Unveiled at CES 2025, the Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro is part of the Galaxy Book 5 lineup and designed to offer “next-level performance” with “AI-powered innovation”, but how do the specs measure up to the premium-level MacBook Pro?
Whether you’re deciding which Pro laptop to invest in or you’re just keen to understand the difference between Samsung and Apple’s offerings, then you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve compared the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro to the MacBook Pro and highlighted the key differences below.
Pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro will be available in select countries including Canada, France, UK and the US from February. Unfortunately at the time of writing, exact pricing is yet to be announced.
The MacBook Pro M4 series is the most premium MacBook available, with a starting RRP of £1599/$1599.
Galaxy AI vs Apple Intelligence
The latest Galaxy Book 5 series, which includes the Galaxy Book 5 360, comes with Galaxy AI built-in. Galaxy AI, the all-encompassing term for Samsung’s AI-powered features, includes tools such as AI Select. Similar to Circle to Search, AI Select allows users to easily search for anything on-screen with just a simple click.
There’s also familiar favourites that launched alongside the Galaxy S24 smartphone series in 2024, such as Live Translate for real-time translation.
On the other hand, the MacBook Pro includes Apple’s own AI toolkit, Apple Intelligence. Launched officially in October 2024, Apple Intelligence sports heaps of GenAI-powered features including ChatGPT integration within the all-new Siri, writing tools and even the ability to create your own images on-device.
Both the Galaxy Book 5 Pro and MacBook Pro also offer extra tools if paired with either a Samsung Galaxy handset or iPhone respectively. For example, both laptops allow you to control your phone from your laptop, with Microsoft Phone Link (Samsung) or iPhone Mirroring (Apple).
The Galaxy Book 5 Pro runs on Intel Core Ultra processors
Samsung promises that although the Galaxy Book 5 Pro is thin and light, it can still deliver the “strong performance needed” for high demand workflows. This is thanks to the Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) which have an advanced NPU, capable of up to 47 TOPS which is required for performing AI tasks quickly and efficiently.
The MacBook Pro instead runs on Apple’s own M4 chipset. Available in four varieties, ranging from the entry-level M4 up to the mighty M4 Max, the lineup sports multithreaded CPU performance to support demanding workloads.
Not only that but with a faster and more efficient Neural Engine than its predecessors, LLMs and AI should run smoothly on-device.
The Galaxy Book 5 Pro has a touchscreen display
Although it’s not quite as flexible as the Galaxy Book 5 360 which allows you to fold away the keyboard and use the device as a tablet instead of a laptop, the Galaxy Book 5 Pro does boast a touchscreen display which is a feature missing from the MacBook Pro.
The Galaxy Book 5 Pro’s touchscreen is also a Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with 3K resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate.
While the MacBook Pro lacks a touchscreen, the display itself is still impressive with a Liquid Retina XDR display that’s fitted with Apple’s ProMotion technology, allowing its refresh rate to reach up to 120Hz too.
Finally, while the Galaxy Book 5 Pro reaches a peak brightness of 500 nits, the MacBook Pro can hit up to a massive 1600 nits when viewing HDR content, making it the better choice if you plan on working outside a lot.
The Galaxy Book 5 Pro promises longer battery life
Samsung claims that the 16-inch Galaxy Book 5 Pro will benefit from up to a whopping 25-hours of battery life between charges. When it does come time to recharge, Samsung says that the 65W charger can top up the battery by 35% in just half an hour too.
Although Apple claims the MacBook Pro boasts the “longest ever” battery life found in a Mac, it does fall short of Samsung’s at 24-hours.
In reality, the difference is negligible and both laptops still claim impressive battery power. Having said that, as we haven’t reviewed either laptop yet, we can’t verify Samsung or Apple’s claims.
The Galaxy Book 5 Pro is lighter
If you plan on travelling with your laptop then the Galaxy Book 5 Pro may be a better choice. The largest 16-inch model weighs an impressive1.56kg, making it the perfect companion for commuting, while the 14-inch model is even lighter at just 1.23kg.
Otherwise, the 16-inch MacBook Pro has a much heavier starting weight of 2.14kg with the M4 Pro chip or 2.15kg for the model with M4 Max. The 14-inch MacBook Pro has a lighter starting weight of 1.55kg which increases to 1.62kg for the M4 Max chip.
Early Verdict
With both offerings having powerful AI capabilities, speedy performance and long-lasting batteries, the Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro and MacBook Pro are two exciting examples of high-end laptops in 2025.
We’ll refrain from making a firm judgement until we review the two.
