Every year Apple raises the bar, and every year it seems like there’s nothing left to be surprised about. But when a laptop runs for more than 21 hours without charging while handling heavy video editing and 3D rendering, surprise does come after all. The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip is exactly that kind of case, and now the question of whether to keep it constantly plugged in feels different than before.
I tested the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro — performance and battery life exceeded all my expectations
What’s New in the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro Chip
The 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro chip starts at $2,699 and occupies the middle position in the MacBook Pro M5 lineup. This is a laptop for those who need serious power but aren’t willing to overpay for the top-tier M5 Max.
The main upgrade is, of course, the M5 Pro chip itself. It delivers more than enough performance for heavy video editing and 3D rendering. Additionally, the laptop received faster Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth, and the base storage now starts at 1 TB. Various RAM configurations are also available.
No external changes — all the important stuff is inside. Image: CNET
However, beyond these improvements, this is essentially the same MacBook Pro as last year. The design hasn’t changed: an elegant aluminum body with rounded corners, the same port selection, a 12-megapixel camera, and a gorgeous 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display. In other words, Apple didn’t fix what wasn’t broken. The MacBook Pro’s aluminum body hasn’t changed for several generations — and honestly, there’s not much to change.
Why M5 Pro Performance Impresses
The M5 Pro chip is the main reason to pay attention to this laptop. We ran our usual programs, launched benchmarks, and realized that the performance here is truly mind-blowing. And we’re not talking about synthetic benchmarks for the sake of numbers, but about real-world work scenarios.
The laptop is designed for professionals who need to handle heavy projects: multi-layer video editing, 3D graphics work, rendering complex scenes. The M5 Pro handles all of this with confidence. Interestingly, the upgrade compared to last year’s M4 Pro has been called “iterative” online — meaning evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But it depends on how you compare: for example, the base MacBook Pro even with the standard M5 became almost 300% faster than the same laptop with M4. Isn’t that an impressive result?
The M5 Pro is perfect for heavy video editing — there’s power to spare.
The fact is that Apple has been increasing the performance of its chips for several years in a row while maintaining energy efficiency. And the M5 Pro is a logical continuation of this strategy.
How Long Does the MacBook Pro M5 Pro Last on Battery
If the performance impresses, then the battery life is simply astonishing. Of course, Apple promises nearly more than a day of continuous use, and that’s true, albeit under certain conditions. In our testing, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro lasted more than 21 hours without charging. That’s not a typo — truly almost a full day of work.
This result means you can comfortably take the laptop for a full workday, then to a meeting at a café, then home — and still have charge left. For a 16-inch laptop with a professional chip, this is an outstanding figure.
After all, more than 21 hours without an outlet — that’s not just a laptop, it’s practically a perpetual motion machine. Almost.
In reality, the balance between power and energy efficiency has always been Apple Silicon’s trump card. And with each new generation of chips, this balance shifts further in the user’s favor.
Is the 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro Worth Buying and Who Is It For
With all its advantages, there is one caveat: the new model costs $200 more than last year’s M4 Pro version. Considering this is an update without significant external changes, M4 Pro owners may find the upgrade unjustified.
But here’s who this laptop is perfect for — professionals upgrading from older MacBook models. If your current laptop runs on M1 or M2, the difference will be enormous — in speed, battery life, and display quality, the gap between generations is already significant.
In our review summary, we praise the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro for:
- Impressive M5 Pro chip performance
- Astonishing battery life exceeding 21 hours
- Near-perfect 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- Practical design with a solid port selection
On the downside, we note only the increased price and the modest CPU core performance gains relative to the M4 Pro. The key question when buying: what are you upgrading from? If from the M4 Pro — think twice. If from the M1 — don’t think, just get it.
Apple continues doing what it does best: increasing power without sacrificing battery life. The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro isn’t a revolution, but a very confident evolution. And for those who’ve been waiting for a reason to upgrade, that reason has finally arrived.
