Apple’s MacBook Pro M5 is the latest update to its popular laptop line, but what’s new compared to the still-capable MacBook Pro M4? And, more importantly, should you even consider upgrading if you own the M4 iteration?
Ahead of our review of the MacBook Pro M5, we’ve compared the specs to the 4.5-star MacBook Pro M4 below. Keep reading to see what differentiates the two MacBook Pros and whether the new M5 model has a chance at overtaking the M4 in our best MacBook guide.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the MacBook Pro M5 is available for pre-order ahead of its official release on 22nd October, with a starting price of £1599/$1599 for the 14-inch version. This rises to £2499/$2499 for the larger 16-inch model.
Despite only launching in May 2024, the MacBook Pro M4 is no longer available to purchase directly from Apple’s website. Although it is possible to still find the MacBook Pro M4 on third-party sites such as Amazon, it isn’t quite as readily available as it was last year. For example, at the time of writing, the MacBook Pro M4 can only be purchased on Amazon in its 1TB configuration, and will set you back £1999/$1999.
M5 vs M4
The biggest difference between the MacBook Pro M5 and M4 is in their respective chipsets. Although both are designed and made by Apple, the M5 is newer and has just recently launched.
While we’re yet to review the M5 chip ourselves, Apple makes some intriguing claims for the processor. Firstly, Apple promises that the M5 chip can deliver “up to 3.5x the AI performance and up to 1.6x faster graphics” than the M4, thanks to its next-generation 10-core GPU.
This, Apple continues, is further accelerated by a 16-core Neural Engine which enhances the performance of the likes of Apple Intelligence.
That’s not to say that the MacBook Pro M4 was a slouch by any means. In fact, during our time with the M4 model, we found it offered “great everyday performance”, although we would recommend opting for the M4 Pro or M4 Max models if you plan on really pushing the device.
Both support Apple Intelligence
Following on from the above point, both the M5 and M4 chips enable the running of the generative AI toolkit, Apple Intelligence. However, the MacBook Pro M5 promises to run the features faster than the M4 alternative.
Apple Intelligence includes numerous AI-powered features, including Writing Tools, which can help you rephrase and reword pieces of text, Image Playground and Genmoji. Regardless of whether you’re sporting an M5 or M4 device, Apple Intelligence runs on-device for “ground-breaking privacy”.
MacBook Pro M5 can provide up to 4TB of storage
Apple promises that the MacBook Pro M5 offers up to 2x faster SSD performance than its predecessor, which not only means users should be able to load a local LLM faster than before, but also offers the option for up to 4TB of storage.
In comparison, the MacBook Pro M4 only supports up to 2TB of storage. Having said that, it’s worth remembering that this is still a generous amount of space, but if you find it isn’t enough, you have the option for expandable storage.
Both promise the same battery life
Battery life remains the same with the MacBook Pro M5 as it was with the MacBook Pro M4, promising up to 24 hours on a single charge. However, it’s worth noting that this claim is based on video playback or solid web browsing, and doesn’t necessarily factor in other apps or tasks.
While we’re yet to review the MacBook Pro M5, we were impressed with the MacBook Pro M4’s stamina and found it could comfortably last for 12 hours with multiple apps running at once.
Both the M5 and M4 models also offer fast charging when using a 96W or higher power adaptor. Annoyingly, Apple only supplies a 70W charger with the M4. Even more annoyingly, Apple doesn’t supply any charger with the M5. Instead, you’ll have to spend an additional £59/$59 for a 70W charger or £79/$79 for the 96W.
No screen change with the MacBook Pro M5
Both the MacBook Pro M5 and M4 sport the same 14.2-inch, Liquid Retina XDR display, which offers up to 1000 nits or 1600 nits of brightness (HDR content only). Plus, like its predecessor, the MacBook Pro M5 has the option to add a nano-texture display for an additional £150/$150.
Yes, it’s an additional fee to consider, but we really would recommend making the splurge here as we found with the MacBook Pro M4 that the “difference between the default screen and the nano-texture alternative is huge.” We were especially impressed by the reduction in glare and matte finish, which made reading the screen feel more like paper.
While sometimes keeping things the same feels a bit boring, in this instance, we’d argue that no change is a good thing, and we expect to be impressed by the MacBook Pro M5.
Early Verdict
The most significant difference between the MacBook Pro M5 and MacBook Pro M4 is in their chips. Although Apple claims the M5 will offer improvements and faster performance compared to the M4, it’s worth noting that we were thoroughly impressed with the M4 during our review period.
If you’re sporting a MacBook Pro M4 but find it can’t quite cope with your intensive workload, then it doesn’t seem as if the MacBook Pro M5 will offer much of an improvement. Instead, it seems as if opting for the M4 Pro or M4 Max alternative will suit you better – although this will come at a much higher price.
However, if you currently own an older MacBook Pro and want an upgrade for everyday use, the MacBook Pro M5 is undoubtedly a good choice.
We’ll be sure to update this versus once we get our hands on the MacBook Pro M5.
