This Apple M5 MacBook review starts with a familiar feeling. When Apple unveiled the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro in October 2025, it looked, on the outside, identical to the last generation. Same chassis, same industry-leading display, same best-in-class keyboard.
But this is an upgrade that’s all about the inside.
The new M5 chip isn’t just an iterative speed bump; it’s a fundamental shift towards on-device artificial intelligence. With massive claims about GPU and AI performance, the question is simple: Is this the machine to buy, or is it an incremental step you can safely skip? Let’s dig into the data.
The M5 Chip: A Deep Dive into Apple’s New AI Powerhouse
The star of the show is the M5, Apple’s new base-model “Pro” chip. Built on a new 3-nanometer process, it features a 10-core CPU (6 performance, 4 efficiency) and a 10-core GPU.
While the CPU gets a respectable 15-20% speed boost over the M4, the real story is the GPU. Apple has embedded new “Neural Accelerators” into each GPU core, effectively turning the entire graphics processor into an AI-crunching machine.
This new architecture is paired with faster unified memory bandwidth (153GB/s, up from 120GB/s), which is critical for feeding data to that powerful new GPU and Neural Engine.
Real-World Speed: How Does this Apple M5 MacBook Review in Benchmarks?
Apple claims the M5 offers up to 1.6x faster graphics and 3.5x faster AI performance than the M4. The benchmarks from professional reviews largely back this up.
- CPU: In Geekbench 6, the M5 scores around 17,986 in multi-core tests. That’s a solid 18% jump over the M4 (at ~15,114). You’ll feel this in daily tasks, code compilation, and app-opening speeds.
- GPU (Graphics): This is where it gets impressive. In compute benchmarks, the M5’s 10-core GPU shatters the M4’s, showing a 30-35% improvement. In 3D rendering apps like Blender, tasks are up to 1.7x faster.
- AI Performance: In AI-specific tests, the M5 is a monster. Running Stable Diffusion for image generation is nearly twice as fast as on the M4.
- Storage: The new PCIe 4.0 SSDs are also significantly faster, with read/write speeds that make opening large projects and transferring files noticeably quicker.
This is the most significant “base-model” performance leap Apple has delivered in years, but it’s one targeted squarely at AI and graphics, not just raw CPU.
Battery Life, Display, and Design: If It Ain’t Broke…
As for the rest of the laptop, it’s a story of consistency.
- Design: The 14-inch Pro chassis is unchanged. It’s still a fantastic, robust, and professional-feeling machine.
- Display: It retains the Liquid Retina XDR display, which remains arguably the best screen on any laptop. The 1,600 nits of peak brightness and 120Hz ProMotion are as stunning as ever.
- Battery: Apple claims a “phenomenal” 24 hours of video playback. In real-world mixed-use tests, reviewers find it’s more in line with the M4—which is to say, still fantastic. You can easily expect 15-18 hours of real work, a full day and then some.
The Big Caveat: A Tale of Two Tiers
Here is the single biggest “con” of this Apple M5 MacBook review: connectivity.
In a frustrating move of product segmentation, Apple has “nerfed” the ports on the base M5 model. While the M5 Pro and M5 Max models (and even last year’s M4 Pro) get Thunderbolt 5, the base M5 model is stuck with Thunderbolt 4. It also lacks Wi-Fi 7, shipping with Wi-Fi 6E.
Does this matter? For the average user, perhaps not. But for a “Pro” machine, it’s a strange omission. Thunderbolt 4 is still fast, but it means you’re missing out on the future-proof bandwidth for next-generation external SSDs and displays. You can learn more about the differences at the official Thunderbolt Technology website.
The Verdict: Who Should Buy the M5 MacBook Pro?
So, is the M5 MacBook Pro worth the upgrade? It all depends on where you’re coming from.
You Should Upgrade IF:
- You are on an Intel-based MacBook. This is a night-and-day difference. The M5 is in a different universe of performance, battery life, and efficiency.
- You are on an M1 or M2 MacBook and your workflow is starting to feel slow in graphics, 3D, or new AI-based applications. The M5’s GPU-centric gains will be a massive quality-of-life improvement.
You Should Probably Wait IF:
- You own an M3 or M4 MacBook Pro. The CPU gains are incremental, and the design is identical. Unless your entire job revolves around on-device AI tools that can leverage the new Neural Accelerators, there is no compelling reason to spend the money.
Ultimately, the 2025 M5 MacBook Pro is a “pro-sumer” powerhouse. It solidifies the 14-inch model as the new default for most creative professionals, offering elite performance in a portable package. While the port limitations are a disappointment, the sheer power of the M5 chip—especially for the coming wave of AI-driven software—is undeniable.
