Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) | AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2026 | March 2026 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 14.2″ | 16.2″ |
| Resolution | 3024 × 1964 | 3456 × 2234 (better) |
| Panel | Mini-LED | Mini-LED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Brightness | 1,000 nits | 1,000 nits |
| HDR peak brightness | 1,600 nits | 1,600 nits |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Liquid Retina XDR display |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Colour range | Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours | Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours |
| Screen finish | Standard, or nano-texture as an option | Standard, or nano-texture as an option |
| Display features | 1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen XDR brightness; ProMotion up to 120 Hz, with fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone | 1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen XDR brightness; ProMotion up to 120 Hz, with fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M5 Pro or Apple M5 Max | Apple M5 Pro or Apple M5 Max |
| CPU cores | 15 or 18 | 18 |
| Graphics | 16-core GPU, 20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPU | 20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPU |
| Memory | 24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB | 24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB |
| Storage | 1 TB to 8 TB | 1 TB to 8 TB |
| CPU | 15-core CPU with 5 super cores and 10 performance cores (entry M5 Pro), or 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores | 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores |
| GPU | 16-core or 20-core (M5 Pro), 32-core or 40-core (M5 Max) GPU with Neural Accelerators and hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode, with two video encode and two ProRes engines on M5 Max | 20-core (M5 Pro), 32-core or 40-core (M5 Max) GPU with Neural Accelerators and hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode, with two video encode and two ProRes engines on M5 Max |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory type | Unified memory | Unified memory |
| Memory bandwidth | 307 GB/s (M5 Pro), 460 GB/s (M5 Max with 32-core GPU) or 614 GB/s (M5 Max with 40-core GPU) | 307 GB/s (M5 Pro), 460 GB/s (M5 Max with 32-core GPU) or 614 GB/s (M5 Max with 40-core GPU) |
| Storage type | SSD, configurable up to 4 TB (M5 Pro) or 8 TB (M5 Max); Apple quotes up to 14.5 GB/s read and write (tested with a 16-inch M5 Max with 8 TB) | SSD, configurable up to 4 TB (M5 Pro) or 8 TB (M5 Max); Apple quotes up to 14.5 GB/s read and write (tested with M5 Max and 8 TB) |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 22 hours | Up to 24 hours |
| Battery capacity | 72.4 Wh | 99.6 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 1.6 kg (better) | 2.14 kg |
| Thickness | 15.5 mm (better) | 16.8 mm |
| Width × depth | 312.6 × 221.2 mm | 355.7 × 248.1 mm |
| Battery life detail | M5 Pro up to 22 hours video streaming and 14 hours wireless web; M5 Max up to 20 hours video streaming and 13 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery | M5 Pro up to 24 hours video streaming and 17 hours wireless web; M5 Max up to 22 hours video streaming and 16 hours wireless web; 100-watt-hour (actual rating 99.6 Wh) lithium-polymer battery |
| Charger | Sold separately in the UK (70 W or 96 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 70 W over USB PD | Sold separately in the UK; needs at least 140 W over USB PD |
| Fast charging | With a 96 W or higher USB PD power source | With a 140 W or higher USB PD power source |
| Materials | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overall | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overall |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Space Black, Silver |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 6 |
| Webcam | 12MP Center Stage | 12MP Center Stage |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120 Gb/s); HDMI (up to 8K) with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support | 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120 Gb/s); HDMI (up to 8K) with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support |
| External displays | M5 Pro up to three at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz plus one at 5K 120 Hz or 4K 200 Hz; M5 Max up to four at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or two at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; all alongside the built-in display | M5 Pro up to three at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz plus one at 5K 120 Hz or 4K 200 Hz; M5 Max up to four at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or two at 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; all alongside the built-in display |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys | Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys |
| Trackpad | Force Touch trackpad | Force Touch trackpad |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes | Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes |
| Biometrics | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| In the box | 14-inch MacBook Pro, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only); power adapter sold separately | 16-inch MacBook Pro, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only); power adapter sold separately |
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