MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Max) vs ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) G835
The short answer
- ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) G835 has the faster screen: 240 Hz against 120.
- MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Max) is the cheaper of the two at the price its maker announced: INR 429,900 against INR 699,990.
Compared only on figures both makers publish. Everything else is in the table below.
2 phones side by side.
| Specification |
 MacBook Pro 16-inch (M5 Max)
₹4,29,900launch price
|
 ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) G835
₹6,99,990launch price
|
|---|---|---|
| Placement | ||
| At its price | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Spec index | — | — |
| Key Specs | ||
| RAM | 36GB unified memory, configurable to 48GB, 64GB or 128GB | 32GB or 64GB DDR5-6400, up to 128GB |
| Processor | Apple M5 Max, 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores | Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 290HX Plus |
| Battery | 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer, up to 22 hours video streaming | 90WHrs, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Display | 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR, 3456 x 2234 at 254 ppi, ProMotion up to 120Hz | 18-inch 4K (3840 x 2400) Mini LED, 240Hz |
| Graphics | 32-core GPU, configurable to 40-core GPU | Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 24GB GDDR7 |
| Storage | 2TB SSD, configurable to 4TB or 8TB | Up to 8TB (4TB + 4TB) PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 0 |
| General | ||
| Launch Date | March 2026 (announced 3 March, available 11 March 2026) | January 2026 (announced at CES 2026) |
| Operating System | macOS | Windows 11 Pro |
| Colours | Space Black, Silver | Off Black |
| Series | MacBook Pro | ROG Strix SCAR |
| Model Number | — | G835LWG / G835LXG |
| Performance | ||
| Chipset | Apple M5 Max with 16-core Neural Engine | Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 290HX Plus |
| CPU | 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, 36MB cache |
| Architecture | Apple silicon | — |
| Graphics | 32-core GPU; 40-core GPU optional | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (ROG Boost 1550MHz at 175W) or RTX 5090 (ROG Boost 1647MHz at 175W) Laptop GPU |
| RAM | 36GB, 48GB, 64GB or 128GB unified memory | 32GB or 64GB |
| RAM Type | Unified memory | DDR5 SO-DIMM |
| Cores | 18 | 24 cores, 24 threads |
| Expandable Memory | Configurable at purchase only | Up to 128GB (64GB + 64GB), user upgradeable |
| RAM Speed | 460GB/s memory bandwidth; 614GB/s with 40-core GPU | 6400 MT/s |
| Graphics Memory | Unified memory shared with the CPU | 16GB GDDR7 (RTX 5080) or 24GB GDDR7 (RTX 5090) |
| Clock Speed | — | 2.7 GHz, up to 5.5 GHz |
| Display | ||
| Display Type | Liquid Retina XDR, mini-LED backlit; standard or nano-texture glass | ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED with G-Sync and MUX Switch |
| Screen Size | 16.2 inches (diagonal) | 18-inch (45.72 cm) |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch | 4K (3840 x 2400, WQUXGA) |
| Brightness | XDR: 1000 nits sustained full-screen, 1600 nits peak (HDR only); 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio | 1600 nits peak brightness, over 2000 dimming zones |
| Refresh Rate | ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz | 240Hz |
| Colour Gamut | Wide colour (P3), support for 1 billion colours, True Tone technology | 100% DCI-P3 |
| Aspect Ratio | — | 16:10 |
| Design | ||
| Height | 24.81 cm (9.77 inches) depth | 29.8 cm |
| Width | 35.57 cm (14.01 inches) | 39.9 cm |
| Thickness | 1.68 cm (0.66 inch) | 2.35 ~ 3.50 cm |
| Weight | 2.15 kg (4.7 pounds) | 3.70 ~ 3.73 kg |
| Build Material | Aluminium enclosure | — |
| Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes, per-key RGB |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 (ANSI) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys | Backlit Chiclet Keyboard Per-Key RGB with Num-key |
| Touchpad | Force Touch trackpad | Touchpad |
| Fingerprint Sensor | No | — |
| Storage | ||
| Storage Type | SSD | PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, RAID 0 |
| Internal Storage | 2TB, 4TB or 8TB | 2TB + 2TB or 4TB + 4TB |
| Expandable Storage | Configurable at purchase only | Up to 8TB (4TB + 4TB), user upgradeable |
| Storage Slots | — | 2x M.2 slots |
| Battery | ||
| Capacity | 100 watt-hours | 90WHrs |
| Type | Built-in lithium-polymer | 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| Charging | MagSafe 3 port; minimum 140W to charge; fast-charge capable with 140W or higher USB PD power source | — |
| Power Adapter | 140W USB-C Power Adapter | 450W AC adapter, output 21V DC, 21.45A |
| Battery Life | Up to 22 hours video streaming; up to 16 hours wireless web | — |
| Ports & Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 6 | Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be); Thread networking technology | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) triple band 2x2 |
| Audio Jack | 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones | 1x 3.5mm audio jack |
| USB Type-C | No | No |
| Thunderbolt | Three Thunderbolt 5 ports, up to 120Gb/s, with DisplayPort output | 2x Thunderbolt 5 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL |
| Card Reader | SDXC card slot | — |
| USB Type-A | — | 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, up to 10Gbps |
| Ethernet | — | 1x 2.5G LAN port |
| Multimedia | ||
| Audio Features | Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum microphone modes | Dolby Atmos, AI noise-cancelling |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | 4-speaker system |
| Webcam | 12MP Centre Stage camera with Desk View support and 1080p HD video recording | 1080p FHD IR camera for Windows Hello |
| Microphone | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | Built-in array microphone |
| Features | ||
| Operating System Edition | macOS with Apple Intelligence | Windows 11 Pro |
| Security | Touch ID | Firmware TPM, BIOS password protection |
| In the Box | 16-inch MacBook Pro, 140W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only) | ROG backpack, ROG Fusion II 300 headset, ROG Impact Gaming Mouse |
| Cooling | — | ROG Intelligent Cooling with end-to-end vapour chamber, sandwiched heatsink and Tri-Fan Technology |