The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is a premium workstation laptop. It replaces the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024). It's configurable with an M5, M5 Pro, or M5 Max SoC, up to 128GB of RAM, and up to 8TB of storage. Like the M4 model, you get a 254 PPI 120Hz ProMotion display, a 1080p webcam with Center Stage support, and Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity. Ports include three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, a full-size SD card reader, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe charging port.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 is adequate for gaming. Its base M5 SoC doesn't quite have the graphical prowess to deliver smooth gameplay in highly demanding games. However, the M5 Pro and M5 Max SoCs are drastically more performant and will deliver much smoother gameplay. In addition to the limited number of titles with macOS support, many games don't run natively on Apple silicon, so performance will vary by game. As for the display, while its Mini LED panel's 120Hz refresh rate gives smoother motion and increased input responsiveness, its response time is only decent, resulting in noticeable ghosting in fast-moving scenes.
120Hz display with decent response time.
Minimal throttling under load.
Doesn't get overly hot or loud.
Base M5 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Heavy typers may not like the keyboard's short travel.
Limited number of games with macOS support.
Performance varies, as many games lack optimization for Apple silicon.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 is impressive for school and work. This premium, well-built laptop is easy to carry, and its battery lasts around 16 hours in light use. It has a sharp display, a large, easy-to-use haptic touchpad, an excellent webcam, and tons of ports. The keyboard feels spacious and tactile; however, heavy typers may find it tiring due to the keys' short travel. Performance is excellent; this laptop can easily handle general productivity tasks and some demanding tasks like video editing and programming, as long as the project isn't overly complex.
Exceptional build quality and compact design.
All-day battery life.
Provides amazing user experience with its bright display, tactile keyboard, and large haptic touchpad.
Outstanding 1080p webcam.
No touch input support.
Heavy typers may not like the keyboard's short travel.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 is great for media consumption. It's an easy-to-carry device with a battery that lasts nearly 16 hours (for local video playback), so you get plenty of time to watch multiple full-length movies and TV show episodes on the go. Apple's Liquid Retina XDR display looks incredibly sharp, colorful, and well-calibrated. It also produces deep blacks, perfect for dark room viewing and HDR content. The up-firing speakers sound well-balanced and full, with a good amount of bass, and they get very loud with minimal artifacts at max volume.
Exceptional build quality and compact design.
All-day battery life.
Sharp, colorful, Mini LED display.
Loud speakers sound natural and clear, with a good amount of bass.
No touch input support.
Some blooming around bright objects in dark scenes.
How suitable the Apple MacBook Pro 14 is for heavy workloads depends on the SoC you select. The entry-level configuration we tested, with a base M5 SoC, is more of a general productivity device. It can handle some demanding tasks like programming and video editing, but it'll struggle with highly intensive workloads, especially those that require a lot of memory and/or graphics processing power. The M5 Pro and M5 Max SoCs are significantly more powerful and can handle very demanding tasks with ease. Apple's ProMotion display is suitable for color-critical work, as it offers full DCI-P3 coverage and superb factory calibration.
Wide port selection.
Minimal throttling under load.
Doesn't get overly hot or loud.
M5 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding tasks.
Base M5 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 has exceptional battery life. It lasts well over a full day of light-to-moderate productivity use, and you can watch several movies without needing to recharge.
All-day battery life.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 has exceptional build quality. It has an all-aluminum unibody chassis that feels extremely solid and premium. The hinge is also extremely stable and well-engineered.
Exceptional build quality and compact design.
The Apple MacBook Pro M5's graphics performance varies depending on which SoC you select. The base M5 SoC in the unit we tested is well-suited for general productivity tasks and moderately intensive workloads, with gaming possible on fairly low settings, depending on how well optimized the title is for macOS. The M5 Pro and Max SoC will deliver much better GPU performance that's more than suitable for very intense graphical workloads.
Minimal throttling under load.
