The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is a premium productivity laptop. While it's technically a successor to the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024), it only replaces the base M4 model, as Apple has only announced and released the base M5 configuration, with no Pro/Max upgrade options. The new base M5 chip uses the same core count and composition as its M4 predecessor (10 CPU and 10 GPU cores); however, it has a wider memory bandwidth of 153GB/s (up from 120GB/s) as well as Neural Accelerators attached to each GPU core. Memory and storage configurations max out at 32GB and 4TB, respectively. 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 excellent for general productivity. This premium, well-built laptop is easy to carry, and its battery lasts around 16 hours in light uses. 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 to type on 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.
Wide port selection.
Outstanding 1080p webcam.
Heavy typers may not like the keyboard's short travel.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 is outstanding for media consumption. It's an easy-to-carry device with a battery that lasts nearly 16 hours (local video playback), so you get plenty of time to get through multiple full-length movies and TV show episodes while 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.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 isn't ideal for gaming. Its base M5 SoC doesn't quite have the graphical prowess to deliver smooth gameplay in highly demanding games. In addition to the limited number of titles with macOS support, many games don't run natively on Apple silicon, meaning performance will vary a lot depending on the 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.
While the Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 is technically a workstation, the entry-level configuration 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 in highly intensive workloads, especially ones that require a lot of memory (you can only get up to 32GB of RAM) and/or graphical processing power. Apple's ProMotion display is suitable for color-critical work, as it has full coverage of the DCI P3 color space and superb factory calibration.
Wide port selection.
Minimal throttling under load.
Doesn't get overly hot or loud.
Base M5 SoC struggles in highly demanding workloads.
Can only get up to 32GB of soldered RAM.
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.
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
Memory
- 16GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 24GB LP-DDR5x 9600MHz
- 32GB 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
COLOR
- Silver
- Space Black
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
Although Apple's MacBook Pros typically fall into the workstation category, the base model such as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 has always been more of a general productivity device aimed at people who don't need a lot of processing power but would like to have the MacBook Pro's features, like its display, speakers, and port selection. As a general productivity laptop, it stands out as one of the best, providing an excellent user experience that matches or exceed what you would find on premium Windows laptops, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024).
The base M5 chip itself also performs impressively well compared to other CPUs and GPUs found in most Windows ultraportable laptops, capable of handling some demanding tasks like programming, LLMs, and video editing. However, it still lags behind Apple's own M4 Pro and Max chips, as it has fewer cores, a smaller memory bandwidth, and only a single fan to keep it cool. If you require a significant amount of processing power (or more than 32GB of RAM), it's better to opt for an Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024) with a Pro/Max chip instead.
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 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 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 Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) in most uses. In terms of the overall user experience, the MacBook Pro has better-sounding speakers and a wider port selection, but the Lenovo's keyboard is more comfortable to type on because it has more key travel. The MacBook Pro has a lot more processing power under the hood, making it a better option if you need to perform more intensive tasks like programming and video editing.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is better than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) in most uses. The MacBook Pro has a significantly brighter Mini LED, better-sounding speakers, and more ports. It also has a lot more processing power to handle more demanding workloads, like programming, AI models, and video editing. The Surface Laptop isn't a bad device either; just remember that it runs on an ARM-based SoC, so make sure you check for app compatibility first, as many x86 programs might not run properly.
Test Results
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