Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5: A New Benchmark for AI-Driven Performance
Apple has introduced the 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the new M5 chip, signaling a significant leap in AI capabilities and overall compute performance. With a starting price in India set at Rs 1,69,999, pre-orders are underway and the device is slated to begin shipping on October 22 in select markets, including India. The updated model maintains Apple’s familiar design language while packing a much more capable processor designed to accelerate AI workloads, graphics rendering, and software development tasks.
Pricing and Availability in India
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 chip is available for pre-order on apple.com/in and via the Apple Store app, with in-store availability beginning Wednesday, October 22 at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers across India. The base price in India is Rs 1,69,900, with an education price of Rs 1,59,900 offering a more affordable entry for students and educators. Apple Trade In is also supported, allowing eligible devices to be exchanged for credit toward the new machine.
What’s New Under the Hood: The M5 Chip
The standout upgrade on the new 14-inch MacBook Pro is the M5 chip. It features a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling noticeably faster AI workloads and smoother on-device machine learning tasks. Apple claims AI performance can be up to 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, with substantial gains across a variety of workflows.
Key Performance Gains
- AI Performance: Up to 86 times faster than older Intel-based MacBooks and six times faster than M1 models.
- Graphics and Rendering: Up to 1.6 times faster in graphics; 3D rendering is significantly quicker, with Blender workloads reported to be up to 6.8 times faster than M1 models.
- CPU Speed: Apple touts the M5 as delivering the world’s fastest CPU for a laptop, enhancing compile times and multi-threaded tasks.
- Code Compiling and Gaming: Xcode builds and simulations see a notable speed boost, with gaming frame rates improving up to 3.2x over M1 configurations.
Battery Life and Storage
Battery life continues to be a strong selling point for MacBook Pro models, and Apple claims up to 24 hours of battery life on the M5 variant. This marks a substantial improvement over older generations, translating to longer work sessions between charges. Storage options are upgraded as well, with SSDs offering up to twice the read/write speeds of the previous generation. The base model ships with 16GB of unified memory, and configurations can be upgraded to a generous 4TB of SSD storage, providing ample headroom for professional workflows and large media libraries.
Design, Display, and What You Get
The design language remains consistent with Apple’s established 14-inch Pro line: a sleek, professional chassis available in Space Black and Silver. While external aesthetics stay familiar, the internal upgrades—from the M5 chip to faster storage—translate to noticeable real-world improvements in application launch times, build pipelines, 3D rendering, and AI-powered tasks. The display, keyboard, ports, and overall build quality continue to align with the Pro-class notebooks, making it a compelling upgrade path for developers, creators, and power users.
Who Should Consider Upgrading?
Professionals who rely on AI-assisted workflows, such as data scientists, video editors, 3D artists, and software developers, will likely see meaningful productivity gains. The M5-Led performance uplift is particularly evident in tasks that leverage on-device AI acceleration, like real-time media processing, intelligent assistants, and code compilation. If you frequently run demanding software suites or work with large project files, the increased RAM headroom and faster storage will be noticeable day-to-day.
Final Take
With the 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip, Apple aims to redefine portable AI-ready performance. For Indian buyers, the price point is competitive given the claimed gains in AI workloads, graphics, and CPU speed, along with improved battery endurance and faster storage. Pre-orders are live now, with shipping starting October 22, making this an appealing upgrade window for eligible professionals and creators in India.
