MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and Max tested: Incredibly fast

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The new MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips officially launches this Wednesday. Even before its release, numerous reviews have already been published, providing a comprehensive overview of Apple's latest high-end laptops.

The first reviews paint a clear picture: The new MacBook Pro offers a massive performance boost. According to testers, the new processors and significantly faster SSDs deliver impressive results in benchmarks and real-world tests. At the same time, the device remains largely unchanged compared to the previous generation.

The current models are based on the design and features of the MacBook Pro generation with M4 chips, which was introduced at the end of 2024. This means that many aspects of the hardware have remained identical.

The decisive innovation therefore lies almost exclusively in performance. Apple is now relying on the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which are supposed to deliver significantly higher computing power.

Additionally, Apple has integrated a new N1 wireless chip, which is considered a minor improvement. Nevertheless, most reviews make it clear: the most important reason for buying the new MacBook Pro is its sheer performance.

M5 Pro and M5 Max: Significantly faster than their predecessors

The biggest improvements concern the new chips. According to Jason Snell of Six Colors, the CPU core of the M5 generation is about 15 percent faster than the corresponding core of the M4 series.

The new Pro and Max versions also offer significantly more computing power thanks to larger core configurations. Models with 15 or 18 CPU cores far outperform older devices.

In Snell's tests, his new test device was 23 percent faster than a MacBook Pro with an M4 Max. This difference is particularly noticeable in demanding tasks.

Improvements are also evident in graphics performance. The Max versions have significantly more GPU cores and therefore deliver higher graphics performance. At the same time, a comparison shows how efficient the new chips have become.

Snell found that his M4 Max with 32 GPU cores was only about 14 percent faster in the Metal benchmark than an M5 Pro with just 20 GPU cores. This result shows how much Apple has optimized the architecture.

However, for particularly graphics-intensive workflows, the M5 Max remains the best choice, as it offers a significantly larger number of GPU cores.

Apple's "super cores" dominate benchmarks

Apple describes the so-called "super cores" in the new MacBook Pro as the fastest CPU cores in the world. The tech website Tom's Hardware tested this claim and compared the new MacBook Pro with several competing PCs.

The results are clear. In the Geekbench 6 single-core test, the MacBook Pro achieved a score of 4,338 points. In the multi-core test, the super and performance cores together scored 29,430 points. This puts the device clearly ahead of the competition.

The next best score came from the ZenBook Duo, which achieved 3,031 points in the single-core test and 17,283 points in the multi-core test. According to testers, these results underscore how powerful the new chips are in everyday use and with demanding applications.

Extremely fast SSD provides an additional performance boost

In addition to the new processors, the significantly faster SSD also provides noticeable improvements. Apple claims that the SSDs in the new MacBook Pro are twice as fast as those in the previous generation. Tests largely confirm this claim.

In Tom's Hardware's file transfer test, the MacBook Pro transferred a 25 GB file at 3,835.38 MB/s. For comparison, the second-best result was achieved by the Framework laptop at 1,724.69 MB/s. This makes the Apple device more than twice as fast.

The performance advantage is also clearly evident in video encoding. In the Handbrake test, the MacBook Pro converted a 4K video to 1080p in just 1 minute and 55 seconds. The next fastest device, the Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, took 3 minutes and 18 seconds.

The Verge also emphasizes that the biggest improvement of the new generation may not even be the processor, but the enormous increase in SSD read and write speeds.

New core architecture for improved efficiency

Another interesting aspect of the new chips is their architecture. According to Brian Westover of PCMag, Apple is expanding its existing "big.LITTLE" concept by adding an extra layer.

Westover describes the new structure as "bigger.BIG". The classic performance cores function as a second tier below the super cores. These performance cores handle many multithreaded tasks and offer better efficiency and a wider dynamic range than the super cores.

At the same time, they avoid the limitations of traditional efficiency cores, which could sometimes become a bottleneck in previous generations. The result is a more flexible system that combines high performance with efficient resource utilization.

Conclusion of the first MacBook Pro reviews

The first MacBook Pro reviews paint a relatively clear picture. The new model doesn't bring any fundamental design changes or new features.

Instead, Apple is focusing entirely on performance. The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips deliver significantly higher speeds, while the faster SSDs offer additional performance.

While the new N1 wireless chip is considered a nice addition, it plays a rather minor role compared to the performance increase.

MacBook Pro with M5 Pro / Max: The focus is clearly on more performance

Initial tests show that the new MacBook Pro is above all else: a massive performance upgrade. With the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, extremely fast SSDs, and a new Core architecture, Apple's laptop achieves top scores in many benchmarks. The performance difference is particularly noticeable in computationally intensive tasks such as video editing or graphics workflows.

Anyone expecting a completely new MacBook design will have to wait. Reports indicate that a radically redesigned model could be released later this year. Until then, the current MacBook Pro remains primarily a device for users seeking maximum performance – and according to initial reviews, Apple delivers exactly that. (Image: Apple)