Apple's fastest laptop starts to show its age - Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Review

Name: Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max
Brand: Apple

Excellent performance, insufficient PSU.

The MacBook Pro 16 handles the M5 Max SoC much better than the smaller 14-inch model. It is still a great multimedia laptop with a gorgeous Mini-LED screen, but the old design starts to show limitations and the 140W power adapter is insufficient.
Andreas Osthoff 👁 Published 08/27/2026
AI Apple ARM Laptop MacBook macOS Thunderbolt Wi-Fi 7

Verdict - MacBook Pro is still an excellent multimedia laptop, but starts to show its age

We already know that the 2026 MacBook Pro 16 is an excellent multimedia laptop from our review of the M5 Pro unit a couple of months ago, but the larger 16-inch chassis handles the powerful M5 Max SoC much better compared to the MacBook Pro 14 and the performance is both better as well as more consistent. However, even the MacBook Pro 16 cannot utilize the full potential of the M5 Max and the cooling system can only handle 70 Watts. While this was sufficient for the older chips like the M1 Max and M2 Max 4 or 5 years ago, it simply is not enough today. Combined with the insufficient power adapter and limitations regarding the power delivery (the battery level drops by 12 % in one hour under full load, even with more powerful PSUs), it simply shows that the current chassis and cooling unit need a redesign.

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Test device courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de

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Don't get us wrong, the MacBook Pro 16 is still a very powerful system and the cooling unit is usually very quiet or even inaudible, but considering the prices you must pay, these limitations are not ideal. This is also the case for the Wi-Fi 7 module, which only supports 160 MHz, so transfer rates are capped at around 2 Gbps (instead of 3-4 Gbps on 320 MHz modules).

The Mini-LED panel on the other hand can still easily keep up with the best tandem OLED panels in terms of image impression, brightness and color accuracy. You can also get a matte version and if rumors are true, there will soon be a MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen. All in all, the MacBook Pro 16 with the M5 Max is one of the most powerful and complete packages you can get in the multimedia segment, despite the drawbacks.

Pros

+ high-quality and stable case

+ brilliant display with accurate colors/optionally with a matte panel

+ extremely high HDR/SDR brightness

+ always extremely quiet during everyday use

+ very high system performance

+ very long runtimes

+ excellent speakers

+ up to 128 GB RAM and 8 TB SSD storage (M5 Max)

+ 12-MP webcam with advanced functions

+ Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 5 and PCIe 5.0 SSDs

Cons

- insufficient power adapter

- constant PWM flickering & slow response times

- only 12-month warranty

- practically no maintenance options

- no SD-Express support

- Wi-Fi 7 limited to 160 MHz

- webcam without Face-ID, low resolution when taking photos/videos

Price and Availability

You can get our review unit with the M5 Max, 48 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD storage for $4499 from Amazon.

$4,274.05

Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Max chip with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU: Built for AI, 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 48GB Unified Memory, 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Space Black

Bestpreis 4768.78 € Mindfactory

Apple MacBook Pro 16.2", Space Black, M5 Max - 18 Core CPU / 40 Core GPU, 48GB RAM, 2TB SSD, DE [2026] (MGEE4D/A)

2. 4768.83 € Jacob Elektronik direkt
3. 4768.84 € electronis.de
4. 4769 € PC-KING

Verdict - MacBook Pro is still an excellent multimedia laptop, but starts to show its age
Specifications
Case, Connectivity & Input Devices
Display - Gorgeous Mini-LED panel
Performance - M5 Max with 48 GB RAM
Emissions & Power Consumption
Notebookcheck Rating
Potential Competitors in Comparison

Specifications

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max (MacBook Pro 16 2026 Series)

Processor

Apple M5 Max 18c/18t, 6 x 4.6 GHz Apple M5 S-Core, 12 x 4.4 GHz Apple M5 P-Core, 75 W PL2 / Short Burst, 70 W PL1 / Sustained

Graphics adapter

Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, 72 W TDP

Memory

48 GB

, LPDDR5x-9600, onboard

Display

16.20 inch 16:10, 3456 x 2234 pixel 254 PPI, Mini-LED, glossy: yes, HDR, 120 Hz

Storage

Apple SSD AP2048Z, 2048 GB

, 1986 GB free

Connections

3 USB4 80 Gbps, 3 Thunderbolt 5, USB-C Power Delivery (PD), 1 HDMI, 3 DisplayPort, 1 Docking Station Port, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm stereo, Card Reader: SDXC, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor

Networking

Apple N1 160MHz Wi-Fi 7 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/ Wi-Fi 6E 6 GHz be = Wi-Fi 7), Bluetooth 6

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 ( = 0.66 x 14 x 9.77 in)

Battery

99.6 Wh, 8607 mAh Lithium-Ion

Operating System

Apple macOS 26 Tahoe

Camera

Webcam: 12 MP Center Stage
Primary Camera: 12 MPix

Additional features

Speakers: six-speaker sound system, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 12 Months Warranty

Weight

2.144 kg ( = 75.63 oz / 4.73 pounds)

Price

5699 Euro

Amazon

$4,274.05

Links

Apple homepage

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

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Case, Connectivity & Input Devices

The chassis is familiar from previous generations and you get a high-quality aluminum chassis with good input devices as well as Thunderbolt 5 connectivity (three ports). However, the chassis is also pretty heavy at 2.14 kg and there are lighter alternatives. Maintenance options are still limited to the cleaning of the fans, because all components are soldered. Apple's N1 chip provides Bluetooth 6 as well as Wi-Fi 7, but it is limited to 160 MHz so transfer rates are capped at around 2 Gbps. The SDXC-card reader is fast, but does not support the SD-Express standard. The 12 MP CenterStage webcam works well, but the resolution of pictures and videos is low and it still does not support Face-ID.

