Is the MacBook Pro M5 still worth buying after the price hike?

Beyond that, given the across-the-board price hikes, you may want to consider downgrading if you find that the MacBook Pro is more than you need anyway. Before I upgraded to a Pro, I worked with a MacBook Air for many years, and it was powerful enough to meet my everyday needs and occasional demanding tasks. My son now uses it for school, so you get a lot of life out of them, too. If you feel you need a Pro-level model and you're on a tight budget, consider opting for a MacBook Pro M4 if you can find one for a good deal, even go back to the M2. Retailers like Best Buy have M2 Pro MacBook Pro models selling on clearance for $1,599.

The latest MacBook Airs have gone up in price by $200, but you can still get one for under $1,500. Our reviewer loved the MacBook Air M5, appreciating the thin design, fast performance, and excellent trackpad and keyboard. For students or those who have lighter needs for tasks like web browsing and word processing, the MacBook Neo is Apple's most affordable laptop yet. And even though it has gone up in cost, too, it's only by a modest $100, which means it still comes in at under $700. Consider that even the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 is almost three times that price. Plus, when our reviewer took the MacBook Neo for a spin, he was blown away by the performance to price ratio. "It delivers more speed, a brighter screen, and an overall better user experience than any competing $600 Windows PC," he says, even suggesting that it's enough to make Windows users question why they haven't switched.

Bottom line: unless you are desperate for an upgrade now and need the most powerful option, wait it out a few months to see what Apple has coming down the pike. If you need an upgrade but don't necessarily engage in demanding tasks, consider switching to a MacBook Air or even the MacBook Neo and see if they meet your needs. You might be surprised. Whether or not the MacBook Ultra is real, the concept of an Apple MacBook with an OLED touchscreen is worth waiting for, especially with the M5 models costing so much more now.