Introduction to the New MacBook Pro
Apple has announced the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, featuring M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
These chips are built on a new Fusion Architecture, bonding two third-generation 3nm dies into a single chip.
Key Features of the M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips
The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips feature an 18-core CPU, with six super cores and 12 efficiency-focused performance cores.
Additionally, the M5 Pro features up to 20 GPU cores, while the M5 Max doubles that to 40.
Each GPU core includes a Neural Accelerator, delivering over 4x the peak AI compute compared to the M4 Pro and M4 Max.
Memory and Storage Upgrades
The new MacBook Pros also get a bump in memory, with the M5 Pro supporting up to 64GB of unified memory and the M5 Max retaining its 128GB maximum.
Storage is also faster, with up to 2x faster read/write speeds compared to the M4 generation.
Other Additions and Improvements
Other additions include Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip, bringing Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, and an updated Media Engine with hardware-accelerated AV1 decode.
The new MacBook Pros also feature Memory Integrity Enforcement, an always-on memory safety feature.
Thunderbolt 5 carries over from the M4 generation, with each port getting its own dedicated controller on the chip.
Battery Life and Pricing
In terms of battery life, Apple says it tops out at 24 hours on the 16-inch model.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199, while the 16-inch starts at $2,699.
The base 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 starts at $1,699.
All models are available in space black and silver, with pre-orders opening tomorrow, March 4, and availability beginning Wednesday, March 11.
