Is it my time to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out or do I hold off another year for M6?

[adamjackson]

I'm on an M1 Max 16" with 2TB SSD and 64GB of ram. I'm feeling single core performance finally and applications like Photoshop, Lightroom and Final Cut Pro and I guess the apps from Insta360, GoPro and even safari is just not what it used to be. I really have 3 choices.

1. Do a full MacOS reinstall over a weekend and hope that improves things
2. Order an M5 Max with same specs except 4TB of SSD which is my 2nd biggest limiter after CPU speed
3. Suck it up and wait for an M6 Max which could be a full 12 months from now


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I have AppleCare on this machine until December thanks to switching to annual renewal when my 3 year expired a bit over a year ago so risk of total loss is low. the going rate for my configuration is $1000-$1300 on eBay so around $1K after shipping & eBay fees. Probably $300 less in a year since it'll be a full 6 - generations old.

I think a full rebuild of the OS might help speed things up. It's worked in the past with previous Macs and a full audit of all of the stuff I have running in the background.

Then there's the M6 cost / features offering. I run my Mac plugged in to a display mostly so I've considered going 14" and so tandem OLED really doesn't matter to me, nor does a touch screen, cellular or a thinner design. What does matter is looking some estimates of just how fast an M5 Max can be it's very enticing.

I threw in some internet projections from various forums on how fast the M5 Max could be and it looks nearly 2X faster on single and over 2X faster for multicore and metal. SSD speed improvement will be marginal:

But that will be a worthy upgrade and I fear the M6 Max will be another MSRP leap that I really don't want to pay for given what features are rumored. I have a Tandem OLED iPad Pro and it's nice but I watch all videos o a Sony A95L. I don't watch videos on my computer, iPad or iPhone so other than photo editing / video editing, I don't know if what's rumored will benefit me.


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I definitely don't need more than 64GB of RAM but my 2 efficiency cores stay pegged at 100% most of the day so I'd like some more ceiling there. The GPUs are working but probably not enough to justify a "max" SOC again

I'm also finally starting to see some battery health issues that are requiring I charge every 3-4 hours when I do go out of the house and to a cafe:

So it's time to upgrade right? Like let the M5s come out, wait for a 4TB+64GB model to show up on the refurb store and buy one, right?

 

[TheRealAlex]

288 Cycles that’s worthless. $0 trade in value. What’s it worth in a private sale $500 to $800 ? Get rid of it while it still boots.

 

[dmccloud]

I'd wait until the M5 Pro and Max are released and there are reviews of the new machines before deciding whether to upgrade or not.

 

[venom600]

I am waiting. Not because the M5 won't be fast enough, but because the M6 will bring significant improvements to the screen and have a whole new look. It would bug me to buy something now and see the new shiny tandem OLED on the next Macbook Pro with a sleeker, lighter chassis. I have a similar use case as you do, with mine on a desk most of the time, so the screen isn't paramount, but i'd love an OLED. My A90J is VERY jealous of your A95L though!

But, as you mention, stuff is going to be stupid expensive for the foreseeable future. I guess the most prudent thing to do would be to wait until sales on the M5 Max models start and you can save a few hundred bucks, then sell your machine.

Oh, and the battery has 83% health. It's fine. My M1 Max has 228 cycles and has 87.8 percent health. Do a clean install and see how things go.

 

[Fishrrman]

It looks like m5xx will be something of an "incremental" upgrade -- revised innards in the existing external case.

M6 will be a full design upgrade -- both internal and external.

Whether you want to wait a while longer... is up to you.

 

[kat.hayes]

What are the main advantages of the upcoming M6 having OLED? Better battery life? More accurate colors? Other?

Are there any solid sources of info regarding the upcoming redesign of the M6 or is this all speculation?

 

[SalisburySam]

Is it my time to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out or do I hold off another year for M6?​

Neither. You hold off until M6 announcements and availability, then buy the M5 for a slightly discounted price and a year’s worth of stability and macOS refinement.

 

[adamjackson]

Is it my time to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out or do I hold off another year for M6?​

Neither. You hold off until M6 announcements and availability, then buy the M5 for a slightly discounted price and a year’s worth of stability and macOS refinement.

You are the smartest person here 🙂

What are the main advantages of the upcoming M6 having OLED? Better battery life? More accurate colors? Other?

Are there any solid sources of info regarding the upcoming redesign of the M6 or is this all speculation?

for me, the only reason to wait for M6 would be incremental speed and better resale value later since M5 Max would take a resale nose-dive once a redesigned machine hits. If I can get by with this M1 for another year (maybe less), I really should wait it out.

I've just had such a sluggish experience lately that I'm itching for a replacement. AppleCare through December 2026 so I really just need to hold on.

