Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

MacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) compared with MacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)

	AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)	AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	March 2026
Display
Screen size
Screen size	16.2″	16.2″
Resolution
Resolution	3456 × 2234	3456 × 2234
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	Mini-LED
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	600 nits	1,000 nits (better)
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	1,600 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting	Liquid Retina XDR display
Pixel density
Pixel density	254 ppi	254 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Standard, or nano-texture as an option
Display features
Display features	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	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
Processor	Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max	Apple M5 Pro or Apple M5 Max
CPU cores
CPU cores	12, 14 or 16	18
Graphics
Graphics	18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPU	20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPU
Memory
Memory	18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB	24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 8 TB	1 TB to 8 TB
CPU
CPU	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)	18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores
GPU
GPU	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	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
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	16-core Neural Engine
Memory type
Memory type	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	Unified memory
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max)	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
Storage type	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	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)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 22 hours	Up to 24 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	99.6 Wh	99.6 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.14 kg	2.14 kg
Thickness
Thickness	16.8 mm	16.8 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	355.7 × 248.1 mm	355.7 × 248.1 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 100 Wh, with actual rating 99.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote	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
Charger	140 W USB-C Power Adapter	Sold separately in the UK; needs at least 140 W over USB PD
Fast charging
Fast charging	With the included 140 W USB-C Power Adapter	With a 140 W or higher USB PD power source
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Black	Space Black, Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	6
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	12MP Center Stage
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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	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
External displays	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	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
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US 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
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Force Touch trackpad
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker 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
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	Touch ID
In the box
In the box	16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)	16-inch MacBook Pro, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only); power adapter sold separately