MacBook Pro M5: everything we know about Apple’s next laptop

If you’re looking to buy one of Apple’s best laptops, the MacBook Pro should be at the top of your list. The latest MacBook Pro M4 brings significant improvements to the lineup, and with the MacBook Air M4 due out relatively soon, you might be wondering what Apple has in store for the next MacBook Pro.

This model — complete with the upcoming M5 chip — is an interesting device. Will Apple offer a full upgrade, or will it be nothing more than a routine upgrade? What can we expect from the M5 chip? And will the company finally release its first OLED MacBook Pro?”

And will the company finally release its first OLED MacBook Pro?

Release date

Normally, new MacBook Pro models are revealed in October. That was the case with the M1, M3, and M4 models, which came out in 2021, 2023, and 2024, respectively. And the MacBook Pro M2 came out in January 2023, but there were rumors that this was a delay from the originally planned release date of October 2022.

MacBook Pro M2, on the other hand, came out in January 2023, but there were rumors that this was a delay from the originally planned release date of October 2022.

There’s no reason to assume Apple will choose any other date for the M5 MacBook Pro other than October 2025 this time around.

This would make the laptop the company’s first product with an M5 chip, as the iPad Pro with an M5 chip is expected to come out in the first half of 2026. That’s a reversal from the M4 chip, which appeared in the iPad Pro before the MacBook Pro.

And that would make the iPad Pro the company’s first product with an M5 chip.

No word yet on pricing, but given that the M5 MacBook Pro will be a minor upgrade, keeping the starting price at $1,599 like the current model makes sense. There’s always a risk that the price will increase even slightly, so in this case, we’ll just have to wait.

We’ll have to wait.

Design

Simply put, a major redesign of the MacBook Pro is unlikely this year. There have been plenty of rumors that the MacBook Pro M6, due out in 2026, could be a “true refresh,” with a thinner chassis and OLED display, and that seems to rule out the possibility of anything significant this year.

And that seems to rule out the possibility of something significant this year.

Apple tends to take its time with major design updates. For example, the MacBook Pro was last updated in 2021, and the M4 model released last year received a slew of changes, including an improved webcam, more storage, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.

At the same time, the MacBook Pro was last updated in 2021.

Based on the company’s tendency to wait several years between design changes — with the aforementioned update expected in 2026, — major updates to the laptop’s appearance don’t appear to be in store for the M5 model.

Performance and Features

The main improvement expected in this year’s MacBook Pro is — the arrival of the M5 chip. It’s likely to be a pretty significant upgrade — about 15-25% over the M4. Given past trends, the MacBook Pro will almost certainly get the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

The MacBook Pro will almost certainly get the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the M5 series will be manufactured using TSMC’s N3P technology. This is a 3nm process (like the M4 series chips), but with TSMC’s System on Integrated Chip (SoIC) technology, which stacks chip components in three dimensions and improves thermal management. But if you’re expecting 2nm process technology and performance gains, the M5 chip probably won’t have that after all.

And if you’re expecting 2nm process technology and performance gains, the M5 chip probably won’t have that after all.

There’s also not much hope for an OLED display in the upcoming laptop, as the OLED MacBook Pro isn’t expected until 2026 at the earliest. The same goes for Apple’s own 5G modem, which appeared in the recent iPhone 16e. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman speculates that Apple is considering adding the modem to its MacBooks, but it seems like it’s still a long way off.

Apple is considering adding the modem to its MacBooks.

Now for more positive news. The entry-level M5 MacBook Pro is very likely to feature Thunderbolt 5 ports for faster data transfer speeds. That technology is available in the current MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, but is not available in the base M4.

The technology is available in the current MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, but not in the entry-level M4.

There have also been rumors that future MacBook Pro models could get Wi-Fi 7, but it looks like we won’t see that in the M5 MacBook Pro. The technology is new and adoption has been slow, and while it’s present in the iPhone 16 lineup, the company seems to be in no hurry to add it to laptops.

And while it’s a new technology, it’s a slow process.

The MacBook Pro M5: Everything We Know About Apple’s Future Laptop was first published on ITZine.ru.