M4 Pro vs M5 Pro

The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 Pro and the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Pro are the same laptop one generation apart. Both use the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display, Thunderbolt 5, a six-speaker sound system and a 24-hour battery. What changes is the silicon: the M5 Pro is a newer chip with a faster CPU, GPU and Neural Engine than the M4 Pro, and it upgrades the wireless stack to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. For most M4 Pro owners that is not a reason to upgrade; for a new buyer choosing between the two, the M5 Pro is the safer long-term pick.

MacBook Pro M4 Pro vs M5 Pro: the short answer

• The M5 Pro is the faster chip.Apple's M5 Pro improves CPU, GPU and Neural Engine performance over the M4 Pro, so it pulls ahead in exports, compiles and on-device AI.
• The wireless stack is the other real upgrade. The M5 Pro moves to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6; the M4 Pro stays on Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
• The screen, battery and ports are unchanged. Same Liquid Retina XDR panel, same 24-hour battery, same Thunderbolt 5. You will not see or feel a difference here.
• Upgrading an M4 Pro is hard to justify. The gap is a single generation. Buying new, take the M5 Pro; already on an M4 Pro, keep it.

MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 Pro - the newer chip

The MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 Pro is the one to buy if you are choosing new. Its M5 Pro chip is a genuine step up on the M4 Pro for sustained work such as video export, code compiles and on-device AI, and it does that on the same quiet, cool chassis. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 future-proof the wireless side, and our tracked configuration ships with 1 TB of storage. Everything else, the bright Liquid Retina XDR screen, Thunderbolt 5 and the 24-hour battery, carries over from the M4 Pro unchanged.

MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Pro - the value Pro

The MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Pro is still an excellent machine and, now that it is the outgoing model, the value pick of the two. Its M4 Pro chip handles the same professional workloads, just a shade slower than the M5 Pro, and it keeps the identical screen, ports and battery. The only things you give up are the newest chip and the move to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. If you can save money on an M4 Pro configuration, the day-to-day experience is nearly indistinguishable.

MacBook Pro M5 Pro vs M4 Pro spec sheet

Storage differs by configuration, not by generation. Both models are sold in a range of storage sizes.

Verdict

Buying new, choose the MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 Pro: it is the faster chip and adds Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for the same screen, battery and ports. Already on an M4 Pro, keep it, because a single-generation jump does not justify the cost, and the two feel the same in daily use. Shopping on price, the outgoing M4 Pro is the value Pro. For where these sit against the wider market, see our best laptop UK 2026 picks, and laptop processors explained for how Apple silicon compares with Intel, AMD and Snapdragon.