16-inch MacBook Professional (M5 Max) evaluation

Greatest Costs Right this moment: Apple 16-inch MacBook Professional (M5 Max, 2026)

The MacBook Professional with the M-series Max chip is the corporate’s quickest laptop computer. The worth is premium, however efficiency matches: desktop-like pace for cell customers who want it most.

Apple has launched the M5 Max MacBook Professional, and it affords incremental efficiency updates over the M4 Max it replaces. If “incremental” leaves you dissatisfied, don’t be, as a result of the M4 Max was an especially quick chip, so it continues to get higher with the M5 Max.

There’s one facet of the brand new laptop computer that sees a drastic enchancment: the SSD. The considerably elevated SSD pace means sure workflows will see a lot quicker information entry and file transfers, offering noticeable advantages—even when you have already got an M4 Max.

M5 Max MacBook Professional: Our mannequin’s specs

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M5 Max MacBook Professional: Efficiency

The chip improve is the main target of this MacBook Professional launch cycle. The bottom M5 MacBook Professional made its debut months in the past, which gave us an thought of what to anticipate with the higher-level chips. General, it’s an incremental efficiency replace, so the outcomes mirror that.

Primarily based on Geekbench scores, the M3 Extremely, which is barely obtainable with the Mac Studio, is not the chip with the quickest CPU. The 18-core M5 Max now takes the crown, besting the M3 Extremely by 7 p.c in multi-core CPU efficiency. It’s not a lot, and it could be onerous to really feel the distinction even when operating essentially the most CPU-intensive duties. The only-core distinction, nonetheless, is far more noticeable at 34 p.c.

The advance from the M4 Max to the M5 Max is 12 p.c in multi-core CPU and seven p.c in single-core CPU scores. At this level within the M-series evolution, don’t anticipate big features from one technology to the following. The efficiency is so good that you may wait just a few years earlier than contemplating an improve.

The distinction in CPU efficiency from the M4 Max to the M5 Max is even much less noticeable in Cinebench 2024 exams. What’s eye-catching, nonetheless, is the 32 p.c bounce in GPU efficiency. For a lot of customers, GPU efficiency is far more essential than CPU, and Apple has sometimes lagged right here, so the advance is sweet.

Maxon has launched Cinebench 2026, a brand new model of its benchmarking instrument. We don’t have outcomes for older Macs, however on your reference, the M5 Max MacBook Professional posted a GPU rating of 94035, a multi-CPU rating of 9426, and a single-CPU rating of 722. We’ll be together with Cinebench 2026 scores in future Mac opinions.

HandBrake was used to transform the 4K Tears of Metal video to a 1080p H.265 file. There’s primarily no distinction between the M4 Max and M5 Max right here, although should you’re coming from an older machine, will probably be considerably extra noticeable.

When exporting a 4K iMovie video on the Excessive setting, the M5 Max confirmed a 14 p.c enchancment over the M4 Max. A Greatest (ProRes) export of the identical video confirmed no distinction.

Yowza. I ran Blackmagic Disk Pace Take a look at time and again and over and over as a result of the outcomes had been so spectacular. For customers who create content material, handle databases, or do any duties which can be disk-intensive, this dramatic SSD enchancment could also be sufficient for a present M4 Max consumer to improve.

Right here is the place the M3 Extremely nonetheless reigns supreme: GPU efficiency. Earlier than you get dissatisfied within the M5 Max, context is essential right here. The M3 Extremely has a 60-core GPU, 20 extra cores than the M5 Max, so the M3 Extremely GPU must be quicker. (Aspect observe: since an Extremely chip is basically two Max chips, the M5 Extremely ought to have 80 GPU cores in the event that they launch it within the rumored Mac Studio later this 12 months.)

Apple continues to make progress with online game efficiency. Whether or not or not these outcomes are sufficient to impress a devoted PC gamer stays to be seen, however Mac customers who wish to play video games will get good outcomes.

