Apple could be about to unleash MacBook Pro M5, new rumor suggests

MacBook Pro 14-inch entry-level M4 models are running short on stock in both retail stores and Apple's online store - a sign of the imminent M5 refresh?

Apple could be about to unleash MacBook Pro M5, new rumor suggests
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Tech Reporter
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TL;DR: Apple is rumored to be readying a MacBook Pro featuring the M5 chip, and dwindling supply of the current 14-inch entry-level M4 models is a hint that the refreshed laptop could be imminent. Don't get too excited, of course, because the upgrades expected with the new MacBook Pro are minimal - the main difference is that more powerful SoC.

Apple's next MacBook Pro packing an M5 chip could be about to arrive according to the most recent chatter on the grapevine.

This comes from renowned Apple leaker Mark Gurman who posted on X (hat tip to TechRadar) observing that the supply of the MacBook Pro 14-inch entry-level M4 models (the vanilla CPU, not Pro or Max) are seeing 'constrained' supply levels at Apple's retail outlets.

Gurman noticed that custom configurations of the base MacBook Pro 14-inch models on Apple's online store are "constrained till the end of October".

What this means in theory is that Apple is winding down production of current-gen models ahead of the debut of the successor MacBook Pro, and so the arrival of that M5-toting laptop is likely to be imminent.

Notably the Pro and Max configurations of the MacBook Pro are not running short on stock, we're told - which could be a hint that Apple is going to start with an entry-level refresh with the M5, and bring in other higher-end Pro and Max notebooks later.

All of this remains speculation, of course, but it marries with current rumors - as does Gurman's observation that the iPad Pro M4 is in the same boat regarding inventory running short with both Apple's online and retail stores. The M5 refresh of that tablet is also supposed to be about to land according to the rumor mill.

The downer with all this for Apple laptop fans is that the M5 incarnation of the MacBook Pro isn't expected to provide much in the way of upgrades, save for that beefier SoC. Those wanting some real changes are likely going to have to wait until 2026, when we'll supposedly get that OLED screen on the MacBook Pro - finally.