Update, Sunday Jan. 18: This article has been updated with new details on the potential performance of the MacBook Pro M5 Pro and MacBook Pro M5 Max.
Apple is expected to launch two new macOS laptops, the MacBook Pro M5 Pro and the MacBook Pro M5 Max, in the next few months. While Apple hasn’t sent out the press releases, it has given the community a pointer that an early launch could be on the cards.
The Next MacBook Pro Is Ready For Departure
The first is, put simply, that the new, professionally-focused MacBook Pro models are due. The Apple Silicon M5 chipset arrived on Oct. 15 2025, and shipped in the Apple Vision Pro, the iPad Pro and the 14-inch consumer-focused MacBook Pro.
Previous MacBook Pro models have seen the vanilla processor variant outpace the MacBook Air with the same chipset due to minor hardware changes, including active cooling via a fan. In terms of power and performance, the vanilla Pro is easily eclipsed in power and performance by the Pro and Max chipsets.
Why Wait For The MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max?
Update, Sunday Jan. 18: Projections on the performance of the Apple Silicon M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets show why those looking for a professionally-focused laptop are right to wait for the new laptop. First up, the vanilla M5, with its 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, posts single-core CPU gains of around thirteen percent over the vanilla M4 and between 35 and 50 percent on the GPU.
It’s unlikely Apple will change its approach to the core count for the M4 variant, so expect the M5 Pro to max out at 14 CPU cores, and the M5 Max to max out at 16 CPU cores. That’s not to say that every M5 chipset will sport these numbers; consider them a maximum.
It’s safe to assume, from the patterns shown across the Apple Silicon years, that the advances made between the M4 and the M5 will likely be matched by the M4 Pro to M5 Pro, and the M4 Max to M5 Max. In practice, that would see the M5 outperform the M4 Max on both single- and multi-core CPU benchmarks. But the real record may be on the GPU side of things, with the M5 Max’s projected multi-core CPU score topping the quarter-million mark.
What MacBook Pro Alternatives Does Apple Have?
We currently have the MacBook Pro M5 on sale, but we don’t yet have the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro or the MacBook Pro with M5 Max. Details from the supply chain suggest Apple is on track to launch these premium MacBooks in the first quarter of 2026.
While we have an M5-powered MacBook Pro, we don’t have an M5-equipped MacBook Air. It’s likely that Apple will hold this back until much later in the year. With performance expected to be just 15 percent lower than the M5 MacBook Pro, the populist MacBook Air will live in a part of the portfolio based around the time of release, rather than the specifications. As for the 12-inch MacBook, the long-rumoured budget model could be a Back To School release.
The MacBook Pro’s Tempting Software Package Is Coming
Then you have the recent annoucnement of the Apple Creator Studio. This is a subscription bundle, paid monthly or yearly, that includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage, and extended versions of Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Freeform. Although announced this week, the package – potentially with updates to these creative apps – will be available “…on the App Store beginning Wednesday, January 28, for £12.99 per month or £129 per year.”
These apps, while used by many consumers, are geared, as the package names suggest, towards creatives. And it’s creatives that need the extra capability of the Apple Silicon M5 Pro and M5 Max variants. If you were going to launch this bundle of apps, wouldn’t you want to signal the new hardware that will offer the best overall package?
If the Creator Studio is arriving on Jan. 28, then the professionally focused MacBook Pro laptops should surely be revealed at the same time?
Will It Be A MacBook Pro Wednesday?
Apple loves its midweek hardware launches, so it shouldn’t escape anyone’s notice that Jan. 28 is a Wednesday. The launch is likely to be “by press release,’ as opposed to a large-scale invitational event at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters. The timing is far more flexible than the fixed point of an iPhone launch, but traditions remain, and traditions make Tuesdays and Wednesdays attractive.
Three Steps To A New MacBook Pro
Short of Apple sending out the invitations, those looking to divine the launch date and subsequent retail release of the M5 Pro or M5 Max MacBook Pro models need to be alert to the signals and the signs. A new subscription package with applications tailored to creatives’ needs that work best on the latest Apple Silicon is one such sign.
