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The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025) feels like a rather small update over last year’s M4 model, with the bulk of improvements focused on AI performance. While the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025) might not seem like an essential upgrade for people using M4 and M3 MacBooks, this remains a superb workstation laptop with a stunning screen, thin and light design, and excellent build quality.

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00:03This time, we're diving into Apple's latest small upgrade or subtle beast laptop,
00:08the MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 2025 edition.
00:12Now, it's not a major overhaul, but still well worth your attention.
00:15I've got a spoiler alert for you.
00:17If you were coming from an older Intel Mac or a Windows laptop, this will impress you.
00:21If you've already got the previous-gen M4 MacBook Pro, you might blink and think, hmm, what's new?
00:30This is the 2025 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new M5 chip.
00:35That's a new piece of Apple Silicon, the latest, really, but the price stays the same as last year's base
00:40model.
00:41That's $1,599 in the US and 1,599 pounds in the UK.
00:47Even the base configuration provides loads of power and storage.
00:50It has the M5 chip with a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, 16 gigabytes of unified memory,
00:57and a 512 gigabyte SSD.
01:00Now, you may have noticed that the design is nearly identical to its predecessor and even the one before that.
01:06It has the same 14-inch chassis and the same mix of ports, including HDMI, SDXC card slot, 3.5
01:15-millimeter headphone jack, MagSafe 3, and three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports.
01:22So if you were hoping for a flashy makeover or a weight drop, you might feel a little let down.
01:26Apple is clearly playing the, if it ain't broke, don't fix it card here.
01:33The 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display has a resolution of 3024x1964, a refresh rate up to 120Hz thanks to
01:43ProMotion, and offers excellent contrast thanks to its mini-LED backlighting.
01:47Basically, the same as last MacBook Pro, but also still excellent.
01:51In practical terms, you should expect vivid colors, sharp detail, about 254 pixels per inch, and smooth scrolling.
01:59In our review, we found that the HDR content looks particularly good, and even though the display is not OLED,
02:04it manages deep, inky blacks with no hints of light bleak.
02:08Now, if you can get the optional nano-textured display for your cover here, it does cost you extra.
02:13You get a matte-like finish that cuts reflections really well, and this is useful if you work in bright,
02:19lit spaces.
02:23Build-wise, the MacBook Pro 14-inch has a solid, premium feel.
02:27But since the design is unchanged, you won't get any, you know, sort of new phone when you upgrade feel.
02:34When it comes to ports and connectivity, the MacBook Pro is pretty well-stocked.
02:38All the ports remain the same.
02:40HDMI, an SD card slot, MagSafe 3, 3X USB-C Thunderbolt ports.
02:47The USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 4, USB 4, at up to 40 gigabits per second.
02:53That's fast.
02:54However, and this is where Apple's frugal side sort of shows up, rivals are starting to ship Thunderbolt 5 at
03:00120 gigabits per second and Wi-Fi 7.
03:04This MacBook sticks with Wi-Fi 6E.
03:07For many users, Wi-Fi and USB speeds may not matter.
03:10But if you're moving huge video files externally or working in ultra-fast data sets, you might feel a little
03:17constrained.
03:18Ultimately, the ports are professional-grade, but not next-level-grade.
03:25It's time to talk about the biggest and certainly most meaningful change, that M5 chip.
03:31Now, the M5 chip is still a 10-core CPU.
03:35That's four high-performance cores and six high-efficiency cores, just like the previous generation.
03:41However, Apple claims 20% faster multi-threaded performance compared to the M4, thanks in part to faster memory bandwidth.
03:51153 gigabits per second versus 120 gigabits per second.
03:55In general, our benchmarks bear this out.
03:58Day-to-day tasks like video editing, music production, creative apps, all feel very smooth.
04:03In our tests, we opened multiple apps, browser windows, conducted 1080p video editing all at once.
04:09And the system, it didn't flinch.
04:10If you already have an M4 MacBook Pro, you might not perceive a big leap.
04:16We actually found it was hard to notice any significant generational boost.
04:21Not that we didn't see anything.
04:22Where you do see specific, meaningful gains is in the on-device AI capabilities.
04:27Apple has beefed up the neural engine and integrated what they call a neural accelerator in each GPU core to
04:34better handle AI tasks.
04:36According to Apple, the M5 MacBook Pro's LLM prompt processing is up to 4.6 times faster than the M4.
04:43In practice, when we tested the MacBook Pro generating images via Apple's Image Playground tool, it was pretty fast.
04:50How much you will care, though, will depend on how much you use on-device AI.
04:54Many workflows still lean on cloud services.
05:00Now, let's talk about something that really matters when it comes to a laptop.
05:04Battery life.
05:05You will be happy to hear that the battery life is another strong suit.
05:09The MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 has a 72.4 watts per hour battery.
05:13Apple claims up to 24 hours of video streaming and 16 hours of web browsing.
05:18Now, in our testing, we got 18 hours, 14 minutes of web browsing.
05:23And at 16.5 hours in our video loop test, the battery was still at 40%.
05:28Basically, you're looking at multiple workdays on a single charge.
05:32Crucially, performance doesn't dip when unplugged.
05:35Many laptops throttle when running on battery.
05:38Not this one.
05:39Editing and music work on battery felt the same as plugged in.
05:44So, if you're traveling, doing remote work, or hate being tethered to a wall, this MacBook Pro's battery game is
05:50top tier.
05:54The MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 is still a superb laptop with a fantastic screen, excellent battery life, and top
06:01-notch performance for most workloads.
06:04It is more of a refinement than a revolution.
06:06If you're upgrading from something older, total win.
06:09If you're already on last year's model, you might want to wait for the next big jump.
06:14Thanks so much for watching.
06:16Let me know in the comments.
06:17Are you thinking of picking up this MacBook Pro, sticking with your current one, or waiting for a redesign?
06:23Don't forget to like, subscribe, hit that bell icon for more tech reviews.
06:28I'll see you the next time with another Deep Dive.
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