M5 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding tasks.
Base M5 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Performance varies, as many games lack optimization for Apple silicon.
The Apple MacBook Pro M5 has great processing performance. The base M5 is well-suited to general productivity and moderately demanding tasks like programming and video editing, but may struggle with highly demanding and complex workloads. The M5 Pro and M5 Max configurations are better suited to heavier professional workloads that benefit from additional CPU and GPU cores, higher memory bandwidth, and larger memory configurations.
Minimal throttling under load.
M5 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding tasks.
Base M5 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Oct 29, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0.1. This is a minor update that fixes scoring discrepancies on laptops that don't support all the games we benchmark. Read the changelog for more details.
-
Updated Oct 15, 2026:
We've added additional context and a link to the newly tested Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026) in the Performance Stability section of the review.
- Updated Oct 08, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0! This update adds several new verdict scores to the review, so it's easier to make a buying decision. Read the changelog for a full list of changes.
-
Updated Aug 28, 2026:
We've added a link to the newly reviewed MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026) in the portability section of the review.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (model A3434) with a standard glossy display, a base M5 SoC (10-core CPU and 10-core GPU), 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The display, RAM, and storage are configurable; see below for the available configuration options. Note that the memory and storage options depend on which SoC you choose.
SCREEN
- 14.2" Mini LED 3024 x 1964 120Hz (Standard Glossy Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion)
- 14.2" Mini LED 3024 x 1964 120Hz (Nano-Texture Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion)
SoC
- M5 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 153GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Pro 15-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 307 GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Pro 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 307GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Max 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 460GB/s memory bandwidth
- M5 Max 18-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 614GB/s memory bandwidth
Memory
- 16GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 24GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 32GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 36GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 48GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 64GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 128GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
STORAGE
- 512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 4TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 8TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
WIRELESS
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 (M5 SoC only)
- Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread support (M5 Pro and Max only)
COLOR
- Silver
- Space Black
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Pro M5 is one of the best premium laptops on the market. The base M5 model delivers excellent performance for general productivity and moderately demanding workloads, while the M5 Pro and M5 Max configurations provide significantly more CPU and GPU power for heavier professional work. It also offers a fantastic user experience, thanks to its sharp Mini LED display, excellent speakers, large haptic touchpad, and wide selection of ports. Its build quality and battery life are among the best you can find on a laptop this powerful. While it matches or exceeds the user experience you'd find on premium Windows laptops, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition (2025) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024), macOS still has a smaller game library and less software optimized for Apple silicon.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laptops for video editing, the best laptops for college, and the best laptops for battery life.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is a more capable laptop than the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 2026), but the two target different users. The MacBook Pro has a higher-refresh Mini LED display, a wider port selection, and active cooling that allows it to maintain higher performance during long, demanding workloads. The MacBook Air is lighter, quieter, and less expensive, making it a better choice for general productivity and lighter creative work.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is a newer version of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024). However, the M5 is only available with a base M5 chip, so it only replaces the base M4 MacBook Pro. Compared to its predecessor, the M5 is basically the same device with better performance. That said, the M5 SoC still lags behind the M4 Pro/Max chips.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is better than the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) for most uses. The MacBook Pro 14 is a higher-end device, sporting better features like a 120Hz Mini LED display that gets significantly brighter, better-sounding speakers, and a wider port selection. Performance-wise, the MacBook Pro's base M5 chip performs better than the MacBook Air's M4, but you likely won't notice the difference unless you perform tasks that are intensive enough to stress the system.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026) and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) suit different portability needs. The 16-inch model has more screen space for editing or multitasking, while the 14-inch is easier to carry. Both offer high-resolution 120Hz displays, and both are available with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. However, the 14-inch also offers a base M5 configuration. Our tested 16-inch M5 Max has substantially more processing power than the base M5 in our tested 14-inch, so that difference reflects the chip configurations as well as the laptops.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