Left: MagSafe, 2x USB-C 4.0 w/ Thunderbolt 5 (120 Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, Power Delivery), 3.5 mm stereo jack

Right: SDXC-card reader, USB-C 4.0 w/ Thunderbolt 5 (120 Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, Power Delivery), HDMI

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (ADATA SD8.0 Express 512 GBAV Pro V60)	531 MB/s +195%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	82.6 MB/s -54%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	180 MB/s
Average of class Multimedia (22.3 - 531, n=36, last 2 years)	128.1 MB/s -29%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	125.4 MB/s -30%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	83.9 MB/s -53%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	82.7 MB/s -54%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	76.3 MB/s -58%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (ADATA SD8.0 Express 512 GB)	1455.3 MB/s +513%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	91.2 MB/s -62%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	237.3 MB/s
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	222.3 MB/s -6%
Average of class Multimedia (37.3 - 1455, n=35, last 2 years)	199 MB/s -16%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	88.9 MB/s -63%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	88.7 MB/s -63%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H (Angelbird AV Pro V60)	88.4 MB/s -63%

Networking
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple N1 160MHz Wi-Fi 7
iperf3 receive Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U	1933 (min: 1842) MBit/s ∼100%
iperf3 transmit Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U	1826 (min: 1726) MBit/s ∼100%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple N1 160MHz Wi-Fi 7
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	1786 (min: 1714) MBit/s ∼100%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	1812 (min: 1721) MBit/s ∼100%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE211 320MHz
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	875 (min: 459) MBit/s ∼49%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	852 (min: 701) MBit/s ∼47%
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz	1619 (min: 1525) MBit/s ∼100%
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz	1735 (min: 1715) MBit/s ∼100%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE211 320MHz
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	1604 (min: 1449) MBit/s ∼90%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	1582 (min: 1343) MBit/s ∼87%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel BE201 320MHz
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	1701 (min: 1633) MBit/s ∼95%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	1736 (min: 1719) MBit/s ∼96%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 320MHz
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	1627 (min: 1478) MBit/s ∼91%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	1670 (min: 1596) MBit/s ∼92%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel BE201 320MHz
iperf3 transmit AXE11000	1681 (min: 1610) MBit/s ∼94%
iperf3 receive AXE11000	1724 (min: 1659) MBit/s ∼95%

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; iperf3 receive Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U: Ø1933 (1842-1985) MBit/s

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; iperf3 transmit Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U: Ø1826 (1726-1876) MBit/s

ColorChecker Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max: 13.58 ∆E min: 7.58 - max: 19.82 ∆E

Display - Gorgeous Mini-LED panel

Apple still uses the same Mini-LED panel (16.2-inch, 3456 x 2204 pixels, 120 Hz, glossy, no touchscreen), which is also available in a matte version. Image quality is still impressive after many years and you get perfect blacks and very accurate colors. There is flickering due to the Mini-LED backlight, but the frequency is very high at almost 15 kHz, so there should not be any issues. We still have no accurate way of determining response times of Mini-LED panels due to the constant flickering, so the displayed results are not completely accurate. Keep in mind that the panel itself is an IPS screen, so response times will always be slower compared to OLED panels. In practice, however, we did not notice any issues with ghosting.

In terms of brightness, the Mini-HDR panel can still easily keep up with the best tandem OLED panels on the market. We determined an SDR brightness close to 700 nits without the light sensor and up to 1164 nits when the sensor is active. For HDR contents, we measured up to 1737 nits and 1325 nits for a completely white image. HDR handling in macOS is also still superior to Windows. The panel covers the sRGB and P3 color spaces completely and color accuracy is excellent in our analysis with the professional CalMAN software, but keep in mind that the brightness is limited by macOS when you work in the sRGB color space.

Max. SDR brightness with ambient light sensor (1164 nits)


688 cd/m²	692 cd/m²	679 cd/m²
690 cd/m²	710 cd/m²	685 cd/m²
668 cd/m²	666 cd/m²	657 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

tested with X-Rite i1Pro 3

Maximum: 710 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 681.7 cd/m² Minimum: 1.2 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 710 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 1.1 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.7}
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 2.7 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø4.95}
88.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
99.3% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2
CCT: 6760 K