The M5 Max’s Neural Engine is quicker, however macOS doesn’t take a lot benefit of Apple Intelligence. Maybe that can change when macOS 27 arrives in June, as a result of there’s numerous energy within the Neural Accelerators. For reference, this take a look at was additionally run on the GPU, with scores of 27553 (Single Precision), 44126 (Half Precision), and 40913 (Quantized).

M5 Max MacBook Professional: Numerous the identical

Every thing else concerning the M5 Max MacBook Professional stays unchanged from the earlier technology. The laptop computer has three Thunderbolt 5/USB 4 ports, an HDMI port, a MagSafe connector, an SDXC Card slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack. If you would like extra particulars on the ports, you possibly can learn our M4 Professional MacBook Professional evaluation.

The M5 Max has essentially the most strong exterior show assist of all of the MacBooks. By means of its Thunderbolt and HDMI ports, the laptop computer helps as much as 4 shows at native resolutions of 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz. It might additionally show two screens at as much as a local decision of 8K at 60Hz, 5K at 120Hz, or 4K at 240Hz.

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The show can be the identical, a Liquid Retina XDR panel, with the specs listed on the high of this text. The Middle Stage digicam is similar 12MP module because the M4. The laptop computer nonetheless has a shiny show, with an possibility for a nano-texture (matte) display screen for an additional $150/£150.

M5 Max MacBook Professional: Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6

Moreover the chip, there are two different issues Apple upgraded with the M5 Professional and M5 Max MacBook Professional. Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Bluetooth 6 at the moment are supported, a change from the Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3 within the earlier mannequin. Apple is utilizing its N1 chip for this, which was launched with the iPhone 17 final fall.

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M5 Max MacBook Professional: Battery life

Apple says the 100Wh battery within the 16-inch MacBook Professional ought to last as long as 22 hours of video streaming, and as much as 16 hours of wi-fi internet entry. We examined battery life by operating a saved video constantly on a loop till the battery ran out. Over 24 hours later (1,475 minutes, to be precise), the take a look at ended. Our take a look at isn’t designed to be hectic, besides, the MacBook Professional ought to get you thru the day with out plugging in.

M5 Max MacBook Professional: Increased beginning costs

It ought to be famous that the M5 Professional and Max MacBook Execs have larger beginning costs than their predecessors. The 14-inch M4 Professional began at $1,999 with 512GB of storage, whereas the 14-inch M5 Professional begins at $2,199 with 1TB of storage. The identical goes for the 16-inch MacBook Professional: the M4 Professional mannequin that began at $2,499 with 512TB of storage has been changed by an M5 Professional mannequin with 1TB of storage for $2,699. And the M5 Max fashions now begin at 2TB, a $200 worth improve on each fashions. All different configurations have the identical pricing tiers.

The kind of purchaser who needs an M5 Professional or M5 Max MacBook Professional will in all probability be OK with the upper beginning costs. Apple technically hasn’t raised costs, in spite of everything, however those that purchase the most affordable fashions might want to pay a little bit extra.

Must you purchase the M5 Max MacBook Professional?

The M5 Max MacBook Professional is Apple’s quickest moveable workstation and near its quickest Mac. This laptop computer is for customers who don’t need any compromises with efficiency–it delivers. Whereas it gives incrementally quicker CPU pace in comparison with the M4 Max, it does have a drastically quicker SSD. For M2 or M3 Max MacBook Professional customers, it’s positively value consideration. M4 Max house owners may take a cross, however should you’re doing numerous disk-intensive duties, you’ll noticeably profit from an improve

Nevertheless, the rumors of the M6 MacBook Professional improve give patrons pause. The twentieth anniversary laptop computer is rumored to characteristic an OLED touchscreen show, which might be an improve from the present mini LED know-how, together with a brand new, slimmer design. In case your wants aren’t urgent, it may be value it to carry off till the tip of the 12 months.