Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M5, Space Black) Review

This 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip is a fantastic laptop for almost everything except gaming. Seriously, if you're buying this to play games, you're making a mistake. But for literally any other task—from editing videos to running a business to just watching movies—it's one of the best machines you can buy. The one thing to know is that it's incredibly polished and reliable, scoring in the 96th percentile for reliability. It just works, and it works beautifully.

The M5's 10-core CPU lands in the 75th percentile, which is plenty fast for professional work and daily tasks. The real surprise is the GPU, sitting in the 18th percentile. That confirms what the 'gaming' score of 42.6 tells you: this isn't a gaming laptop. But for video editing, 3D modeling, or other GPU-accelerated creative work, it's still more than capable. The 32GB of RAM and super-fast 1TB SSD make everything feel snappy and responsive.

At $1899, it's a lot of money. But you're paying for that near-perfect reliability, the best-in-class screen, and the seamless macOS experience. If your work depends on a machine that never lets you down, it's worth every penny. If you're just browsing the web, it's overkill.

The most direct competitor is the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Max. That machine has a much more powerful GPU, but it costs significantly more. If you need max performance and money is no object, get the M4 Max. If you want a Windows alternative, the ASUS Zenbook Duo offers incredible versatility with its dual screens for a similar price, but it won't match the Mac's build quality or battery life. For pure gaming power, any of the listed gaming laptops (Lenovo Legion, MSI Vector, Gigabyte AORUS) will run circles around this MacBook, but they'll be heavier, louder, and have worse battery life.

Buy this MacBook Pro if you're a creative pro, a business user, or anyone who values a flawless, reliable, and beautiful machine above all else. Its weakness in gaming is the only real compromise. For everyone else in that camp, it's an easy recommendation.