	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.2", 120 Hz	Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 ATNA60KA01-0, OLED, 3200x2000, 16", 120 Hz	Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 ATNA60HC03-0, OLED, 3840x2400, 16", 120 Hz	Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H LG Philips 160WV1, OLED, 3200x2000, 16", 120 Hz	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra ATNA60HR05-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 16", 120 Hz	Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE ATNA60KA02-0, Tandem-OLED, 3200x2000, 16", 120 Hz	Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NE160QDM-NZB, IPS, 2560x1600, 16", 240 Hz
Display		0%	-2%	-15%	-9%	-3%	-2%
HDR Peak Brightness (cd/m²)	1737	1600 -8%	1600 -8%	518 -70%	1182 -32%	1530 -12%
Display P3 Coverage (%)	99.3	97.4 -2%	98.9 0%	99.5 0%	97 -2%	98.8 -1%	96.7 -3%
sRGB Coverage (%)	100	100 0%	100 0%	100 0%	99.9 0%	100 0%	99.8 0%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage (%)	88.2	96.8 10%	88.6 0%	96.5 9%	85.3 -3%	88.9 1%	86.5 -2%
Response Times		91%	85%	87%	62%	91%	78%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * (ms)	43 ?(9.6, 33.4)	0.27 ?(0.13, 0.14) 99%	0.3 ?(0.14, 0.16) 99%	0.65 ?(0.36, 0.29) 98%	0.5 ?(0.25, 0.25) 99%	0.26 ?(0.12, 0.14) 99%	13.2 ?(6.3, 6.9) 69%
Response Time Black / White * (ms)	41.2 ?(24.5, 16.7)	0.37 ?(0.2, 0.17) 99%	0.45 ?(0.26, 0.19) 99%	0.87 ?(0.43, 0.44) 98%	0.4 ?(0.2, 0.2) 99%	0.42 ?(0.23, 0.19) 99%	5.8 ?(1.9, 3.9) 86%
PWM Frequency (Hz)	14880	1200	480 ?(80)	240.2 ?(100)	240 ?(100)	1200 ?(70)
PWM Amplitude * (%)	90	22 76%	38 58%	31 66%	100 -11%	22 76%
Screen		29%	27%	-95%	1%	-31%	-47%
Brightness middle (cd/m²)	710	974 37%	661 -7%	395.4 -44%	499 -30%	578 -19%	504 -29%
Brightness (cd/m²)	682	979 44%	663 -3%	392 -43%	505 -26%	583 -15%	504 -26%
Brightness Distribution (%)	93	98 5%	99 6%	95 2%	97 4%	98 5%	94 1%
Black Level * (cd/m²)							0.37
Colorchecker dE 2000 *	1.1	0.9 18%	0.5 55%	3.69 -235%	0.9 18%	1.6 -45%	2 -82%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *	2.1	1.7 19%	1.4 33%	7.94 -278%	2.1 -0%	4.5 -114%	4.7 -124%
Greyscale dE 2000 *	2.7	1.3 52%	0.6 78%	1.9 30%	1.6 41%	2.6 4%	3.2 -19%
Gamma	2 ^110%	2.21 ^100%	2.19 ^100%	2.28 ^96%	2.22 ^99%	2.19 ^100%	2.22 ^99%
CCT	6760 ^96%	6751 ^96%	6565 ^99%	6274 ^104%	6445 ^101%	6527 ^100%	7188 ^90%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *				0.68			0.7
Contrast (:1)							1362
Total Average (Program / Settings)		40% / 35%	37% / 32%	-8% / -28%	18% / 12%	19% / 6%	10% / -12%

* ... smaller is better

Outdoors (bright day, no direct sunlight)

Performance - M5 Max with 48 GB RAM

Testing Conditions

The table below shows the different power profiles and the performance figures. We used the High Power mode for our benchmarks and measurements to show the maximum performance potential of the M5 Max. The Automatic mode is still very powerful and we recommend it for everyday tasks. The results are identical on battery power.

	CPU (Watts)	CB2024 Multi (points)	GPU (Watts)	Steel Nomad (points)	Cyberpunk 2077 QHD Ultra (fps)	TDP Stress test CPU&GPU (Watts)	max. fan noise (dB(A))
Low Power	13	999	9	2096	30	13	24.8
Auto	75/54	2312	72/38	4373	62.7	94/48	40.9
High Power	2490	2073	72/42	4386	63.1	114/70	53.9

Processor

The M5 Max CPU can consume up to 75 Watts and levels off at 70 Watts under sustained workloads, so the performance is very stable. The single-core performance of the current M5 generation is still ridiculous and at least two generations ahead of the competition (even Qualcomm just caught up to the M3 generation) and the multi-core performance is also excellent. Compared to its direct Windows competition, it can be up to twice as powerful; only the HX-CPUs from Intel and AMD in powerful gaming laptops can keep up to a certain degree. However, you also get this level of performance on battery power on the MacBook, which is not the case on Windows laptops.

CPU Performance rating: Percent
Cinebench 2024: CPU Multi Core | CPU Single Core
Geekbench 6.7: Multi-Core | Single-Core

CPU Performance rating
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max	99.8 pt
Average Apple M5 Max	97.5 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	97 pt
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	66.5 pt
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	60.1 pt
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	58.3 pt
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	57.9 pt
Average of class Multimedia	57.1 pt
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	56.7 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	56.3 pt

Cinebench 2024 / CPU Multi Core
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max	2490 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	2347 Points -6%
Average Apple M5 Max (2073 - 2490, n=3)	2333 Points -6%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	1758 Points -29%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	1242 Points -50%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	1232 Points -51%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	1189 Points -52%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	1122 Points -55%
Average of class Multimedia (327 - 2490, n=62, last 2 years)	1107 Points -56%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	1004 Points -60%

Cinebench 2024 / CPU Single Core
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	201 Points +1%
Average Apple M5 Max (199 - 201, n=3)	200 Points +1%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max	199 Points
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	131.1 Points -34%
Average of class Multimedia (72.5 - 201, n=55, last 2 years)	130.1 Points -35%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	127.6 Points -36%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	124.8 Points -37%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	123.7 Points -38%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	122.4 Points -38%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	116 Points -42%

Geekbench 6.7 / Multi-Core
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max	30057 Points
Average Apple M5 Max (29000 - 30057, n=5)	29392 Points -2%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	28436 Points -5%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	18521 Points -38%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	17903 Points -40%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	17405 Points -42%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	16943 Points -44%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	16676 Points -45%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	15567 Points -48%
Average of class Multimedia (4983 - 30057, n=66, last 2 years)	15393 Points -49%

Geekbench 6.7 / Single-Core
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max	4336 Points
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	4295 Points -1%
Average Apple M5 Max (4200 - 4336, n=5)	4292 Points -1%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	3015 Points -30%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	2967 Points -32%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	2963 Points -32%
Average of class Multimedia (1534 - 4336, n=65, last 2 years)	2951 Points -32%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	2919 Points -33%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	2903 Points -33%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	2851 Points -34%

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

4529 Points

Cinebench 2024 CPU Single Core

199 Points

Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi Core

2490 Points

Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi

9194 Points

Cinebench 2026 CPU Single Thread

734 Points

Help

... in comparison

System & SSD Performance

System performance is excellent and the MacBook Pro 16 is a very responsive system, even though you will not notice a difference between the M5 Max or the base model in everyday situations. Apple uses PCIe 5.0 SSDs and our 2 TB drive (1.94 TB free) manages transfer rates of up to 17 GB/s (write) or 13 GB/s (read), respectively.

