MacBook Pro M5 release date, specs, and price, as confirmed by Apple
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Apple just announced its new M5 chip, along with a handful of hardware launches to take advantage of the next-gen processor. After a very brief teaser of the new MacBook the day prior, Apple unveiled the MacBook Pro with M5. Pre-orders are already live for the latest MacBook alongside the new iPad Pro M5 and Vision Pro M5.
The sudden announcement reveals all there is to know about the MacBook Pro M5, including its release date, specs, and price. There are a couple of important things to note with this product launch – primarily the fact that the new M5 chip is only coming to the 14″ model, not the larger 16″ variant.
MacBook Pro M5 release date
The release date for the MacBook Pro M5 has been confirmed as October 22, exactly a week after the pre-orders went live on October 15. This is the same as the two other M5-powered releases happening this month. Like we said above, this launch date only relates to the 14-inch MacBook Pro – we’ll have to wait and see if a 16-inch model will be available further down the road.
As for the MacBook Air, Apple only upgraded those to M4 earlier this year, so it seems likely that an M5 refresh won’t be coming to the cheaper, slimline models before the end of the year.
MacBook Pro M5 specs
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by M5 promises to deliver “the next big leap in AI for the Mac,” says Apple. The tech giant claims 3.5x more performance for AI workflows, and for the people gaming on Mac out there, 3.2x higher framerates in games when compared to the 13″ M1 MacBook Pro, or 1.6x faster than the 14″ M4 model. Here are the confirmed key specs.
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Apple M5 with 10-Core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine |
| Graphics | 10-Core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| Memory | 16GB or 24GB Unified Memory, configurable to 24GB or 32GB |
| Storage | 512GB or 1TB SSD |
| Screen size & resolution | 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, 3024 x 1964 resolution, 254 PPI |
| Refresh rate | 60Hz fixed refresh rate, up to 120Hz with ProMotion |
| Webcam | 12MP Center Stage camera |
| Speakers | Six-speaker sound system |
| Battery & power | Up to 24 hours video streaming, up to 16 hours wireless web 72.4-watt-hour battery 70W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Other | Apple Intelligence |
You can read a full list of detailed specs on the Apple website here.
MacBook Pro M5 price
Now for the price, one of the things people are always keen to find out when to comes to Apple hardware. The new M5-powered MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, climbing up to $1,999 for the top-end model. It’s available in Space Black or Silver colorways.
- MacBook Pro M5 with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD: $1,599
- MacBook Pro M5 with 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD: $1,799
- MacBook Pro M5 with 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD: $1,999
On the official Apple store, you can also pay in monthly installments for 12 months. This works out as $133.25/mo, $149.91/mo, and $166.58/mo, for the three models listed above, respectively.
When was the MacBook Pro M5 announced?
Apple announced the MacBook Pro M5 on October 15. Pre-orders kicked off on the same day. Alongside the new M5-powered MacBook, Apple also launched the new iPad Pro M5 and Vision Pro M5. The latter was leaked in code a couple of months ago, and there were already some early leaks for the new iPad, too. All three products follow the same release pattern and arrive alongside Apple’s M5 chip announcement.
How much better is the M5 MacBook Pro?
Based on Apple’s claims, the M5 offers “4x the peak GPU compute performance for AI compared to M4,” so it’s clear that the company is focusing on AI gains with this new generation of silicon hardware. Along with the improved CPU and GPU on M5, the 14-inch MacBook Pro also enjoys faster SSD performance for tasks such as “importing RAW image files or exporting large files”. As you’d expect, the new M5 Pro is the most powerful MacBook to date, with a strong focus on AI upgrades to complement its Apple Intelligence integration.
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