When the M5 MacBook Pro launched, we were all left asking, “where’s M5 Pro and M5 Max?” Well, we’re getting new word from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that the full lineup will be completed with an “imminent” release of these two more powerful systems.
The two new models — codenamed J714 and J716 — are reportedly set to launch during the macOS 26.4 software cycle.
This runs from this month through March, which, alongside supply of the high-end M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pros being constrained significantly, is a big sign. Worth noting: this isn’t the redesigned OLED MacBook Pro we’re anticipating in the fall — that’s being reserved for M6.
What to expect from M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros?
Put simply, more of the same but turbo-boosted. As Gurman said himself, signs are pointing to “MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips.” So let me break down what we predict you’ll see:
- Up to 14-core CPU for M5 Pro and 16-core for M5 Max: With the pro tax, you can expect those core counts to go up for handling complex multi-threaded tasks like video editing pipelines.
- Up to a 20-core GPU for M5 Pro and 40-core for M5 Max: Prosumer workloads are dependent on a strong GPU, and Apple absolutely stuffs its Pro and Max systems full of graphics cores. Pair each core with a Neural Accelerator, and these look set to be AI monsters too.
- Faster memory bandwidth: The base M5 got a 30% bump on unified memory bandwidth, which is probably the most underestimated number on a spec sheet — it is the real underlying driver of performance. My prediction is that you could see data passed through a unified memory pipeline at speeds up to 550 GB/s.
- Thunderbolt 5 ports: The M5 MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt 4 support, and as M4 Pro and M4 Max already have Thunderbolt 5, this seems inevitable. Those new-generation ports support 3x faster data transfer speeds for moving data at up to 120Gb/s.
Beyond this, you’ll most likely get that same utilitarian design, same 14- and 16-inch displays, options in black and silver, along with the nano texture glass option. This is looking likely to be a spec bump, but a considerable one at that!
Avoid the FOMO — don’t buy a MacBook Pro right now
I remember when I bought my first white plastic MacBook, only for Apple to then announce the 13-inch unibody aluminum MacBook a few weeks afterwards.
On one hand, I was happy I had my MacBook, but on the other, that feeling of FOMO watching this system announced and launched is akin to heartbreak.
…am I being dramatic? Absolutely. But the point stands — while the deals on current MacBook Pros are pretty great, if you’re chasing the latest and greatest, now is the worst time to buy.
Hold off for now. Your “speeds and feeds”-pilled brain will thank you in a few weeks time.
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