Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

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

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MacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M5 Pro or M5 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
Overview
ReleasedMarch 2026May 2015
Display
Screen size16.2″15.4″
Resolution3456 × 2234 (better)2880 × 1800
PanelMini-LEDIPS LCD
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness1,000 nits (better)300 nits
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayRetina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density254 ppi220 ppi
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion coloursStandard colour gamut (sRGB)
Screen finishStandard, or nano-texture as an option–
Display features1,000,000:1 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 ToneApple specifies a 900:1 contrast ratio; scaled resolutions of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640
Performance
ProcessorApple M5 Pro or Apple M5 MaxIntel Core i7-4770HQ, Intel Core i7-4870HQ or Intel Core i7-4980HQ
CPU cores184
CPU threads–8
Graphics20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPUIntel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 or AMD Radeon R9 M370X (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB (better)16 GB
Storage1 TB to 8 TB (better)256 GB to 1 TB
CPU18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance coresQuad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.2 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz, 2.5 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz, or 2.8 GHz with up to 4 GHz; all with 6 MB shared L3 cache. Exact i7-4770HQ and i7-4870HQ identifiers confirmed by Macworld, and i7-4980HQ by EveryMac.
GPU20-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 MaxIntel Iris Pro integrated graphics; discrete-graphics configurations add AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2 GB GDDR5 and automatic graphics switching. Upgrading the processor on the integrated-graphics base does not add the Radeon GPU.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory16 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory
Memory bandwidth307 GB/s (M5 Pro), 460 GB/s (M5 Max with 32-core GPU) or 614 GB/s (M5 Max with 40-core GPU)–
Storage typeSSD, 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)PCIe-based flash storage; 256 GB integrated-graphics base configurable to 512 GB or 1 TB, and 512 GB discrete-graphics base configurable to 1 TB
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 24 hoursUp to 9 hours
Battery capacity99.6 Wh (better)99.5 Wh
Weight2.14 kg2.04 kg (better)
Thickness16.8 mm (better)18 mm
Width × depth355.7 × 248.1 mm358.9 × 247.1 mm
Battery life detailM5 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 batteryLithium-polymer battery; up to 9 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's battery tests used the 2.2 GHz Core i7, 16 GB memory and 256 GB storage. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
ChargerSold separately in the UK; needs at least 140 W over USB PD85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management system
Fast chargingWith a 140 W or higher USB PD power source–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 45% recycled content overallAluminium enclosure
ColoursSpace Black, Silver–
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack2 × Thunderbolt 2, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, headphone jack, SD card slot, MagSafe 2
Wi-FiWi-Fi 7Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth64.2
Webcam12MP Center Stage720p FaceTime HD
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detail3 × 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 supportTwo Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort video, two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 2 power and 3.5 mm headphone jack with digital/analogue line output and iPhone headset support; separate Thunderbolt Ethernet and FireWire adaptors available
External displaysM5 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 displayTwo external displays up to 3840 × 2160 alongside the built-in screen; HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. Mini DisplayPort adaptors provide DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, inverted-T arrow keys and ambient light sensor
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadForce Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosStereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modesDual microphones
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box16-inch MacBook Pro, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only); power adapter sold separatelyMacBook Pro; MagSafe 2 Power Adapter; power cord; AC wall plug

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