Performance rating: Percent
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total

Performance rating
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	92.7 pt
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	87.7 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	83.2 pt
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	61.3 pt
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	57.9 pt
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	57.5 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	56.9 pt
Average of class Multimedia	54.3 pt
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	52.5 pt
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	52.3 pt

CrossMark / Overall
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	3231 Points
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (2728 - 3231, n=2)	2980 Points -8%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	2725 Points -16%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	2236 Points -31%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	2114 Points -35%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	2077 Points -36%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	2066 Points -36%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	1956 Points -39%
Average of class Multimedia (866 - 3231, n=59, last 2 years)	1921 Points -41%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	1905 Points -41%

CrossMark / Productivity
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	2677 Points
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (2477 - 2677, n=2)	2577 Points -4%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	2489 Points -7%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	2092 Points -22%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	1943 Points -27%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	1920 Points -28%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	1898 Points -29%
Average of class Multimedia (931 - 2677, n=59, last 2 years)	1796 Points -33%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	1768 Points -34%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	1688 Points -37%

CrossMark / Creativity
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	4522 Points
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (3465 - 4522, n=2)	3994 Points -12%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	3438 Points -24%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	2529 Points -44%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	2470 Points -45%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	2438 Points -46%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	2384 Points -47%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	2362 Points -48%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	2296 Points -49%
Average of class Multimedia (907 - 4522, n=59, last 2 years)	2219 Points -51%

CrossMark / Responsiveness
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	2073 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	2024 Points -2%
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (1777 - 2073, n=2)	1925 Points -7%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	1780 Points -14%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	1706 Points -18%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	1629 Points -21%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	1617 Points -22%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	1565 Points -25%
Average of class Multimedia (605 - 2073, n=59, last 2 years)	1555 Points -25%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	1505 Points -27%

WebXPRT 3 / Overall
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	622 Points
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (584 - 622, n=2)	603 Points -3%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	596 Points -4%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	345 Points -45%
Average of class Multimedia (136.4 - 622, n=62, last 2 years)	343 Points -45%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	326 Points -48%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	317 Points -49%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	304 Points -51%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	304 Points -51%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	298 Points -52%

WebXPRT 4 / Overall
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	415 Points
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (397 - 415, n=2)	406 Points -2%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	402 Points -3%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	313 Points -25%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	311 Points -25%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	303 Points -27%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	300 Points -28%
Average of class Multimedia (167.3 - 415, n=64, last 2 years)	293 Points -29%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	292 Points -30%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	244 Points -41%

Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 7 356H, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1	463 ms * -97%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, Ultra X7 358H	450 ms * -91%
Average of class Multimedia (228 - 835, n=65, last 2 years)	447 ms * -90%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD	444 ms * -89%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Ultra 9 285H, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101	433 ms * -84%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA	427 ms * -81%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Ultra 7 255HX, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N	423 ms * -80%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z	235.5 ms *
Average Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (233 - 236, n=2)	234 ms * +1%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z	230 ms * +2%

* ... smaller is better

Drive Performance rating | Blackmagic Disk Speed Test

Drive Performance rating - Percent
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP8192Z	100 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple SSD AP4096Z	88.4 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP2048Z	84.3 pt
Average of class Multimedia	55.6 pt
Average Apple SSD AP2048Z	46.8 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2025 M5 Apple SSD AP1024Z	44.7 pt
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 Apple SSD AP2048Z	44.1 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 M4 Pro Apple SSD AP2048Z	41.6 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple SSD AP1024Z	38.8 pt

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test
5GB Read
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP8192Z	13870.1 MB/s +12%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple SSD AP4096Z	12826.3 MB/s +4%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP2048Z	12353 MB/s
Average of class Multimedia (3028 - 13870, n=9, last 2 years)	7761 MB/s -37%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2025 M5 Apple SSD AP1024Z	6752.1 MB/s -45%
Average Apple SSD AP2048Z (5294 - 12353, n=8)	6357 MB/s -49%
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 Apple SSD AP2048Z	6312.2 MB/s -49%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 M4 Pro Apple SSD AP2048Z	5401.3 MB/s -56%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple SSD AP1024Z	5060.9 MB/s -59%
5GB Write
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP8192Z	15183.2 MB/s +26%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple SSD AP4096Z	12812.1 MB/s +6%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple SSD AP2048Z	12085 MB/s
Average of class Multimedia (3426 - 15183, n=9, last 2 years)	8378 MB/s -31%
Average Apple SSD AP2048Z (6314 - 12085, n=8)	7249 MB/s -40%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 M4 Pro Apple SSD AP2048Z	6713.2 MB/s -44%
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 Apple SSD AP2048Z	6475.1 MB/s -46%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple SSD AP1024Z	6242.8 MB/s -48%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2025 M5 Apple SSD AP1024Z	6194.2 MB/s -49%

GPU Performance

The M5 Max GPU can access the system memory, which means it has an advantage over most Windows competitors with Nvidia GPUs, which are usually limited to 8 or 16 GB VRAM. Systems with AMD's Strix Halo and the upcoming Nvidia RTX Spark machines will also have this advantage. In terms of raw performance, the M5 Max GPU with 40 cores is very powerful and is only 12 % slower than the RTX 5090 (running at 120W) in the ProArt P16 in the demanding 3DMark Steel Nomad test and clearly faster than direct competitors equipped with the RTX 5060 or RTX 5070 GPUs. The gaming performance is a bit worse in comparison, but still good and you can play all supported titles with the highest settings. However, the number of games is still limited on macOS, so a Windows machine is still superior in this regard.

