Our model’s specifications
This review looks at a model that’s been customized from Apple’s standard offerings. It has some hefty add-ons that increase the price significantly. Here are the specifications of the laptop in this review:
- CPU: M5 Max with an 18-core CPU (6 super cores, 12 performance cores); 16-core Neural Engine
- GPU: 40 cores
- Memory: 128GB unified memory
- Storage: 2TB SSD
- Display: 16.3-inch tandem OLED; 3472-by-2266 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch; 1000 nits sustained XDR brightness, 2000 nits peak (HDR content only); 1000 nits SDR brightness, 2000 nits peak (outdoor); 1 billion colors; P3 + Adobe RGB wide color gamut; True Tone; standard glass
- Ports: 3 Thunderbolt 5/USB-C; MagSafe 3; SDXC Card slot; HDMI; 3.5mm audio
- Networking: Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be); Bluetooth 6; Thread
- Input devices: Touchscreen; Magic Keyboard with Touch ID; Magic Trackpad
- Weight: 4.1 pounds (1.84 kg)
- Dimensions: 0.63 x 14.0 x 9.62 inches (1.60 x 35.55 x 24.42 cm)
- Price (as tested): $7,399/£7,399
The touchscreen MacBook Pro’s OLED display offers new highs in brightness and great color fidelity
Roman Loyola/Foundry
PROLED MacBook Pro: Display
As the name implies, the tandem OLED display is the key feature of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display. This is the main reason to spend the extra $400 over the MacBook Pro with a mini-LED backlit display.
When I unpacked the laptop, opened it for the first time, and the display lit up, I instantly knew I was in for a special experience. The brightness of the tandem OLED makes an immediate impression. With the right wallpaper, such as the macOS Golden Gate default photo, the brightness gives the image an aura that feels magical.
It’s an admirable feat to outdo the mini-LED backlit displays that Apple replaced, because they’re excellent displays in their own right. The tandem OLED is more than up to the task. Color saturation and evenness are more pleasing, and the contrast and blacks are deeper. At the Macworld office, my desk is set up with a first-generation Apple Studio Display and a Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED Monitor U3226Q, which is made for production work. Yet I prefer looking at the PROLED XDR Display. You will want to work on photos, video, and graphics on this MacBook Pro.
If that work takes you outside, well, don’t worry. I’m currently writing this display section of the review in my backyard, because it’s a perfect San Francisco day, a bright and sunny 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20°C). It’s early afternoon, and the sun is bearing down directly on the display and me. Yet the screen shines through like a champ. Glare and reflections? No problem, thanks to the OLED’s brightness working with the antireflective coating on the glass. Don’t hesitate to go outside or take this MacBook Pro on location. I’d actually stay outside longer if it wasn’t for the fact that the sun is starting to cook me, which makes me a little concerned about the laptop heating up, too.
MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display with standard glass (left) is much more visbile in direct sunlight than the MacBook Pro with a mini-LED backlit Nano-texture glass display (right).
Roman Loyola/Foundry
Since this is the first time OLED is on the Mac, you might be concerned about burn-in–if you’re going to spend the extra $400, it better last. Only time will tell with the new MacBook Pro, but Apple updated the display engine for OLED, and it monitors the OLED’s condition to maintain optimal performance and minimize the burn-in risk. Apple uses OLED displays in its iPhones, and it introduced a tandem OLED in the iPad Pro in 2024. We haven’t heard of widespread burn-in problems with those devices.
