Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M5) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M5) | AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | October 2025 | November 2023 |
| 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 (better) | 600 nits |
| HDR peak brightness | 1,600 nits | 1,600 nits |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting |
| 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 | – |
| 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 HDR brightness; ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M5 | Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max |
| CPU cores | 10 | 12, 14 or 16 |
| Graphics | 10-core GPU | 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPU |
| Memory | 16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB | 18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB (better) |
| Storage | 1 TB to 4 TB | 512 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| CPU | 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores | M3 Pro: 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency); M3 Max: 14-core CPU (10 performance, 4 efficiency) or 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency) |
| GPU | Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode | M3 Pro: 18-core GPU; M3 Max: 30-core or 40-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW media engine with AV1 decode; M3 Max has two video encode and two ProRes encode/decode engines |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory type | Unified memory | Unified memory; M3 Pro supports 18 GB or 36 GB; 14-core M3 Max supports 36 GB or 96 GB; 16-core M3 Max supports 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 153 GB/s | 150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max) |
| Storage type | SSD, configurable up to 4 TB | SSD; M3 Pro starts at 512 GB and supports up to 4 TB; M3 Max starts at 1 TB and supports up to 8 TB |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 24 hours | Up to 22 hours |
| Battery capacity | 72.4 Wh | 99.6 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 1.55 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 | Up to 16 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery | Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 100 Wh, with actual rating 99.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote |
| Charger | Sold separately in the UK (70 W or 96 W Apple USB-C adapters offered); needs at least 60 W over USB PD | 140 W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Fast charging | With a 96 W or higher USB PD power source | With the included 140 W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Materials | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overall | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Silver, Space Black |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Webcam | 12MP Center Stage | 1080p FaceTime HD |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40 Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support | Three Thunderbolt 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support |
| External displays | Up to two over any mix of Thunderbolt and HDMI at 6K 60 Hz or 4K 144 Hz, or one at up to 8K 60 Hz, 5K 120 Hz or 4K 240 Hz, alongside the built-in display | M3 Pro supports two at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt or one at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI; M3 Max supports three at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz, or two at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; HDMI alone supports 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys | Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys |
| Trackpad | Force Touch trackpad | Force Touch trackpad |
| Speakers | Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos | Six-speaker 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 |
| 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, 140 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m) |
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