If Apple’s laptops were athletes, the new MacBook Pro M5 would be the one smashing world records while sipping an oat flat white and checking its reflection in the display’s glass. Because let’s be honest, this thing isn’t just a laptop. It’s Apple’s latest statement piece, a 14-inch slab of industrial brilliance that’s faster, smarter, and somehow manages to last longer than most relationships.

And with M5 under the bonnet, the MacBook Pro M5 doesn’t just walk the walk, it sprints. We’re talking 3.5 times the AI performance of its predecessor, 1.6 times faster graphics, and up to 24 hours of battery life. That’s an entire flight from Sydney to London, a night in a hotel, and half your next day of editing, all without plugging in.

The M5 Chip Apple’s AI Beast

The MacBook Pro M5 is Apple’s declaration that the future isn’t coming, it’s already here, and it’s running locally. The chip packs a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, which is basically Apple’s way of saying, “Yes, we’ve turned your laptop into a pocket-sized supercomputer.”

From students running AI transcription tools, to designers generating mood boards in seconds, or developers testing machine learning models, the MacBook Pro M5 handles it all without breaking a sweat. Local LLMs (large language models) now boot up faster, image generation happens in a blink, and AI video tools run smoother than a hot knife through butter.

If you’ve ever sat waiting for Blender to render or Xcode to compile, the difference will feel biblical. Apple claims up to 6.8x faster rendering and 2.1x quicker code builds compared to M1-era machines, and yes, those numbers sound absurd, but Apple’s track record of exaggeration is surprisingly minimal these days.

Performance That Would Make a Supercar Blush

The M5’s CPU is now the fastest in the world (Apple’s words, but who’s arguing). With 20 per cent faster multithreaded performance, it chews through workloads that used to make older Intel Macs cry. You can multitask like a mad scientist, running Rhino, Notion and Lightroom all at once, and it won’t flinch.

And while the M5’s raw power is impressive, what really gets the crowd going is how efficiently it sips power. The MacBook Pro M5 keeps that full performance even on battery, which is more than you can say for most Windows laptops that throttle harder than a rental Corolla on Mount Hotham.

The unified memory bandwidth has jumped to a staggering 150GB per second, which means massive 3D files, AI models or video projects don’t even make it yawn. Throw in a faster SSD and the whole system feels instantaneous, whether you’re loading an AI model, importing RAW files or exporting a 4K video.

For Upgraders Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown

If you’re still on an Intel MacBook, the jump to MacBook Pro M5 is like moving from a horse-drawn cart to a hypercar. Apple says it’s up to 86 times faster in AI performance than Intel models. Eighty-six. That’s not an upgrade, that’s a different species.

Even M1 users will see a big lift, with 6x faster AI, 6.8x faster GPU, and double the CPU performance. And yes, the battery life has stretched to an outrageous 24 hours. That’s four more than M1 and fourteen more than the old Intel lot. You can now edit an entire film, write a novel, and binge a series before you even think about the charger.

Oh, and it charges to 50 per cent in 30 minutes using a 96W or higher USB-C power brick. You’ll spend more time untangling the cable than actually charging it.

The Display Sound and That Beautiful Space Black Finish

Of course, it wouldn’t be an Apple product without something shiny to ogle. The Liquid Retina XDR display remains the best in the business, with 1600 nits peak HDR brightness, 1000 nits sustained, and a nano-texture glass option that makes everything look surgically clean. Whether you’re grading colour for film or watching car videos on YouTube, it’s jaw-droppingly good.

The six-speaker system with Spatial Audio is genuinely cinematic, and the 12MP Center Stage camera means your Zoom calls will look like they’ve been shot on a film set. The studio mics are equally brilliant, crisp, balanced and good enough for podcasting without external gear.

And then there’s space black, not grey, not dark silver, but properly black. Apple anodised it with a special seal to resist fingerprints, and it looks mean in the best possible way.

macOS Tahoe A Fresh Playground

The MacBook Pro M5 runs on macOS Tahoe, which introduces new ways to personalise your setup and supercharge your workflow. The new Spotlight is like a butler that actually listens, letting you search, send an email, or start a note right from the search bar.

Then there’s Live Translation in FaceTime and Messages, translating text and speech instantly, perfect for global teams or showing off your bilingual flirtation skills. The refreshed Control Center looks cleaner, and the new Liquid Glass visuals make macOS look so slick it could sell moisturiser.

But the big one is Apple Intelligence, which now powers smarter automation and AI tools across the OS. From sorting photos to generating written drafts, it’s Apple’s most ambitious AI leap yet, and the MacBook Pro M5 is its most capable host.

Built for the Future and for the Planet

Apple’s not just flexing on performance, it’s flexing on sustainability too. The MacBook Pro M5 is built using 45 per cent recycled materials, including 100 per cent recycled aluminium, rare earth elements, and cobalt in the battery. It’s manufactured with 55 per cent renewable electricity and ships in fully fibre-based packaging.

It’s still ludicrously premium, but at least now you can feel a little better about spending A$2,499 on a laptop that might outlive your fridge.

The Verdict The Smartest MacBook Yet

The MacBook Pro M5 isn’t just an iterative upgrade, it’s a full-blown reinvention. Faster, cooler and absurdly efficient, it’s the laptop that can finally keep up with your wildest ambitions.

If you’re into AI, creative work or just want a machine that never slows down, this is it. The MacBook Pro M5 feels like the moment Apple’s “Pro” label actually earned its name again.

Zachary Skinner

Zachary Skinner is the editor of TechDrivePlay.com, where tech, cars and adventure share the fast lane.
A former snowboarding pro and programmer, he brings both creative flair and technical know-how to his reviews. From high-performance cars to clever gadgets, he explores how innovation shapes the way we move, connect and live.