MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro) vs Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,9993Apple UK store | £2,0994launch price |
| Chip | M5 Prochip | M4 Maxchip |
| CPU | 18-coreCPU | 14-coreCPU |
| GPU | 20-coreGPU | 32-coreGPU |
| Memory | 24GBunified memory, base | 36GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 1TBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Not available5No battery |
| Released | 11 March 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026. | 12 March 20254ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro M5 Pro is £2,999 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac Studio M4 Max is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The MacBook Pro M5 Pro is a laptop; the Mac Studio M4 Max is a desktop. The MacBook Pro M5 Pro has a built-in 16.2-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M4 Max has none of them.
True to scale
A laptop and a desktop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the footprint of one and the front face 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 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm | 95 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 2.14 kg | 2.74 kg |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack | 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 (M4 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Thunderbolt ports | 3 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.8 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI 2.1 port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | Not available9 |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Not available10 |
| Touch ID | Yes | Not available11 |
| Touch Bar | No Touch Bar.12 | Not available13 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 16.2 in | Not available14 |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | Not available14 |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | Not available14 |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Not available14 |
| Brightness (SDR, outdoor) | 1,000 nits15 | Not available14 |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | 1,600 nits | Not available14 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | Not available14 |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Not available14 |
| Nano-texture option | Yes | Not available14 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M5 Pro chip | Apple M4 Max chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 18 | 14 |
| Super cores | 615 | Not available16 |
| Performance cores | 1215 | 10 |
| Efficiency cores | Not available17 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 20 | 32 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU15 | M4 Max with 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M4 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU18 |
| Memory (base) | 24GB | 36GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 64GB15 | 128GB18 |
| Memory options | 24GB, 48GB or 64GB15 | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU and 40-core GPU)18 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents19 | Not available20 |
| Memory bandwidth | 307 GB/s | 410 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 1TB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 4TB15 | 8TB18 |
| Storage options | 1TB, 2TB or 4TB15 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB18 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 100 Wh | Not available5 |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles21 | Not available5 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 24 h | Not available5 |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 17 h | Not available5 |
| Included power adapter | No power adapter in the box.12 | Not available22 |
| Fast charging | Yes | Not available5 |
| Maximum continuous power | Not available23 | 480 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 5.3 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.12 | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector) |
| External displays (base) | 3 | 5 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro M5 Pro1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View | Not available24 |
| Camera resolution | 12 MP | Not available24 |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | Built-in speaker25 |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming26 | Not available20 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK store — 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro, 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU — From £2,999 ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩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
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
↩Apple lists this chip’s cores as 6 super cores, 12 performance cores, with no efficiency cores
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩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 Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩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 MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
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.
Mac Studio M4 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, 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 MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch)? · Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M4 Max (2025)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.