3DMark | Geekbench 6.7

3DMark
Steel Nomad Score
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	4959 Points +13%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	4386 Points
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (3924 - 4392, n=3)	4234 Points -3%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	3924 Points -11%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	2906 Points -34%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	2784 Points -37%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	2636 Points -40%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	2603 Points -41%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	2323 Points -47%
Average of class Multimedia (50 - 4959, n=42, last 2 years)	1866 Points -57%
Steel Nomad Light Score
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	21012 Points +19%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	17649 Points
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (16191 - 17853, n=3)	17231 Points -2%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	16191 Points -8%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	13989 Points -21%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	13721 Points -22%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	12271 Points -30%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	11903 Points -33%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	11804 Points -33%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	10018 Points -43%
Average of class Multimedia (1147 - 21012, n=40, last 2 years)	7985 Points -55%
Wild Life Extreme
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	43426 Points
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (39389 - 43426, n=3)	42012 Points -3%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	39389 Points -9%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	37329 Points -14%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	23757 Points -45%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	23116 Points -47%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	22029 Points -49%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	20367 Points -53%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	20040 Points -54%
Average of class Multimedia (3224 - 43426, n=26, last 2 years)	19159 Points -56%

Geekbench 6.7
GPU Metal
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	224987 Points
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (222096 - 224987, n=3)	223119 Points -1%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	222275 Points -1%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	179746 Points -20%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M3 Max 16-Core	155752 Points -31%
Average of class Multimedia (57998 - 224987, n=10, last 2 years)	144789 Points -36%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	137187 Points -39%
GPU OpenCL
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	187922 Points +27%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	148149 Points
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (145476 - 148149, n=3)	146634 Points -1%
Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	146276 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	132895 Points -10%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	126177 Points -15%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	116455 Points -21%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	109612 Points -26%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M3 Max 16-Core	91413 Points -38%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	88251 Points -40%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	66275 Points -55%
Average of class Multimedia (9994 - 187922, n=65, last 2 years)	59675 Points -60%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	56522 Points -62%

3DMark Steel Nomad Score		4386 points
3DMark Steel Nomad Light Score		17649 points
Help

Blender: v3.3 Classroom METAL | v3.3 Classroom OPTIX/RTX | v3.3 Classroom CUDA | v3.3 Classroom CPU | v3.3 Classroom oneAPI/Intel

Blender / v3.3 Classroom METAL
Average of class Multimedia (17.8 - 68, n=6, last 2 years)	37.2 Seconds * -60%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	36.6 Seconds * -57%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M3 Max 16-Core	32 Seconds * -37%
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (23.3 - 25.6, n=2)	24.5 Seconds * -5%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	23.3 Seconds *
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	17.8 Seconds * +24%

Blender / v3.3 Classroom OPTIX/RTX
Average of class Multimedia (12 - 105, n=21, last 2 years)	35.8 Seconds *
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	24 Seconds *
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	23 Seconds *
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	21 Seconds *
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	20 Seconds *
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	12 Seconds *

Blender / v3.3 Classroom CUDA
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	186 Seconds *
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	40 Seconds *
Average of class Multimedia (20 - 186, n=20, last 2 years)	63.5 Seconds *
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	37 Seconds *
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	35 Seconds *
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	35 Seconds *
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	20 Seconds *

Blender / v3.3 Classroom CPU
Average of class Multimedia (133 - 1042, n=61, last 2 years)	389 Seconds * -192%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	328 Seconds * -147%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 356H	261 Seconds * -96%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	260 Seconds * -95%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 285H	251 Seconds * -89%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370	210 Seconds * -58%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M3 Max 16-Core	194 Seconds * -46%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX	173 Seconds * -30%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M4 Max Apple M4 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M4 Max 16-Core	167 Seconds * -26%
Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU (133 - 149, n=2)	141 Seconds * -6%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple M5 Pro 18-Core	134.5 Seconds * -1%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple M5 Max	133 Seconds *

Blender / v3.3 Classroom oneAPI/Intel
Average of class Multimedia (105 - 492, n=17, last 2 years)	249 Seconds *
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	105 Seconds *

* ... smaller is better

Performance rating | Cyberpunk 2077 | Baldur's Gate 3 | Assassin's Creed Shadows | Total War Pharaoh

Performance rating - Percent
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 ^-1! AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	100 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	83.2 pt
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE ^-2! Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	69.1 pt
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 ^-1! Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	69 pt
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra ^-2! Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	67.2 pt
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE ^-2! Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	66.6 pt
Average of class Multimedia	60.2 pt
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	55.4 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H ^-4! Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU	43.4 pt

Cyberpunk 2077
1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off)
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	112.3 (80.7^min) fps +9%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	102.8 fps
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	98.3 (80^min) fps -4%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	90 (74.4^min) fps -12%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	87.3 (69.7^min) fps -15%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	84.6 (62.2^min) fps -18%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	57.8 fps -44%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU	48.7 (40^min, 37.6^P1) fps -53%
Average of class Multimedia (6.41 - 112.3, n=69, last 2 years)	44 fps -57%
2560x1440 Ultra Preset (FSR off)
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	90.8 (72.6^min) fps +44%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	63.1 fps
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	62.8 (53.8^min) fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	57.4 (49.2^min) fps -9%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	57 (48.9^min) fps -10%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	56.1 (47.7^min) fps -11%
Average of class Multimedia (14.3 - 90.8, n=30, last 2 years)	46.2 fps -27%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	33.4 fps -47%

