The M5 MacBook Pro is the go-to choice when you really need some oomph for video editing, music creation, photo editing, etc. The M5 processor is faster than the older M4 models and particularly shines in AI applications. Generating images and using an on-device chatbot via the Apple Intelligent Assistant are much quicker with Apple’s latest MacBook generation. It’s also blazingly fast for day-to-day activities, such as web surfing, video calling, and document editing, making it a great choice for a primary computer.
A powerful Mac laptop that can do everything and more
Battery life is one of the strongest reasons to choose this laptop over the competition. Apple rates the MacBook Pro M5 for up to 24 hours of video playback or around 18 hours of regular work on a single charge, more than enough for a full workday plus the flight or train ride home. Fast charging brings the battery from dead to half full in about 30 minutes through the included power adapter.
The 14-inch screen is the same Liquid Retina XDR display Apple uses on the higher-end MacBook Pro models, with bright, sharp color that holds up in direct sunlight or in a dark room. Movies, photos, and video editing all look the way they should, and the screen smoothly adjusts its refresh rate up or down depending on what’s on screen, which both saves battery life and makes scrolling feel buttery instead of choppy.
Memory and storage on the base model start at 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal storage, both double what the previous-generation MacBook Pro shipped with at the entry level. That’s enough room for a typical creative professional to install all their main apps, store several years of project files, and still have headroom for new work. Larger configurations are available for users who need more.
The MacBook Pro M5 has three Thunderbolt 5 ports for fast data transfer to external drives, an HDMI port for connecting to a monitor or projector, an SDXC card slot for pulling files from a camera, and a MagSafe 3 power port that snaps into place magnetically. The headphone jack supports studio headphones with high-impedance drivers that require extra power, which matters for anyone serious about audio.
Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 keep wireless connections fast and reliable, the 12MP webcam handles video calls with auto-framing, and the six-speaker sound system supports Spatial Audio. Touch ID on the keyboard handles login and authentication.
The MacBook Pro M5 retails for $1,899. However, you can get it right now for $1,699 on Amazon. That price includes the laptop itself, a 96W USB-C power adapter, a USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable, and Apple’s standard documentation pack.