is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
Last year’s entry-level MacBook Pro was an impressive return to form for Apple’s Pro laptop. Between the M4 chip, increased RAM, improved webcam, and a third Thunderbolt 4 port, the most affordable MacBook Pro was also one of the best deals in Apple’s lineup.
The M5 sequel is mostly a copy-paste of the same machine — an annual Madden NFL release in laptop form. But instead of a glorified roster update, you get a slightly faster chip and much faster storage, potentially speeding things up when working on big project files and cutting down on time looking at progress bars.
That’s mostly it. The screen, design, ports, speakers, webcam, and just about everything in between is unchanged from the M4 model. If you bought one of those, congratulations — keep living your life with your very good laptop. There’s no cause for FOMO with the M5.
But if you’re using a much older laptop and looking for a powerful new machine that doesn’t cost a fortune, the entry-level MacBook Pro continues to reign supreme. And this year’s model is ever so slightly better than before.
The M5 MacBook Pro feels all the same as last year’s M4, down to the exact dimensions and weight. There isn’t even a new color to mix things up. But unlike the last time Apple gave its base MacBook Pro a straight chip bump, this isn’t a holdover of an outdated design. The M4 MacBook Pro had the same design, number of ports, and upgrade options as those on the higher-end M4 Pro and M4 Max models of the laptop. Each of those factors is still here with the M5 model, and still starting at $1,599.
Component report card: Screen: A
Webcam: A
Mic: B
Keyboard: B
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