Apple’s big launch week has unveiled more devices. The MacBook Pro is now powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with 2x faster SSD speeds.
It’s been around five months since Apple introduced the latest generation of Apple Silicon with the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro. It was reported at the time that the company plans to roll out the higher-end M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models in spring 2026.
That moment has arrived: Apple has announced its refreshed 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. These are designed using the new Fusion Architecture, which combines two dies into a single system-on-a-chip (SoC), and are built from the ground up for AI workloads.
Apple claims that the new chips bring a “new CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core.” The M5 Pro MacBook Pro can deliver up to 7.8x faster AI image generation performance than M1 Pro and up to 3.7x faster than M4 Pro. Meanwhile, the MacBook Pro with M5 Max follows a similar trajectory, with up to 8x faster AI image generation performance than M1 Pro and up to 3.8x faster than M4 Max.
Both M5 Pro and M5 Max feature an 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores, delivering up to 30% faster multithreaded performance over the M4 chips. A higher memory bandwidth complements the performance while handling complex AI model training and massive video projects.
Apple said that the “M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with up to 307GB/s of memory bandwidth, while M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth.”
The SSD on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro is now 2x faster than the previous generation. It can deliver twice the read/write performance, reaching up to 14.5GB/s to support professional workflows for 4K and 8K video projects.
Apple said that 1TB storage capacity now comes standard on MacBook Pro with M5 and M5 Pro chips, while those who buy MacBook Pro with M5 Max will get 2TB as standard. The refreshed MacBook Pro models continue to promise 24 hours of battery life. You can fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using a 96W charger.
MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips also include Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip, which supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. If you’re wondering about the price tag, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro start at $2,199 and $2,699, respectively.
If you’re looking at the M5 Max, the 14-inch and 16-inch variants will start at $3,599 and $3,899, respectively. Apple said it will start the pre-orders on March 4 and bring the devices to physical stores from March 11. Besides this, Apple has also launched the new Studio Display XDR, the MacBook Air M5, the iPad Air M4, and the iPhone 17e.
