Apple MacBook Pro (2026) review

✨TL; DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)

The new MacBook Pro (14″/16″, 2026) gives us a huge jump in performance thanks to Apple’s M5 Pro/Max chips. Users report all-day battery life under heavy workloads and a “premium, familiar” design. The Liquid Retina XDR display is a thing of beauty, with class-leading brightness and colour accuracy ideal for creators. Back Market refurbishments save hundreds of pounds, with some M5 base models priced around £1,349 vs roughly £1,699 new, while customers say they often feel “brand new”. Overall, the pros of the MacBook Pro, like top-tier performance, battery life and build, easily outweigh the cons like the heavier weight and a persistent camera notch.

Can you trust this review?

At Back Market, the mission is tech that’s reliable, sustainable and affordable. Our tech experts have hands-on experience with the latest MacBook Pro models and Apple silicon. This MacBook Pro M5 review offers us a glimpse into the best MacBook Pro in 2026; it pulls information from official Apple specs, independent tests and real-user feedback, including Reddit and Back Market customer reviews, to give you an honest, expert perspective on design, performance, battery life and value.

What are the pros and cons of a MacBook Pro?

✨ Best for buyers who need serious performance and want a laptop that will stay useful for years.

What are the product features and benefits of the MacBook Pro?

This model is ideal for developers, 3D artists and AI researchers thanks to its level of power. It’s a serious laptop, so don’t waste your time for casual use.

Performance

✨4x faster AI performance and excellent for creative tasks and coding.

Performance is one of the biggest factors. The M5 Pro and M5 Max are the top players, offering up to 4x faster AI performance than the previous generation and up to 8x faster than M1 models. If you edit video, work in code or run AI tools, this is where the MacBook Pro earns its keep.

Display

✨Liquid Retina XDR with peak brightness and best display for video and photos.

When it comes to display, the Liquid Retina XDR panel is one of the best screens on any laptop, with 1,000 nits sustained brightness, 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness and a nano-texture option. This is the kind of display that makes photos, video and text look crisp all day long.

Battery Life

✨A full day of heavy use and there’s still time to spare.

Battery life is another positive factor, with up to 24 hours of video playback, and review testing shows it can handle a full day of real use with power left over. Long battery life is one of the strongest reasons to buy this model.

Keyboard and trackpad

✨The base M5 model and the higher-end M5 Pro and M5 Max models all deliver the same premium typing and trackpad feel.

Apple uses a backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 ANSI or 79 ISO keys, 12 full-height function keys, Touch ID, and an ambient light sensor. The Force Touch trackpad is just as strong. It gives precise cursor control, pressure sensing, Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi Touch gestures. This means you get fast typing, accurate navigation, and one of the best laptop trackpads around.

Flexible usage

✨More ports and works excellently with monitors, cameras and storage.

The MagSafe, HDMI, SDXC and Thunderbolt give it more flexibility than most thin laptops, and it’s a laptop that works well for people who plug into monitors, cameras and fast storage.

Camera, mics and speakers

✨Ideal for media, conference calls, online meetings, music and video.

When it comes to camera, mics and speakers, the 12MP Centre Stage camera, studio mics and six-speaker system make it a strong choice for things like conference calls and media. It’s as good for meetings as it is for music and films.

“Not surprising, but the MacBook Pro M5 is the best laptop I've ever owned.” - r/macbookpro

What’s the main difference between the MacBook M5 base model and the Pro M5?

The real differences between the base model and the Wi-Fi 7 version is wireless support and Thunderbolt changes, rather than how it feels to type or navigate day to day.

Base MacBook model

✨ The base model is the more straightforward choice.

The base 14-inch MacBook M5 has the same strong typing experience as the higher-end models. It uses a backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 or 79 keys, Touch ID, an ambient light sensor, and a Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi Touch gestures. The wireless setup is the main difference here, with this model listed with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. There is also a slight Thunderbolt limitation with the base M5 model using three Thunderbolt 4 ports with speeds up to 40Gb/s, while the M5 Pro and M5 Max models move to three Thunderbolt 5 ports with speeds up to 120Gb/s in bandwidth boost mode.

Wi-Fi 7 MacBook Pro M5 models

✨ The Wi-Fi 7 models are better for users who want the newest wireless standard.

