Apple’s New M5 MacBook Pro in Canada: Prices Up But Now Starts With 1TB Storage

Apple has officially updated its high-end laptop lineup, introducing new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The refresh focuses heavily on artificial intelligence performance and a significant boost to base internal specifications.

The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips feature a redesigned CPU and a next-generation GPU that includes a Neural Accelerator in every core. Apple says this architecture allows the laptops to handle complex AI tasks, such as running large language models locally, up to four times faster than the previous M4 generation.

Faster storage and higher starting capacities

A major highlight for this generation is the improvement in storage. Apple has doubled the starting capacity for the M5 Pro models to 1TB, while the M5 Max models now start at 2TB.

The SSDs themselves are also up to twice as fast as the previous versions, reaching read and write speeds of 14.5GB/s. This change is designed to speed up heavy workflows like 8K video editing and large dataset processing.

Connectivity and hardware refinements

The updated laptops are the first to feature Apple’s N1 wireless chip, which brings support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. For physical connections, the machines include three Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port supporting 8K resolution, and an SDXC card slot.

The display remains the Liquid Retina XDR, but Apple is now offering a nano-texture glass option to reduce glare in bright environments. Battery life has also seen an incremental bump, with the 16-inch model now rated for up to 24 hours of use.

Canadian pricing and availability

Pre-orders for the new models begin tomorrow, March 4, in Canada, with shipping and retail availability starting Wednesday, March 11. Prices are up $300 across the board (and $600 for the higher end configuration for the M5 Max 16-inch and $500 for the M5 Max 14-inch), but you get doubled base storage with a faster SSD and upgrades like Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max) Pricing

The 14-inch Pro models now start with 1TB of storage for the M5 and M5 Pro, and 2TB for the M5 Max.

• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5, 16GB, 1TB): $2,399 (+$300)
• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro, 24GB, 1TB): $2,999 (+$300)
• 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max, 36GB, 2TB): $4,999 (+$500)

16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro, M5 Max) Pricing

The 16-inch models follow the same storage shift, starting at 1TB and 2TB respectively.

• 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro, 24GB, 1TB): $3,599 (+$300)
• 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max, 36GB, 2TB): $5,399 (+$600)

For those looking for a slightly more affordable entry point, the standard 14-inch MacBook Pro with the base M5 chip has also been updated to include 1TB of starting storage, with a price of $2,399 CAD (a $300 price hike versus last year’s M4, but you do get double the storage).

Who’s buying a new MacBook Pro or MacBook Air today?