Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5 Max) review: exceptional performance you can carry with you

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/tech/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-14-m5-max-review

Publish Date: 2026-03-26 12:00:00

Source Domain: www.digitalcameraworld.com

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Is it possible these days to buy a laptop that’s too powerful? Chances are that photographers will be rocking mid-level machines capable of running Photoshop while video types are lugging something more potent around with them, but this? This knocks just about every laptop ever tested into second place. The Vanilla M5 version of the MacBook Pro was already pretty good, supplying some of the fastest single-core performance the benchmarking apps had ever seen, but was left behind in multi-core and graphics performance by Windows PCs with more physical cores and discrete graphics chips.

In response, Apple has done what it’s done for every generation of M-series CPUs, and released a version with more of everything. That’s what we’ve got here, and it’s so good it’s almost scary. There are already two MacBook Pros in the big list of the best laptops for video editing, will this knock the M4 Pro off the top?

Specifications

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CPU	Apple M5 Max (18 core)
NPU	Apple Neural Engine
Graphics	Integrated, 32 or 40 cores
Memory	36GB, 48GB, 64GB, or 128GB LPDDR5
Storage	2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD, SDXC card slot
Screen	14in Liquid Retina XDR (Mini-LED IPS), 3024 × 1964, up to 120Hz, 93% P3, 300 nits
Ports	3x Thunderbolt 5, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm audio, Magsafe charging
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6
Size	155 x 313 x 221 mm
Weight	2.15 kg

Price & Availability

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 Max (2TB Silver) at Amazon for $3,549

You’ll have to part with $5,699 (£5,699/A$8,949) to get the spec we’re reviewing here. That’s an awful lot of money, considering the MacBook Pro with the normal M5 chip starts at $1,599, and is certainly not an impulse purchase. If you’re willing to make the investment, you’ll get a laptop that can do anything, and do it quickly, but whether it’s a sound…

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