The M5 Pro and M5 Max models keep the same Magic Keyboard and Force Touch trackpad, so the day-to-day feel stays the same across the range. The upgrade is in wireless hardware. These models use Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip, which brings Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread networking technology.

What are the product specs of the MacBook Pro?

✨ The 14-inch is the easier carry, while the 16-inch gives you more screen space and a bit more battery headroom.

How does the MacBook Pro M5 Pro compare to rival premium laptops

The MacBook Pro M5 is in the same premium space as the best Windows creator laptops and comes with a strong mix of speed, battery life, and pro-level connectivity.

MacBook Pro M5 vs Dell XPS 16

Dell’s revived XPS 16 is a close Windows rival because it matches the MacBook Pro on premium build and goes hard on creator features. It offers up to an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, up to 64GB LPDDR5X, up to a 4TB Gen 5 SSD, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, three Thunderbolt 5 ports, and either a 1–120Hz adaptive-refresh non-touch display or a 120Hz OLED touch panel. Dell also brings back a full function key row and has ahaptic touchpad.

The MacBook Pro M5 Pro has the edge if the battery life and a fuller built-in port mix matter the most to you. Apple lists up to 24 hours of battery life, a Liquid Retina XDR display with 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, and ports that include HDMI, MagSafe 3, an SDXC slot, three Thunderbolt 4 or 5 ports, and a headphone jack.

MacBook Pro M5 vs Asus ProArt P16

Asus pushes the ProArt P16 harder on graphics and screen tech, and top model combines an Nvidia RTX 5090 with a 16-inch 4K tandem OLED touch display, 1,600 nits HDR brightness, 120Hz VRR, an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip, 64GB of LPDDR5X memory, a 4TB SSD, Wi Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and creator friendly ports including USB4, USB A, HDMI 2.1, and an SD Express slot. It is being positioned as a direct Windows alternative to the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro M5 still feels more balanced and easier to live with, especially for long sessions. Apple’s model has the same strong display, long battery life, and pro-level port setup, which makes it the better choice for users who want a premium laptop that can move from office work to creative work easily. The Asus is the more aggressive pick for people who need touch input and Nvidia power, while the Mac is still the better fit for battery life.

What are some shopping tips for buying a MacBook Pro?

✨ For most buyers, the smartest move is to compare new and refurbished prices before you buy.

If you’re looking for the best value for money, buying refurbished from Back Market is one of the best options. The latest MacBook Pro’s performance is excellent, but the price feels borderline extortionate when you’re buying it new. A refurbished unit can give you the same experience for a much better price. This will also save you from having to wait all year for sales such as Black Friday.

Choose the 14-inch if you want a laptop that is easier to carry. Choose the 16-inch if you want a bigger screen and more room for editing, coding or split-screen work.

Consider matching the memory and storage you need to your workload because RAM and SSD storage cannot be upgraded later, so it’s worth paying for the spec you will actually use.

What does refurbished MacBook Pro mean?

✨ Refurbished is the easiest way to get top-end MacBook Pro power without paying the full launch price.

A refurbished MacBook Pro is a pre-owned device that has been checked, cleaned, repaired (if needed) and tested before sale. Back Market has a focus on quality and does everything possible to ensure you get what you pay for and more. That means you still get premium Apple hardware but for less than the cost of buying new and with less electronic waste. Plus, you also get a 1-year commercial warranty.

What is Back Market’s trade-in programme?

✨ Trading in old kit can make a MacBook Pro upgrade much easier to justify.

Back Market’s trade-in programme lets you send in old tech for a quote and put that value towards your next device. It can lower the cost of an upgrade and help keep another usable device in circulation.

What is the price comparison between a new MacBook Pro and a refurbished one?

Prices vary by storage, memory, screen size and condition, but refurbished comes in cheaper the majority of the time.

* Back Market prices are set by sellers and taken at the date of publication — these are subject to change.

**New price as listed on Apple.co.uk at time of publication.

What are some final thoughts on the MacBook Pro?

The latest MacBook Pro is still the benchmark for buyers who need a laptop that can handle heavy creative work without compromising on quality. It’s not the cheapest choice, and it’s more powerful and capable than many people need, but it makes sense for creators, developers and anyone who wants a machine that can stay useful for years.

Buying refurbished from Back Market gives you the same premium feel for much less, with a lighter impact on your wallet and the planet. If you need the power and efficiency, this is still one of the safest premium buys around.