MacBook Pro M5 Pro, M5 Max Review (2026): Peak Creative Power
MacBook Pro M5 Pro, M5 Max Review (2026): Peak Creative Power
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-macbook-pro-16-m5-max-pro-review/
Publish Date: 2026-03-09 14:00:00
Source Domain: www.cnet.com
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (early 2026)
Pros
- Fast
- Excellent screen
- Same solid design as previous model
Cons
- Can get loud and hot
- Heavy
- Big drop in performance in low-power mode
The past few generations of MacBook Pro have been physically identical, regardless of configuration. The new 16-inch line for 2026 has the same design, so looks won’t be a factor when you’re deciding between the M5 Max, M5 Pro or even an older model. It’ll all come down to your performance needs. Yes, like most laptops, they get faster every year, but the big jump in GPU performance is what’s made the M5 line stand out, as we first saw with the 2025 14-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the M5.
The MacBook Pro’s display remains excellent, and I really do still think the nano-texture coating is worth the money if you work in bright or glareful conditions. I don’t love that you can’t set the display refresh rate to 120Hz. The only way to get there is automatically in ProMotion mode — Apple’s adaptive refresh rate technology — but I like to use a higher-than-60Hz refresh rate all the time. The laptops don’t yet have panels with the Adobe RGB expanded gamut support found in the Studio Display XDR, and it’s not clear if they ever will. But they’re built like tanks and have the weight to prove it, and for professional creative work, they really are hard to beat.
I’ve only had a few days to test the two models, so I’ll be back with battery testing — they’re rated at up to 24 hours, a couple hours longer than the last generation of 16-inch models, which makes it pretty time consuming. I’ll also conduct more application-based testing and some stress testing, but given how little has changed otherwise, I’m confident enough to state that these are still some of the best laptops around. Apple’s battery ratings are generally spot on for the type of testing, in…
