The new MacBook Pro is still very fast

Apple’s flagship 16-inch MacBook Pro has dominated the world of creator-focused laptops since its debut M series processor overhaul in 2021. Since then, we’ve seen mostly the same design with chip bumps and small improvements year after year. “If it ain’t broke,” right?

If you want to know Everything About this device, you can read Our review of the latest generation M4 Pro / M4 Max models – It’s all very much in line with the M5 models it replaces. But this time, in addition to the usual testing and use of the new M5 Max model, it’s worth asking a new, specific question: whether you should consider a new MacBook Pro if you’re currently using an M1 Pro or M1 Max model.

I see you in the comments section, 2021 MacBook owners, wondering when the upgrade is worth it. And I’m here for you. We’ve gotten our hands on some four-and-a-half-year-old MacBook Pros to test against Apple’s latest and greatest, and it’s safe to say they’re worth the upgrade — for some of you, at least.

For 2026, the 16-inch MacBook Pro will have faster processors, Wi-Fi 7 support, and twice as fast storage that now starts at higher capacities. The Pro costs $2,699 for the M5 Pro chip with an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU, just 24GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Starting at $3,899, the M5 Max has an 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage — plus double the memory bandwidth over the M5 Pro (for faster data transfer between the CPU and RAM). Our M5 Max test unit was equipped with a 40-core GPU, 128GB of RAM, 4TB of storage, and a nano-texture anti-glare display, all of which cost a hefty $6,149.

The M1 Pro and M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pros I got for some limited testing have relatively attractive specs. The M1 Pro is a 10-core CPU/16-core GPU model, with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage (it costs $2,699 when new in 2021). The M1 Max has 10 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage ($3,499 in 2021). Just like the M5 Max, the original M1 Max was all about graphics cores for GPU-intensive workloads.

We put all of these laptops through the same set of benchmark tests to see how far the M Series has come in five years. In short: pretty much. The M5 Max’s single-threaded scores in Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2026 are about 65 to 76 percent higher than the M1 Max, and its multi-threaded scores in the same tests are about 124 to 161 percent higher. The M5 Max’s 40 GPU cores nearly double the M1 Max’s 32-core GPU scores in both Metal and OpenCL graphics frameworks.

The differences between the M5 Max and M1 Pro are more noticeable. The M5 Max scored 76 to 85 percent higher than the M1 Pro in single-threaded CPU tests, which is more than three times the M1 Pro’s Metal and OpenCL GPU scores. In PugetBench tests of Adobe apps, the M5 Max scored nearly double in Photoshop and more than double in Premiere Pro (141 percent higher, to be exact). As for SSD read and write speeds, the M5 Max outperforms both the M1 Pro and M1 Max equally. It’s more than twice as fast, just as Apple pays its bills. This takes storage that was already fast and brings it up to ridiculous speed.

The M1 Pro and M1 Max laptops I borrowed for these tests belong to professionals I know who aren’t in a rush to upgrade. The M1 Max is ours Kevin McShanewho tells me he still delivers great performances for both his video/audio work Edge (which is usually 1080p) and Animation and animation Work he does in Clip Studio Paint and After Effects on the side. Kevin says he wouldn’t consider upgrading unless he was constantly editing native 4K or something much larger like 8K. For now, his M1 Max is fine, and I know many M1 Pro / M1 Max owners feel the same (yes, I see your comments). After running these tests, I can say that the M5 Max now offers a significant upgrade, but few really need it. For those that do, the new MacBook Pros are noticeably faster in terms of raw chip performance, memory, and storage, and jumping from the M1 generation to the M5 Max or even the M5 Pro also means getting Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, a much-improved webcam, and the $150 option of an anti-glare screen.

In my review of MacBook Air M5Another category of M1-generation MacBook Pro owners has also noticed: those who are considering “downgrading” to the M5 Air after coming to terms with the M1 Pro or M1 Max being more computers than they really need. The M5 Air doesn’t have a pretty display or as wide a range of ports as the MacBook Pro, and its fanless design will throttle performance under very heavy and extended loads, but check out the benchmark table below. In terms of pure performance, it’s now a solid alternative to the M1 Pro if you want something lighter and cheaper. the MacBook Pro 14 inch With the regular M5 it also offers a step up from the M1 Pro, without sacrificing those ‘Pro’ details.

The M5 Max brings a big wave of speed upgrades to the top percentage of users who now feel the limitations of a three or four year old laptop, but of course there’s still that looming rumor about… The MacBook Pro looks exactly like an OLED touchscreen Maybe it will come this year or next year. There’s no harm in waiting to see if this unicorn is on the horizon, even if, like me, you’re only interested in how Apple finally revamps this design. (How about some fun Neo-like colors, Apple? Pros like colortoo!) But for those who feel they need more power nowThe M5 generation of MacBook Pro is a great leap forward.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto/The Verge