"Apple's Latest MacBook: The World's Best with a Stunning Screen Upgrade That Will Turn Heads!"

APPLE is running rings around the laptop industry – and the new MacBook Pro is its star athlete.

I’ve been trying out the new MacBook Pro M5, which is now so powerful that it’s actually hard to describe. But I’m going to do my best because, for some of you, this is the best laptop that money can buy. For others, there’s a better option.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro is powered by the ludicrously fast M5 chipCredit: Sean Keach The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach has been trying it outCredit: Sean Keach

Normally I start reviews with design. How does it look? Is it physically nice to use?

But I want to kick this review off with the MacBook’s computing heft – and I’ll do my best to make is a thrilling as possible.

Apple MacBook Pro M5, £1,599

Apple MacBook Pro M5 performance – is it powerful?

For the uninitiated, began creating its own processors a few years ago.

It switched away from chips and launched its own line of M processors.

You’ll find them in everything from the MacBook to the and even the Apple Vision Pro, the posh headset that you don to enter virtual worlds.

They’ve earned rave reviews from just about everyone.

And the new MacBook Pro is stuffed with the most advanced of the lot: the .

But there’s a problem.

Apple’s latest M-series chips are now so powerful that it can be hard to quantify exactly how good they are for pro users, never mind casual MacBook owners.

It’s increasingly difficult to find tasks that challenge the machine.

Testament to this is the fact that so many people using still rave about their performance.

You’ll find no shortage of people in Apple enthusiast forums who say they still don’t need to upgrade those machines.

The MacBook Pro is my main machine. I use it to write, to edit images in , and to create videos with Final Cut Pro.

The laptop runs on macOS Tahoe, a powerful operating system that’s easy to pick upCredit: Sean Keach

And sometimes I’ll use it for or watching telly too.

My broad experience across all of those tasks is: nothing has challenged it yet.

I can edit multi-layered, high-resolution video without difficulty. I can work on dense Photoshop files quickly.

And I usually run about 12 virtual desktops, each crammed with browsers, note-taking , my reminders, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, , , and more.

There’s just no lag. I flit between desktops and apps with ease. And if I want a new one open, it launches in the blink of an eye.

My workflows just don’t come close to challenging this chip.

For true power users, Apple says you’re getting 3.5x faster AI performance versus last year’s already-speedy M4 chip.

And 6x faster performance versus the original M1 chip, which – as I already mentioned – remains impressive even in 2025.

The laptop is light and portable – with a well-equipped keyboard and generously sized trackpadCredit: Sean Keach

The truth is that this is as good as it gets when it comes to Mac computing – at least until the M6 appears.

Many people – even lots of Pro users – don’t even need this much performance.

The world is yet to catch up with these processing speeds, at least for the vast majority.

So if you’re looking for a future-proofed device, this is certainly a good buy.

Apple MacBook Pro M5 design & features – does it look good?

Of course, a MacBook is about much more than its raw performance, so let’s move on.

This is a classic MacBook Pro, and it looks as beautiful as ever.

It’s got that iconic metal design with rounded edges, as well as fairly safe Space Black and Silver colour options.

I prefer Space Black. It’s a bit more characterful.

This MacBook packs a load of ports – including a 3.5mm headphone jackCredit: Sean Keach

If I could make a wish for Apple’s design department, it’s that they’d expend the colour options like they did for this year’s line-up.

I’d probably pay extra for a Cosmic Orange MacBook Pro.

This new M5 model is only available with a 14-inch display. It’s a solid panel size that will suit most people.

I prefer it to the larger 16-inch MacBooks. It’s lighter, fits in my backpack more easily, and doesn’t hog too much precious desk real estate.

There’s also a screen upgrade that you should consider: the Nano-Texture Display.

It’s a paid extra but it gives your MacBook Pro a delightful matte look that’s less reflective.

So it has practical use. But it also makes the screen just look better. It’s immensely satisfying. And it’s also very eye-catching – expect envious looks from hipsters at the local artisan coffee shop.

The trackpad works great and is very large, as is the backlit keyboard, which is easy to type on and has all of the keys you’d usually need (including a function row).