 

[dmr727]

Neither. You hold off until M6 announcements and availability, then buy the M5 for a slightly discounted price and a year’s worth of stability and macOS refinement.

This is definitely my plan. And in the off chance that Apple hits it out of the park with the M6 refresh, I can always give in to the FOMO and splurge for the new hotness.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Get rid of it while it still boots. You should sell it as is before the M5 or M6 come out. Apple trade in value is horrible and they won't give you the value of your computer.

 

[kasakka]

What are the main advantages of the upcoming M6 having OLED? Better battery life? More accurate colors? Other?

#1 is pixel response times. The current Macbook Pro displays are the absolute worst displays on the market for motion performance. They have so high pixel response times that they cannot resolve 30 fps without additional blur, let alone 120 fps. They are excellent displays by any other metric.

OLED can perform better for HDR content due to per pixel local dimming.
OLED has a higher contrast ratio for SDR content as well.
OLED has far better viewing angles.
Color accuracy depends on calibration.

Realistically, most people will not get any big benefit from OLED on a laptop, and instead will have drawbacks like possible burn-in mitigation being done. These can range from short display off times, to dimming the screen over time (very annoying in desktop use) or pixel shifting it around (not really noticeable). IMO OLEDs are best suited for TVs, gaming displays and phones/tablets where you are typically not running the display for many hours at a time consecutively.

Personally I'm looking to go with M5 Pro/Max because it's a known entity - just a spec bump on an existing platform where I have very few complaints about the hardware. I don't trust any new Apple 1st gen products, the 2nd gen will always be better (e.g M1 vs M2 you get a proper HDMI 2.1 port).

I'm on a M2 Max MBP atm and don't really have much reason to upgrade but it's a work machine so I have to upgrade every 3 years. I'll actually buy the M2 for my own use because it's a great machine.

 

[Blisterpeanuts]

Is it my time to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out or do I hold off another year for M6?​

Neither. You hold off until M6 announcements and availability, then buy the M5 for a slightly discounted price and a year’s worth of stability and macOS refinement.

Is there any information on when the M5 Max is coming out? I have to replace my iMac (bluetooth keeps flaking out, computer resets every couple of days, major OS update hasn't helped) and my plan is a loaded MBP + 27" monitor.

I want to do some self-education on AI and LLMs, will try to build a small model and maybe a chat agent, just to acquire some knowledge. Therefore, apart from my 2020 iMac's flakiness, I'm going to need more horsepower.

I was looking at the M4 pro, but Grok says the M5 Max will be substantially better than the M5, and is rumored to be released in the next month or so.

Any thoughts on this? Budget is around $6K...
Thanks!
-BP

 

[venom600]

Is there any information on when the M5 Max is coming out? I have to replace my iMac (bluetooth keeps flaking out, computer resets every couple of days, major OS update hasn't helped) and my plan is a loaded MBP + 27" monitor.

I want to do some self-education on AI and LLMs, will try to build a small model and maybe a chat agent, just to acquire some knowledge. Therefore, apart from my 2020 iMac's flakiness, I'm going to need more horsepower.

I was looking at the M4 pro, but Grok says the M5 Max will be substantially better than the M5, and is rumored to be released in the next month or so.

Any thoughts on this? Budget is around $6K...
Thanks!
-BP

In your case, given the fact that you want to get into AI stuff, i'd get an M4 Max on clearance once the M5 Pro/Max comes out. Why? You want the graphics performance to drive the AI models and you want as much RAM as humanly possible, and there's a very good chance that the price of RAM will go up a lot when the new machines come out. I'd spec it with the 40 core GPU and 64GB of RAM. If you get a 14" that's $3900 right now... which is not totally terrible given that 64GB of DDR5 (2 32GB sticks) is about $900 on it's own today.

Even the 128GB model seems affordable given that it would cost as $1700+ to buy the ram alone on the open market. So if you can find one with a ton of RAM and the M4 Max on clearance or refurbed... that'd fit your needs better than an M5 Pro or Max with less memory.

 

[Madonepro]

I'd do no 1 first, and assess whether the 'clutter' influenced the issues you faced. Then you have clearer choices thereafter; 1. If it solves the issue, wait for M6, 2. If it does not, then assess whether the need, is greater than the want!

 

[adamjackson]

I'd do no 1 first, and assess whether the 'clutter' influenced the issues you faced. Then you have clearer choices thereafter; 1. If it solves the issue, wait for M6, 2. If it does not, then assess whether the need, is greater than the want!

I think you're right. This is probably a 10 year old install of MacOS carried over multiple machines. It's almost spring so maybe a spring cleaning would do me well. I have a lot of Safari extensions, menu bar extensions, login items. I think it's time to audit what's on this machine and start fresh in a few ways.