Baldur's Gate 3 - 2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	121 fps +26%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	96.4 fps
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	78 (10.9^min, 69.1^P0.1, 71.4^P1) fps -19%
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	76.2 (56.4^min, 57.1^P0.1, 68.6^P1) fps -21%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	72.8 (34.9^min, 54^P0.1, 64.7^P1) fps -24%
Average of class Multimedia (28.7 - 121, n=27, last 2 years)	65.4 fps -32%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	63.1 fps -35%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	56.7 fps -41%

Assassin's Creed Shadows - 2560x1440 Ultra High
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop	49 fps +32%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	37 fps
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	33 fps -11%
Average of class Multimedia (18 - 49, n=12, last 2 years)	31.3 fps -15%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	22 fps -41%

Total War Pharaoh - 2560x1440 Ultra Preset
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max, Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	55.5 fps
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	53.9 fps -3%
Average of class Multimedia (35.3 - 58.9, n=10, last 2 years)	51.6 fps -7%

	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)	210.6	170.3	141.7	134.6	96.4	50.6
Cyberpunk 2077 (2023)	152.7	136.4	117.2	102.8	63.1	25.4
Total War Pharaoh (2023)				55.3	55.5	54.3
Assassin's Creed Shadows (2025)	75	67	61	42	37	26

Emissions & Power Consumption

System Noise

The MacBook Pro is still a very quiet laptop and the fan curves are still very defensive, so short peak load situations (especially in Automatic mode) usually do not result in audible fan activity. If you really stress the laptop, the fans will be very loud in High Power mode at almost 54 dB(A) and much quieter at ~41 dB(A) in Automatic mode. In Low Power mode, however, the fans are not audible at all at their lowest speed.

Noise level

Idle		24.8 / 24.8 / 24.8 dB(A)
Load		33.8 / 53.9 dB(A)

	30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud
min: , med: , max: Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24.8 dB(A)

	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU	Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Ultra 7 356H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Ultra 7 255HX, GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop
Noise		5%	-0%	-1%	-2%	-4%	-10%
off / environment * (dB)	24.8	23.3 6%	25.1 -1%	25 -1%	24.3 2%	24.1 3%	24.2 2%
Idle Minimum * (dB)	24.8	23.4 6%	25.1 -1%	25 -1%	24.3 2%	24.1 3%	24.2 2%
Idle Average * (dB)	24.8	23.4 6%	25.1 -1%	25 -1%	24.3 2%	24.1 3%	27.6 -11%
Idle Maximum * (dB)	24.8	25.8 -4%	25.1 -1%	27.3 -10%	28.3 -14%	25.1 -1%	32.6 -31%
Load Average * (dB)	33.8	38 -12%	36.9 -9%	37.3 -10%	38 -12%	44.2 -31%	42.6 -26%
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (dB)	48.9	38.1 22%	48.5 1%	47.8 2%	48.5 1%	52.7 -8%	51.2 -5%
Load Maximum * (dB)	53.9	48.6 10%	48.5 10%	47.8 11%	51.9 4%	52.7 2%	53.2 1%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

The surface temperatures are no problem even under full load. We only measure up to 43 °C, so there are no limitations. During the stress test, the M5 Max draws up to 114 Watts and then quickly levels off at 70 Watts.

Max. Load

Idle

Cyberpunk


42.4 °C 108 F	42.3 °C 108 F	43.3 °C 110 F
39 °C 102 F	43.3 °C 110 F	39.1 °C 102 F
32.2 °C 90 F	31.7 °C 89 F	30.8 °C 87 F

Maximum: 43.3 °C = 110 F
Average: 38.2 °C = 101 F


42.5 °C 109 F	42.6 °C 109 F	42.9 °C 109 F
40.4 °C 105 F	42 °C 108 F	40.3 °C 105 F
33 °C 91 F	34.1 °C 93 F	33.8 °C 93 F

Maximum: 42.9 °C = 109 F
Average: 39.1 °C = 102 F

Room Temperature 21.2 °C = 70 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-900

Max. Load

Idle

Cyberpunk


23.3 °C 74 F	23.4 °C 74 F	23.3 °C 74 F
23.2 °C 74 F	23.3 °C 74 F	23.2 °C 74 F
23.1 °C 74 F	23.1 °C 74 F	22.9 °C 73 F

Maximum: 23.4 °C = 74 F
Average: 23.2 °C = 74 F


23.3 °C 74 F	23.3 °C 74 F	23.4 °C 74 F
23.2 °C 74 F	23.5 °C 74 F	23.4 °C 74 F
23.5 °C 74 F	23.4 °C 74 F	23.5 °C 74 F

Maximum: 23.5 °C = 74 F
Average: 23.4 °C = 74 F

Room Temperature 20.5 °C = 69 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-900

Max. Load

Idle

Cyberpunk


43.2 °C 110 F	42.4 °C 108 F	42.1 °C 108 F
39.5 °C 103 F	43.2 °C 110 F	39.2 °C 103 F
32.5 °C 91 F	31.4 °C 89 F	31.4 °C 89 F

Maximum: 43.2 °C = 110 F
Average: 38.3 °C = 101 F


42.8 °C 109 F	43.2 °C 110 F	43.2 °C 110 F
41.7 °C 107 F	42 °C 108 F	39.9 °C 104 F
33 °C 91 F	36.3 °C 97 F	34.4 °C 94 F

Maximum: 43.2 °C = 110 F
Average: 39.6 °C = 103 F

Room Temperature 20.9 °C = 70 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-900

(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 38.2 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 31.3 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.3 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.9 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.2 °C / 74 F, compared to the device average of 31.3 °C / 88 F.
(-) 3: The average temperature for the upper side is 38.3 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 31.3 °C / 88 F for the class Multimedia.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (32.5 °C / 90.5 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.7 °C / 83.7 F (-3.8 °C / -6.8 F).