It also has an SD card slot if you want to plug in some extra storageCredit: Sean Keach

Apple has fitted the MacBook Pro with a six-speaker sound system that is actually very powerful.

Often I’ll just use my MacBook Pro for playing music in a room versus beaming the audio to a speaker.

It has great depth and clarity even at low volumes, and doesn’t distort when you crank it up to max volume (which is more than loud enough for most uses).

As usual, the MacBook Pro features an SSD, or solid state drive, for storage.

They’re much faster than the whirring hard disc drives of yore.

And this latest SSD is faster still, which is handy if you’re exporting large files – or playing .

And you can spec it up to a very generous 4TB of storage, which is useful if you’re working with large video files.

Apple MacBook Pro M5 usability

The laptop runs on the latest version of Apple’s computer software: macOS Tahoe.

Apple’s new MacBook really has earned its Pro monikerCredit: Apple

And the most obvious difference is visual, due to Apple’s new Liquid Glass look.

This glassy, translucent aesthetic has rolled out across most of Apple’s gadgets, including the with and the iPad with iPadOS 26.

Reception to the new look has been mixed, but I think it looks pretty slick on Mac.

But macOS Tahoe also delivers some genuinely useful tweaks too.

Apple’s feature lets you make phone and FaceTime calls in foreign languages – and it works in Messages for text chats too.

And Spotlight Search, which you access by dragging all of your fingers together on the trackpad, has been tweaked to make it easier to find what you’re looking for on your Mac (and then take action).

MacOS is very easy to use, even if you’re coming from Windows.

And with the M5 powering this beast, you’ll have no bother moving around heavy workloads.

The laptop will easily last you a full day on a single chargeCredit: Apple

My tip: swipe up with four fingers and then add multiple desktops at the top.

Then put a single window or two on each virtual desktop.

Once you’ve done that, you can swipe left or right with four fingers to quickly switch between virtual desktops.

It’s a game-changer for productivity, and makes life much easier versus stacking loads of windows on top of each other.

Battery life is officially listed as 24 hours.

Obviously your mileage may vary, and someone just watching movies non-stop will have a different experience to a person doing heavy video-editing.

But it’s easily lasting me a full day of work, and would probably take me through two.

And as a last point, connectivity is very good.

You’ve got Apple’s charging connector on the left side, plus two USB-C ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

And then on the right side, there’s a HDMI connector, another USB-C port, and an SD card slot.

So it’s fairly well tooled for most use-cases.

And with this many USB-C ports, you can very easily expand it.

It’s also worth noting that the USB-C ports offer Thunderbolt connectivity. So if you have a Thunderbolt cable, you’re in for blisteringly fast transfer rates.

I used a Thunderbolt cable to transfer everything across from my old MacBook Pro. And it managed the job in minutes, even though I was moving about 700GB of files across.

Lastly, the power button has a Touch ID fingerprint scanner built-in.

It’s extremely convenient for unlocking the laptop, as well as verifying log-ins and making Apple Pay payments. Very neat.

Apple MacBook Pro M5 verdict – should you buy it?

The problem for the MacBook Pro is that the MacBook Air is also extremely good.

Apple’s M-powered Air models are serious workhorses, and are also very light.

So lots of people who might have benefitted from a Pro years ago could get along just fine with an Air.

That said, the MacBook Pro delivers phenomenal power and usability that’s hard to match.

This model has the matte Nano-Texture display, which looks fantastic – but will cost you extraCredit: Sean Keach

This is almost certainly the best laptop on the planet for many people – and probably me included.

And for £1,599 / $1,599 (or £100/$100 less with education pricing), that’s not too bad.

If you’re on a budget or you’re a casual user, the Air is a much more sensible buy.

But if you want a future-proofed powerhouse that will handle anything that you chuck it at, this is the machine for you.

The Sun says: A ludicrously powerful and strikingly beautiful machine, Apple’s new MacBook Pro M5 is probably the best laptop in the world. But please, make one in Cosmic Orange. 5/5

Apple MacBook Pro M5, £1,599

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.

Always do your own research before making any purchase.