Hands-on experience with the new Mac products at the event: The Mac Pro is powerful, the Mac Air is appealing, and the monitor is large and bright.
Unchanged Exterior
Revolutionary Soul
With the official conclusion of Apple's spring launch event in 2026, ifanr was among the first to experience the latest M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro on-site.
Compared to the rather perplexing iPhone 17e, the refreshed MacBook Pro with a new processor brings a sense of excitement, but it lacks that extra touch of novelty.
After all, when you place it side by side with a MacBook Pro using the M5, you'll find that the appearance of the new MBP has virtually no changes. All the surprises are hidden within the M5 Max chip.
It's not to say that the exteriors are 100% identical -
On this year's MacBook's "American English" keyboard, Apple has replaced the previous tab, caps lock, shift, and enter keys with pure symbols:
▲ Magic Keyboard (left) and the new MacBook Pro (right)
Putting the keyboard aside, once we actually get our hands on this 16 - inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Max processor, what impresses us the most is still the performance brought by the new processor.
Unfortunately, our on - site hands - on time was limited, and we didn't have the chance to run Msty Studio on it right away.
However, judging from the smooth operation of macOS Tahoe on it, the performance baseline of the M5 Pro and M5 Max is definitely up to par.
Compared to the MacBook Pro with a major processor upgrade, this year's MacBook Air is a bit more underwhelming -
After all, the main upgrade of this MBA is the same 10 + 8/10 + 10 core M5 processor that was on last year's MacBook Pro.
Putting aside the differences in sustained performance due to passive cooling, there are hardly any numerical differences between the two.
For the vast majority of users targeting the MacBook Air, the performance upgrades of the M5 compared to the M4 are actually far less important than the 512GB hard drive as the starting option this year.
Since the MacBook Air switched from the "dual 256GB particles" to a "single 512GB" starting from the M2, the topic of "hard drive speed drop" in the MacBook Air has been a long - standing one.
After years of controversy, Apple has finally addressed this issue and replaced the SSD in the M5 MacBook Air with a new one:
The read and write performance of the new solid - state drive is twice that of the previous generation, significantly improving file access speed and accelerating workflows for users such as creative professionals who need to import large photo libraries and students running on - device AI workloads.
Unfortunately, we couldn't directly test the hard drive read and write speeds of the new MacBook Air at the event. Readers who are more concerned about this data, please stay tuned for our subsequent official review.
As the first update after a full four - year hiatus, we also experienced this year's new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR on - site at the event.
Note that the Pro Display XDR, once famous for its perforated backshell, has officially been discontinued after last night's website update. Apple's professional monitor product line now only consists of the Studio Display series:
▲ Image | CNET
This year, the 27 - inch 5K 120Hz mini - LED behemoth - the Studio Display XDR - takes on the role of the Pro Display XDR.
Whether on paper or in person, the visual experience of the new Studio Display XDR can only be described with one word: Epic.
Thanks to the major upgrade of the screen panel, in addition to the previous finesse and brilliance, the display effect of the Studio Display XDR finally has that long - awaited "smoothness".
▲ Image of the Studio Display XDR
In this way, the refresh rate gap in the professional - grade Mac product line has finally been filled.
When using a MacBook Pro with an Apple monitor, you no longer have to endure the sense of disconnection caused by different refresh rates -
However, in this case, the pressure of 5K 120Hz is transferred from the monitor to the computer.
According to the official website, you need a Mac newer than the following models to fully enjoy the full - blooded resolution and refresh rate:
When Mac models equipped with M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, and M3 chips are used with the Studio Display XDR, the maximum refresh rate is 60Hz.
Of course, this is only if you choose the Studio Display XDR starting at 24,999 yuan. Apart from some internal hardware upgrades in the new Studio Display, the refresh rate remains at 60Hz:
But how can you distinguish the new Studio Display from the Studio Display XDR in terms of appearance?
We found on - site that you can look at the number of top ventilation holes - the one with the maximum number is the XDR, and the one with only half is the standard version:
▲ Image of the standard - version Studio Display
Anyway, when we first experienced the Studio Display XDR on - site, the visual shock was hard to describe in words.
However, we have to complain about Apple's inherent sense of hierarchy. This "forcing you to buy the whole product ecosystem" logic is so Apple - like.
Meanwhile, Apple can't abandon its "excellent tradition" of selling monitors -
Whether you buy the over - 20,000 - yuan Studio Display XDR or the over - 10,000 - yuan Studio Display, you still have to choose between the monitor stand and the VESA adapter, and you have to pay for them separately:
Generally speaking, whether it's this year's powerful MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Air, or the upgraded Studio Display series, they are all regular iterations of the Mac product line.
So, what's the irregular iteration? Of course, it's this year's new face, the MacBook Neo～
For products like the MacBook Pro, Air, and Studio Display that have clear target audiences and specialized scenarios, most users just need to confirm their needs and make a purchase.
After all, in the current Mac family, the three processors in the M5 series are the current champions in overall performance.
If you want to see more specific experiences with the M5 Pro/Max and how the "little brother" using the A18 Pro performs, remember to follow ifanr and don't miss our subsequent official review.