	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU	Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Ultra 7 356H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Ultra 7 255HX, GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop	Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop	Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop
Heat		1%	3%	-8%	-9%	-2%	-10%	-11%
Maximum Upper Side * (°C)	43.3	40.6 6%	40.6 6%	42.7 1%	44.7 -3%	41.3 5%	41.8 3%	47 -9%
Maximum Bottom * (°C)	42.9	42.4 1%	39.8 7%	49.1 -14%	42.8 -0%	41.8 3%	47.9 -12%	51.6 -20%
Idle Upper Side * (°C)	23.4	23.8 -2%	23.2 1%	25.4 -9%	26.9 -15%	25.5 -9%	26.3 -12%	24.9 -6%
Idle Bottom * (°C)	23.5	23.6 -0%	23.8 -1%	25.5 -9%	27.3 -16%	25.4 -8%	27.6 -17%	25.5 -9%

* ... smaller is better

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test GPU Power: Ø37.2 (31.552-49.977) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP8192Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test GPU Power: Ø23.7 (22.316-52.186) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test GPU Power: Ø32 (29.957-35.687) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test CPU Power: Ø33.4 (30.935-64.469) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP8192Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test CPU Power: Ø21.3 (19.636-44.165) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, M5 Pro 18-Core, Apple SSD AP4096Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test CPU Power: Ø37.9 (32.785-61.427) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max 40-Core GPU, M5 Max, Apple SSD AP2048Z; Cinebench R23 Multi + 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Stress Test Package Power: Ø70.6 (67.962-114.446) Watt

Speakers

The speaker system with six modules is still one of the best you can get and slightly better compared to the rivals, even though they are not far off.

Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 0.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (5.4% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 1% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 98% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 4.9% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (5.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 1% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 98% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 7.6% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (6.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 4% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 1% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 5.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (7.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 1% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 9.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.4% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (8.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 11% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 87% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 97% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 6.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.4% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 84% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 5% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 94% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 5.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | reduced highs - on average 6.2% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (9.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 85% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.3% away from median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.9% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (1.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (8.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 9% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 89% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 17%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 2% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 97% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 136%

Power Consumption & Battery Life

While the MacBook Pro 16 is efficient under light workloads and while idling, the power consumption under load is a problem. We record a maximum figure of 150 Watts, which then fluctuates between 130-140 Watts over the course of the stress test. However, the battery level drops from 100 to just 88 % after one hour of combined workloads, which is an issue. We also tested a more powerful 180W adapter, but the behavior was the same. Battery life at 150 nits is excellent with 18.5 hours in our Wi-Fi test and still decent (considering the high brightness) at maximum SDR brightness with almost 7 hours.

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.08 / 1.1 Watt
Idle	2.7 / 13.3 / 13.5 Watt
Load	141 / 150.3 Watt


Key: min: , med: , max: Metrahit Energy

	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple SSD AP2048Z, Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.2"	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, Apple SSD AP4096Z, Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.2"	Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, , OLED, 3200x2000, 16"	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Ultra 7 356H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Samsung PM9C1b MZVL81T0HFLB-00BH1, OLED, 2880x1800, 16"	Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, Samsung PM9E1 MZVLC2T0HBLD, Tandem-OLED, 3200x2000, 16"	Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Ultra 7 255HX, GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, SK hynix PVC10 HFS001TEM4X182N, IPS, 2560x1600, 16"	Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, WD PC SN7100S SDFPMSL-1T00-1101, OLED, 3200x2000, 16"	Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, Micron 2500 2TB MTFDKBA2T0QGN-1BN1AABGA, OLED, 3840x2400, 16"	Average Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU	Average of class Multimedia
Power Consumption		-2%	36%	14%	-22%	-63%	-42%	-57%	10%	0%
Idle Minimum * (Watt)	2.7	4.4 -63%	4 -48%	4.4 -63%	8.5 -215%	9 -233%	8.8 -226%	10.9 -304%	2.6 ?(2.5 - 2.7, n=2) 4%	5.58 ?(1.3 - 31.3, n=63, last 2 years) -107%
Idle Average * (Watt)	13.3	18.3 -38%	4.4 67%	6.4 52%	13.6 -2%	14.8 -11%	16.1 -21%	12.1 9%	12.5 ?(11.6 - 13.3, n=2) 6%	10.2 ?(3.6 - 38.3, n=63, last 2 years) 23%
Idle Maximum * (Watt)	13.5	18.4 -36%	10.2 24%	7.1 47%	14.1 -4%	16.7 -24%	16.5 -22%	12.5 7%	12.7 ?(11.8 - 13.5, n=2) 6%	12.5 ?(3.9 - 46.2, n=63, last 2 years) 7%
Load Average * (Watt)	141	84.2 40%	44.2 69%	55.1 61%	84.5 40%	92.8 34%	89.3 37%	129.3 8%	118.3 ?(95.6 - 141, n=2) 16%	66.2 ?(15.1 - 141, n=58, last 2 years) 53%
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * (Watt)	136.7	79.8 42%	62.4 54%	133 3%	118.1 14%	212 -55%	157.9 -16%	172.8 -26%
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (Watt)	128.9	82.5 36%	62.6 51%	134.3 -4%	120.3 7%	215 -67%	160.6 -25%	176.6 -37%
Load Maximum * (Watt)	150.3	145 4%	94.6 37%	143.9 4%	143 5%	281.5 -87%	177.4 -18%	233.9 -56%	124.6 ?(98.8 - 150.3, n=2) 17%	112.1 ?(40 - 282, n=62, last 2 years) 25%

* ... smaller is better

Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; 1280x720 Prime95 28.10 and Furmark 1.25: Ø133.9 (123.9-150.3) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Idle 150cd/m2: Ø5.68 (5.54-6.45) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Cyberpunk 2077 FHD ultra no FSR 150cd: Ø128.9 (125.1-135.4) Watt

