MacBook Pro M5 Pro, M5 Max Review (2026): High Creative Power

The previous few generations of MacBook Pro were physically identical, except for the configuration. The new 16-inch 2026 line has the same design, so looks won’t be a factor when deciding between the M5 Max, M5 Pro or the older model. It will all depend on your performance needs. Yes, like most laptops, they get faster every year, but the big jump in GPU performance is what made the M5 line stand out, as we first saw in 2025. 14-inch MacBook Pro equipped with M5.

The MacBook Pro’s display is always pretty good, and I still really think the nano-texture coating is worth the money if you’re working in bright or bright conditions. I don’t like that you can’t set the display refresh rate to 120Hz. The only way to get there by default is in ProMotion mode — Apple’s variable refresh rate technology — but I like to use a refresh rate higher than 60Hz all the time. Laptops don’t yet have panels with the extended gamut Adobe RGB support found in Studio XDR displayand it is not clear that they ever will. But they’re built like tanks and have the weight to prove it, and with professional craftsmanship, they’re really hard to beat.

I’ve only had a few days to test the two models, so I’ll be back to test the battery — rated for 24 hours, a few hours longer than a day. the last generation of 16-inch modelsmaking it good takes time. I’ll also do some more app-based testing and some stress testing, but given how little has changed otherwise, I’m confident enough to say that these are still some of the best laptops out there. Apple’s battery measurements are usually found in the form of tests, in our case, continuous video streaming.

The upgrade across the M5 generation to the N1 networking chip also helps. Wi-Fi 7 increases stability when connecting to a 6GHz channel, and all M5 MacBook Pros were faster to connect and better to support with my Wi-Fi 6E router.

MacBook Pro prices have increased over the years, reflecting the the current spike in component prices. Since you won’t be able to increase the amount of memory you’ve purchased after purchase, you may have to pay more now (a bump from 64GB to 128GB is $800, for example) or give up and maybe downsize. You can get great performance even with the 48GB I had in the M5 Pro model, and I recommend my M5 Pro test setup over the released M5 Max unless you have very extreme performance needs. The base configuration of the $2,699 M5 Pro with 1TB of storage and 24GB of RAM is about as strong, though.

High creative potential

Thanks to Apple’s updated chip design, which allows it to easily increase the number of graphic cores, your choice between the two processors only comes down to how powerful the GPU you need: The GPU now (like the M5) handles not only graphics processing but also complex AI calculations. Your options are 20, 32 or 40 GPU cores, and doubling the cores (from 20 to 40) yields up to a 1.7x performance boost. I found that a 1.2x to 1.8x improvement was more typical in my testing, with a 1.5x to 1.8x improvement in productive thinking, gaming and 3D rendering.

Apple’s chip performance has been remarkably consistent, and with the M5 Pro and M5 Max in the 16-inch MacBook Pro it’s becoming more predictable. All M5-line chips have the same 16-core Neural Engine. This means that the entire MacBook Pro line, including the M5 MacBook Pro 14 and possibly the M5 MacBook Air as well, seems to perform almost the same, regardless of the amount of memory. In general computing, including the kinds of AI used for daily work or school — writing support, basic image editing, videoconferencing processing — it doesn’t matter which M5 model you get.

The 16-inch M5 Pro and M5 Max processors both have 18 CPU cores, with the same balance of “super” (formerly “performance” cores) new performance features — only 14 inches can be configured with 15-core M5 Pro. You can expect similar processing performance from both chips, unless whatever you’re doing is tied to memory.

In other words, unless you’re using something powerful, you’ll probably get the same performance for most everyday tasks. Since the memory is shared between the CPU and GPU, if you are not uploading a high-resolution video, image or game design, or using AI to generate a complex image, video or code, the Pro vs. Max doesn’t care that much. You’ll need more memory if you’re using a lot of anything: Even Google apps can slow you down if you have multiple Chrome tabs and large workbooks.

Both show a significant drop in performance in low power mode. But as long as you don’t need to use them raised for a long time on your lap, as they can get very hot, and don’t mind the use of a heavy fan under the same conditions, you shouldn’t really need to fall into that mode.

Overall, this year’s MacBook Pro 16s offers a nice upgrade from almost any generation, but this could also be the last generation before the rumored update OLED or touch screen displays. I think current screens have many advantages of OLED already — mainly P3 gamut and blacks that are pure enough — and much better brightness, but OLED can probably lighten the load. This screen is still at the top of the class, though, so it’s up to you and your needs whether you want to wait.

M5 MacBook Pro vs. M4 vs. M3: Benchmark test results