Apple has typically updated the MacBook Pro on a nearly annual basis, generally around October. This year, though, rumors suggest that Apple will be deviating from that pattern – and it’s increasingly likely that the next MacBook Pro model will launch early next year. That raises the question: should you wait for it?
M5 MacBook Pro: What to expect
With the M5 MacBook Pro, you’ll most definitely see the same 14-inch and 16-inch miniLED displays as prior MacBook Pro models, as well as the same general design language. There likely won’t be any noteworthy visual design changes.
On the inside, though, it’ll pack Apple’s latest M5 Apple Silicon. It should adopt the third-generation 3nm process, using TSMC’s N3P node. This’ll yield modest performance gains over M4, of roughly 10-20%.
Beyond the chipset, there is one hardware upgrade that may come to the M5 MacBook Pro that the M4 model doesn’t currently offer: Wi-Fi 7. Apple introduced Wi-Fi 7 support with the iPhone 16 lineup last fall, but it never made its way to the Mac lineup. Hopefully, that’ll change this year.
Other than that, though, it’s a light refresh. Much more noteworthy changes were made with the M4 MacBook Pro last year, where we saw Thunderbolt 5, a nano texture display option, a new 12MP Center Stage webcam, far brighter displays, as well as a much-improved base model offering.
Skip M5?
There are a couple reasons why you should probably consider skipping the M5 MacBook Pro model.
For one, as I referenced earlier – the M4 MacBook Pro was already a large refresh, so if you’re looking to upgrade an older M1 or M2 MacBook model, you should probably just upgrade now. M4 14-inch MacBook Pro recently hit an all-time low sale price of $1299, making it an incredibly compelling offering.
The much larger reason, though, is the upcoming M6 MacBook Pro. That model will reportedly be an ‘overhaul’, boasting a new OLED display, thinner design, and more.
With the M5 MacBook Pro on track to launch in the first quarter of 2026, and the M6 MacBook Pro set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026 – it seems like a no brainer to either buy an M4 model if you really need one, or hold out until M6 if you have the patience. The only exception to this rule being is if you’re someone who really wants Wi-Fi 7 on their MacBook.
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