Power Consumption external Monitor

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Idle 1min (external Monitor): Ø3.05 (2.98-3.29) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Cyberpunk 2077 FHD ultra no FSR (external Monitor): Ø136.7 (132.9-141.8) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Cinebench 2024 Single Power (external Monitor): Ø21.5 (18.5-25.1) Watt

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max; Cinebench 2024 Multi Power (external Monitor): Ø117.5 (107.9-129.6) Watt

Battery Runtime


WiFi Websurfing		18h 31min
WiFi Websurfing max. Brightness		6h 52min

Battery Runtime
WiFi Websurfing
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 99.6 Wh	18.5 h 0%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU, 99.6 Wh	18.5 h
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Ultra 7 356H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 80.2 Wh	16.8 h -9%
Average of class Multimedia (4.37 - 26.6, n=63, last 2 years)	12.7 h -31%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 84 Wh	11.1 h -40%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 90 Wh	10.7 h -42%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Ultra 7 255HX, GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, 85 Wh	10.5 h -43%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, 70 Wh	10.3 h -44%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, 90 Wh	8.4 h -55%
WiFi Websurfing max. Brightness
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Ultra 7 356H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 80.2 Wh	8.4 h +22%
Average of class Multimedia (3.53 - 11.6, n=32, last 2 years)	7.17 h +4%
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Ultra 7 255HX, GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop, 85 Wh	7 h +1%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU, 99.6 Wh	6.9 h
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 99.6 Wh	6.6 h -4%
Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 90 Wh	5.9 h -14%
Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop, 90 Wh	5.2 h -25%
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Ultra 9 285H, GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop, 84 Wh	4.5 h -35%

Notebookcheck Rating

Back to the verdict

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max - 08/27/2026 v8
Andreas Osthoff

Chassis

89 / 98 → 91%

Keyboard

92%

Pointing Device

99%

Connectivity

81 / 80 → 100%

Weight

62 / 20-74 → 78%

Battery

91 / 95 → 96%

Display

90%

Games Performance

89 / 88 → 100%

Application Performance

98 / 92 → 100%

AI Performance

95%

Temperature

91%

Noise

77 / 95 → 81%

Audio

97%

Camera

38 / 75 → 51%

Average

78%

92%

Multimedia - Weighted Average

CO2 Emissions
64.5%

Materials
50%

Packaging
100%

Power Use
85.1%

Repairability
40%

Software Updates
50%

Total Sustainability Score: 64.9%

Potential Competitors in Comparison

Image	Model / Review	Price	Weight	Height	Display
1. 92.4%	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Apple M5 Max ⎘ Apple M5 Max 40-Core GPU ⎘ 48 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 5699€	2.1 kg	16.8 mm	16.20" 3456x2234 254 PPI Mini-LED
2. 92.3%	Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro Apple M5 Pro 18-Core ⎘ Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU ⎘ 64 GB Memory, 4096 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 5298€	2.1 kg	16.8 mm	16.20" 3456x2234 254 PPI Mini-LED
3. 87.2%	Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H ⎘ Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU ⎘ 32 GB Memory	Amazon: 1. $1,977.99 Dell Premium 16 (Previously ... 2. $2,999.00 Dell Premium 16 (XPS 16 2025... 3. $2,899.99 Dell Premium 16 (XPS 16 2025... List Price: 2350 USD	1.7 kg	14.62 mm	16.00" 3200x2000 236 PPI OLED
4. 90.7%	Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra Intel Core Ultra 7 356H ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1000 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 3599€	1.9 kg	15.4 mm	16.00" 2880x1800 212 PPI OLED
5. 92.4%	Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE Intel Core Ultra 9 285H ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop ⎘ 64 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 4500€	1.9 kg	15.8 mm	16.00" 3200x2000 236 PPI Tandem-OLED
6. 89.9%	Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop ⎘ 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 1939€	2.1 kg	17.9 mm	16.00" 2560x1600 189 PPI IPS
7. 90.4%	Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 Intel Core Ultra 9 285H ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop ⎘ 64 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 2800€	1.9 kg	17.9 mm	16.00" 3200x2000 236 PPI OLED
8. 89.7%	Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 ⎘ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop ⎘ 64 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD	Amazon: List Price: 4799€	2 kg	18.3 mm	16.00" 3840x2400 283 PPI OLED

Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

This is how Notebookcheck is testing

Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.

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Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi Core in comparison
Asus ExpertCenter PN42-BBN200MV (min) N200, UHD Graphics Xe 750 32EUs	91
...
Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Ultra 9 285K, GeForce RTX 4090	2436
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU	2437
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU	2437
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max M5 Max, M5 Max 40-Core GPU	2490
Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus Ultra 7 270K Plus, GeForce RTX 4090	2512
...
(max) TR Pro 7995WX, RTX 6000 Ada Generation	5372

Apple's fastest laptop starts to show its age - Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max Review

Excellent performance, insufficient PSU.

Verdict - MacBook Pro is still an excellent multimedia laptop, but starts to show its age

Pros

Cons

Price and Availability

Table of Contents

Specifications

Case, Connectivity & Input Devices

Size Comparison

Display - Gorgeous Mini-LED panel

Performance - M5 Max with 48 GB RAM

Testing Conditions

Processor

System & SSD Performance

GPU Performance

Emissions & Power Consumption

System Noise

Temperature

Speakers

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Max audio analysis

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro audio analysis

Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H audio analysis

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra audio analysis

Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 21TD003GE audio analysis

Lenovo ThinkBook 16p G6 21R00013GE audio analysis

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 RTX 5070 audio analysis

Asus ProArt P16 RTX 5090 audio analysis

Power Consumption & Battery Life

Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test

Power Consumption external Monitor

Notebookcheck Rating

Potential Competitors in Comparison

Transparency

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