 

[Madonepro]

I think you're right. This is probably a 10 year old install of MacOS carried over multiple machines. It's almost spring so maybe a spring cleaning would do me well. I have a lot of Safari extensions, menu bar extensions, login items. I think it's time to audit what's on this machine and start fresh in a few ways.

Whilst often a pain in the proverbial, all the years of 'bits' of files scattered throughout the OS, and Spotlight having to index and maintain that, all adds up. I've never used it (I clean install each new OS each year, and predominantly keep all my files online) but friends swear by MacPaw's Clean my Mac X.

 

[jerry78]

If a fresh OS doesn’t materially improve Photoshop/FCP responsiveness, then the upgrade makes sense — especially since resale value will only drop from here. Personally, I wouldn’t buy on projections alone, but an M5 Max refurb with 4TB/64GB feels like a solid timing balance vs waiting a full year for M6.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Is it my time to upgrade when the M5 Max comes out or do I hold off another year for M6?​

Neither. You hold off until M6 announcements and availability, then buy the M5 for a slightly discounted price and a year’s worth of stability and macOS refinement.

Big brain move here.

Sadly, few of those (brains) to go around these days.

 

[Blisterpeanuts]

In your case, given the fact that you want to get into AI stuff, i'd get an M4 Max on clearance once the M5 Pro/Max comes out. Why? You want the graphics performance to drive the AI models and you want as much RAM as humanly possible, and there's a very good chance that the price of RAM will go up a lot when the new machines come out. I'd spec it with the 40 core GPU and 64GB of RAM. If you get a 14" that's $3900 right now... which is not totally terrible given that 64GB of DDR5 (2 32GB sticks) is about $900 on it's own today.

Even the 128GB model seems affordable given that it would cost as $1700+ to buy the ram alone on the open market. So if you can find one with a ton of RAM and the M4 Max on clearance or refurbed... that'd fit your needs better than an M5 Pro or Max with less memory.

An M4 Max MBP (14", 40 cores, 64 gb, 4 TB) is $4900. A 27" monitor is another $1600.

Hoo boy. Apple is awfully expensive. I wonder if I should instead get a $750 Air for casual desktop use and for travel, and a $3K Dell gaming box for AI...

 

[adamjackson]

I did it.

This should get me another 5+ years:


16-inch MacBook Pro in Space Black with M5 Max chip

With the following configuration:
18-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
128GB unified memory
4TB SSD storage
Nano-texture display
140W USB-C Power Adapter

 

[cpnotebook80]

I did it.

This should get me another 5+ years:


16-inch MacBook Pro in Space Black with M5 Max chip

With the following configuration:
18-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
128GB unified memory
4TB SSD storage
Nano-texture display
140W USB-C Power Adapter

I am on my spec'ed out m2 max but with 4tb..while battery is slowly lagging, i will be curious to see how the m5 max battery stacks up. I run local LLM models and the fans go for a spin often on mine with heavy work.

 

[adamjackson]

I am on my spec'ed out m2 max but with 4tb..while battery is slowly lagging, i will be curious to see how the m5 max battery stacks up. I run local LLM models and the fans go for a spin often on mine with heavy work.

That's a nice machine! I was waffling between just getting a used M3 Ultra Mac Studio for the thermal ceiling and then pairing it with an M5 15" MacBook Air. That would be a great combo but I do love the portability of truly a super computer. but yes, I need to do some research on how people like yourself are keeping these cool. like vertical dock for air flow reasons paired with some kind of active cooling accessory?

 

[Pezimak]

Personally I think if you can hold off I would. You could be getting a tandem OLED screen a new design and the M6. Although it will most likely get a price rise too, yay.

EDIT: Oh never mind you got a nice M5 Max beast! Enjoy it, they are stunning machines.

 

[maflynn]

16-inch MacBook Pro in Space Black with M5 Max chip

Congrats, and enjoy your new baby. To say I'm jealous is an understatement.

I was waffling between just getting a used M3 Ultra Mac Studio

Don't do it, No knock on the M3 Ultra, but I think in 2026, its a step back. Plus its my experience that most people prefer a single machine and the possibility of one of the macs you by will largely be unused if you go with a studio/laptop setup. Just my $.02

 

[SalisburySam]

Congrats, and enjoy your new baby. To say I'm jealous is an understatement.

Don't do it, No knock on the M3 Ultra, but I think in 2026, its a step back. Plus its my experience that most people prefer a single machine and the possibility of one of the macs you by will largely be unused if you go with a studio/laptop setup. Just my $.02

Should you wish to do so, the “¢” symbol is an Option-4 key combo.