Despite Apple promising price increases across its devices, I’ve found a welcome discount on the MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5) for $1848 (was $2000) at Amazon.
Given soaring prices, that’s a very welcome discount on one of the most capable laptops Apple currently sells, and it’s packing 16GB RAM for smoother workflows, and 1TB SSD storage capacity. In the UK, the same MacBook configuration is now £1805 (was £1999) at Amazon.
For creators, students, and business professionals, it’s a great laptop in my opinion. It’s powerful, versatile, and boasts an outstanding battery life for when you’re working and studying on the move.
Should you buy it?
✅ Buy the MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 if…
You want serious, sustained performance for office tasks, creative work, coding, or AI-assisted workflows in a laptop that doesn’t need to be plugged in to deliver it.
❌ Skip the MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 if…
You’re already on an M4 or M3 MacBook Pro — our review found this a fairly small generational upgrade outside of AI-focused tasks — or if you specifically need Wi-Fi 7, which isn’t included on this model.
Why we recommend it
In our full review of the M5 MacBook Pro line-up, we found it “one of the best displays on a laptop,” and praised its battery life and sustained performance even when running unplugged. In our web browsing test, it lasted a massive 18 hours before needing a recharge.
The base M5 chip in this configuration posted class-leading single-core benchmark scores in our in-house testing, ahead of every other laptop chip we’ve tested to date.
Despite not seeing a major overhaul in design, it remains an awesome workstation laptop, with a gorgeous style that’s slim, lightweight, with a superb build quality that feels good in the hand.
Combined with the faster SSD Apple built into this generation — roughly double the transfer speeds of the outgoing M4 model in our testing — this configuration holds up well for genuinely heavy day-to-day work, not just light productivity tasks.
Price Context & Historical Value
Apple’s own list price for this exact configuration is $1,999, and it doesn’t move much at retail outside of sales events. Although the lowest price Amazon had it was $1499, that was in May, before Apple confirmed price hikes across its range of devices.
The current sale price is about what I’d expect, with Best Buy similarly discounting the 16GB/1TB MacBook Pro to $1849 (was $1999). At B&H Photo, it’s selling for $1949. In the UK, both Argos and Currys have it priced at £1999.
For more savings, we track the best business laptop deals every week.
The Catch: What to know before you buy
Our review flagged that this generation sticks with Thunderbolt 4 rather than the faster Thunderbolt 5 found on the M5 Pro and M5 Max models, and there’s no Wi-Fi 7 support here either.
The design is also unchanged from last year’s M4 model, so if you’re after a visual refresh, you won’t find one. None of that changes the core experience much, but it’s worth knowing if either spec matters for your setup.
For creative professionals, I’d recommend the 24GB MacBook Pro, currently $2045 (was $2199) at Amazon. It’s a meaningful step up for anyone regularly juggling large Photoshop files, big Xcode builds, or multiple demanding apps at once, without pushing you all the way into M5 Pro pricing territory.
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bryan.wolfe@futurenet.com (Bryan M Wolfe)
