Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

MacBook Pro jumps to M5 Pro and Max silicon, faster storage, and higher prices

Apple's latest MacBook Pro refresh brings next-gen M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, quicker SSD speeds, upgraded connectivity, and a noticeable bump in pricing across configurations.

Add as a preferred source on Google
MacBook Pro.
Apple

Apple’s product blitz shows no signs of slowing down. After unveiling the iPhone 17e and a refreshed iPad Air, the company has now lifted the covers off new MacBook Pro models powered by its M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

The latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro variants are built to raise the ceiling for performance, particularly in AI-heavy and graphics-intensive workflows. Apple says the M5 Pro and M5 Max feature its fastest CPU cores to date, paired with a redesigned GPU architecture focused on higher throughput and better efficiency.

Each GPU core now includes enhanced neural acceleration, allowing complex tasks such as large language model processing, 3D rendering, and high-resolution video editing to run more fluidly on-device. Unified memory bandwidth has been increased to better support demanding creative apps and large-scale projects, while SSD speeds have also been boosted for faster file transfers and app launches.

Like with the iPhone 17e, Apple has raised base storage configurations across the lineup, giving professionals more room to work without relying on external storage. All models with the M5 Pro now come with 1TB of base storage, while the M5 Max variants get 2TB of storage as standard.

Recommended Videos

Connectivity is updated as well, with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, alongside Thunderbolt 5 ports that enable faster data transfer and broader external display support. The Liquid Retina XDR display remains a standout feature, now available with an optional nano texture finish to reduce glare in bright workspaces.

Big upgrades, higher prices

Apple is promising up to 24 hours of battery life, along with a 12MP Center Stage camera, studio-quality microphones, and a six-speaker sound system. The new MacBook Pro models will be offered in space black and silver, with pre-orders opening March 4 and availability beginning March 11.

As for pricing, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,199, while the configuration with M5 Max begins at $3,599. The larger 16-inch model starts at $2,699 with M5 Pro and $3,899 with M5 Max.

Pranob Mehrotra
Pranob is a seasoned tech journalist with over eight years of experience covering consumer technology. His work has been…
Next-gen AI breakthrough promises chatbots that can read the room better
Researchers are teaching AI chatbots to read between the lines
Generative AI

Have you ever asked a chatbot something and felt like it completely missed your point? You say something with a bit of nuance, and the AI misses the subtlety entirely. That is exactly the problem researchers are trying to solve.

Even though the emotional connection with AI can feel deeper than human conversation for many users, most AI systems today still treat a sentence as a single block of sentiment. If you mix praise and criticism, the nuance often gets lost.

Read more
ChatGPT is not getting an erotic mode, after all
OpenAI pulls back as “adult mode” runs into bigger concerns
ChatGPT-to-rollback-to-friendly-and-adulttt

If you were expecting ChatGPT to get an “erotic mode,” that idea is officially off the table. According to Financial Times, OpenAI’s spicy mode is on hold “indefinitely.”

Inside OpenAI's struggle to bring the adult mode to life

Read more
Turns out, if you ask an AI to play an expert, it gets less reliable
Asking AI to pretend it's an expert can backfire, but researchers may have found a fix.
AI

you’ve probably seen the tip floating around: tell AI to act like an expert in a field, and you’ll get better answers. It’s popular advice, and it does work, sometimes. However, a new study suggests that using AI personas may not be as effective as we thought it would be.

Researchers from the University of California tested 12 different personas across six language models. The personas ranged from math and coding experts to creative writers and safety monitors. The goal was to find out how well AI performs when it is instructed to act as an expert.

Read more