benchmark results already surfaced for the M5 Pro and M5 Max last week. In line with Apple's advertised figures, the chips offer up to approximately 15% faster CPU performance and up to approximately 20% faster GPU performance compared to the previous-generation M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.
| Mac Model | Multi-Core CPU Score |
|---|---|
| MacBook Pro (M5 Pro and M5 Max) | 28,500 to 29,500 |
| Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) | 27,726 |
| MacBook Pro (M4 Max) | 25,702 |
| MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) | 22,490 |
| Mac Studio (M2 Ultra) | 21,410 |
| MacBook Pro (M3 Max) | 20,960 |
| Mac Studio (M1 Ultra) | 18,434 |
| MacBook Air (M5) | 17,073 |
| MacBook Pro (M3 Pro) | 15,260 |
| MacBook Pro (M2 Max) | 14,740 |
| MacBook Air (M4) | 14,731 |
| MacBook Pro (M2 Pro) | 14,451 |
| MacBook Pro (M1 Max) | 12,345 |
| MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) | 12,345 |
| MacBook Air (M3) | 12,020 |
| MacBook Air (M2) | 9,709 |
| MacBook Neo (A18 Pro) | 8,668 |
| MacBook Air (M1) | 8,342 |
The Verge said the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max and a 4TB SSD sustained a 13.6 GB/s read speed and a 17.8 GB/s write speed, which is an 86% and 123% increase for read and write speeds respectively compared to the equivalent previous model. This is roughly in line with Apple advertising up to twice as fast SSD speeds.
Tom's Guide's Tony Polanco said the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro lasted an "astonishing" 21 hours and 10 minutes in a battery life test that involved "continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the laptop's display set to 150 nits of brightness." The previous M4 Pro model lasted 20 hours and 46 minutes in the same test.
Additional reviews were published by CNET, Gizmodo, Macworld, and Six Colors, among others.
Keep in mind that the MacBook Pro is rumored to receive a major redesign in either late 2026 or 2027. Key new features expected include an OLED display, a touch screen, a Dynamic Island, M6 Pro and M6 Max chips manufactured with TSMC's advanced 2nm process, a thinner design, and potentially even built-in cellular connectivity. However, it has been rumored that this might be a new highest-end model called the "MacBook Ultra."
Top Rated Comments
The MacBook Air also claims "twice as fast" but in reviews it's not clear if they're comparing the old 256GB vs the new 512GB, or the old 512GB vs the new 512GB.
It would be great if we could get more specifics and less fluff.