Apple’s next MacBook Pro update is expected to land within the next two weeks, and the rumors suggest it won’t be a small one.
The M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to power the new high-end MacBook Pros, and early performance projections indicate Apple could be setting a new benchmark for laptop power.
Why the M5 Max Might Be a Big Deal
The most exciting part of the rumor cycle is not just the upgrade itself, but how large the performance jump could be. Using the performance difference between the base M4 and the M4 Pro/Max as a baseline, analysts are extrapolating what the M5 Pro and M5 Max might deliver.
In other words, if the jump from M4 to M4 Max is any indication, the M5 Max could be a major leap forward.
Jason Cross from Macworld ran the numbers and called the results “pretty stellar,” especially for the top-end M5 Max.
“Those are pretty stellar estimated scores for the top-end M5 Max. Around 4,500 for single-core CPU performance is a lot, but over 31,000 for the multi-core score is astounding.”
To put that into context, a multi-core score above 31,000 would place the M5 Max in the same league as high-end desktop CPUs, including the 64-core AMD Threadripper family.
That is not the kind of performance improvement you typically see in a single generation.
Related: Apple May Launch High-End M5 MacBook Pro Models on January 28
The GPU Jump Might Be Even More Impressive
The GPU side of things may be even more dramatic. Cross predicts the M5 Max could be the first Apple GPU to crack 250,000 in Geekbench 6 compute.
“The [40-core] M5 Max may be the first Apple GPU to break 250,000 on the Geekbench 6 GPU compute test.”
What makes that particularly noteworthy is the comparison to Apple’s own past performance. Even the M3 Ultra, which has 80 GPU cores, didn’t quite break the 250,000 mark. If Apple hits that milestone with half as many cores, that would be an unusually fast rate of improvement.
Gaming-Level Graphics Power in a Laptop?
The projected graphics scores put the M5 Max in an unexpected territory: it could rival mainstream desktop gaming GPUs.
Cross estimates that:
- The base M5 could score over 2,300 in Steel Nomad, roughly comparable to a laptop GeForce RTX 4050.
- The M5 Max could score over 4,600, which is in the same ballpark as a GeForce RTX 4070.
That is not just impressive for a MacBook Pro. It is impressive for any laptop.
A Possible Shift in How Apple Configures Chips
There’s another interesting angle to this story. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested that Apple may use TSMC’s latest chip packaging technology for the M5 Pro.
“Apple will be taking advantage of TSMC’s very latest chip packaging process known as SoIC-mH.”
This could be more than a technical detail. It may signal a shift in how Apple builds and sells its chips.
Cross suggests this packaging could allow Apple to mix and match CPU and GPU core counts more freely. In practical terms, this might mean you could buy an M5 Pro or M5 Max with a higher GPU count and fewer CPU cores, or vice versa, depending on your needs.
“It may be possible to buy an M5 Pro or M5 Max chip with more GPU and less CPU, if that would be a better balance for the workloads you run.”
However, Cross is careful to note that this is not confirmed. Even if Apple has the capability, it may still limit configurations for product lineup simplicity.
Bottom Line
If these estimates hold up, the M5 Max MacBook Pro could be the most powerful laptop Apple has ever made. The real story may not just be raw performance, but how Apple could start offering more flexible chip configurations for the first time.
Either way, the next MacBook Pro release is shaping up to be a meaningful upgrade for creators, developers, and power users.
