Mac Studio (M5 Max) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,4993Apple UK store | £2,9994Apple UK store |
| Chip | M5 Maxchip | M5 Prochip |
| CPU | 18-coreCPU | 18-coreCPU |
| GPU | 32-coreGPU | 20-coreGPU |
| Memory | 36GBunified memory, base | 24GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 1TBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Not available5No battery | Up to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 22 September 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026. | 11 March 20267ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026. |
| Security updates | Not available8Security updates | Not available8Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M5 Max is £2,499 on Apple’s UK store; the MacBook Pro M5 Pro is £2,999 on Apple’s UK store.
- Kind of Mac
- The Mac Studio M5 Max is a desktop; the MacBook Pro M5 Pro is a laptop. The MacBook Pro M5 Pro has a built-in 16.2-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M5 Max has none of them.
True to scale
A desktop and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm |
| Weight | 2.7 kg | 2.14 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Space Black, Silver |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, two USB 3 (USB-A) ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI 2.1 port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M5 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) | Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | No USB-A ports.9 |
| HDMI | HDMI 2.1 port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Not available10 | Yes |
| Keyboard | Not available11 | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Not available12 | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Not available13 | No Touch Bar.14 |
Display
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | Not available15 | 16.2 in |
| Resolution | Not available15 | 3456 x 2234 |
| Pixel density | Not available15 | 254 ppi |
| Display type | Not available15 | Liquid Retina XDR display |
| Brightness (SDR, outdoor) | Not available15 | 1,000 nits16 |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | Not available15 | 1,600 nits |
| Refresh rate | Not available15 | 120 Hz |
| Wide colour (P3) | Not available15 | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | Not available15 | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M5 Max chip | Apple M5 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 18 | 18 |
| Super cores | 617 | 616 |
| Performance cores | 1217 | 1216 |
| GPU cores | 32 | 20 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU17 | M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU16 |
| Memory (base) | 36GB | 24GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 128GB17 | 64GB16 |
| Memory options | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)17 | 24GB, 48GB or 64GB16 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | Not available18 | No, as Apple documents19 |
| Memory bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 307 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 1TB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB17 | 4TB16 |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB17 | 1TB, 2TB or 4TB16 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | Not available5 | 100 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | Not available5 | 1,000 cycles20 |
| Video playback (claimed) | Not available5 | 24 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | Not available5 | 17 h |
| Included power adapter | Not available21 | No power adapter in the box.14 |
| Fast charging | Not available5 | Yes |
| Maximum continuous power | 480 W | Not available22 |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 6 |
| Ethernet | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector) | No Ethernet port.14 |
| External displays (base) | 5 | 3 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Not available23 | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View |
| Camera resolution | Not available23 | 12 MP |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker24 | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Not available18 | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming25 |
Sources
Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK store — Mac Studio M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 512GB — From £2,499 ·
↩Apple UK store — 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro, 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU — From £2,999 ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro): No USB-A ports.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera
↩Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M5 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro M5 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M5 Max? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.