Apple heralds ‘next big leap in AI performance’ with M5 chip launch
Apple announced the launch of its M5 processor on Wednesday, saying the chip “ushers the next big step forward in AI performance for Apple silicon.” The M5 appears in new editions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and Vision Pro, all of which are available for pre-order for US and UK customers today.
“A faster, more efficient and better performing chip”
The M5, as you would expect, is a more capable chip than its M4 predecessor. While it’s still built using 3-nanometer technology (albeit 3rd generation, versus 2nd generation on the M4), Apple claims substantial improvements in graphics speed in particular.
According to the announcement, the M5’s 10-core GPU architecture, with a neural accelerator in each core, offers “more than 4x the peak GPU compute performance compared to the M4” as well as “enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing.” Overall, Apple claims, the new chip is capable of up to 45% better graphics performance than the M4.
On the processor side, what Apple describes as “the world’s fastest performance core” promises a 15% increase in multithreaded performance over the M4. And the bandwidth of unified memory has been improved by almost 30% to 153 GB/s.
This all sounds good on paper, but what is all this theoretical power for? Apple says it very clearly: AI. Unlike the May 2024 M4 announcement, which only referenced AI twice in the first seven paragraphs, the M5 press release mentions the current technological obsession in the title, the first subtitle, the captions of the first two images, twice in the first paragraph, twice in the second paragraph, three times in the third paragraph…
So we can expect many more discussions about Apple Intelligence in the coming year. But for now, we can focus on the first three products with the M5 chip.
New iPad Pro
There’s a new iPad Pro for fall 2025, and the M5 is its main, if not almost only, significant upgrade. The M5 Pro is the same size, same design, available in the same colors, and otherwise looks virtually identical to the M4 model in all but four ways: it gets the M5 chip, Wi-Fi 6E has been replaced by Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 has been replaced by Bluetooth 6, and there’s new fast charging capability.
The M5 is clearly the big change, and Apple says that means the new device offers “up to 3.5x more AI performance than iPad Pro with M4 and up to 5.6x faster than iPad Pro with M1.” The newest addition on my list could also be a nice upgrade. Apple says the new iPad Pro can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes if you have the right adapter.
There is one more change, but it only affects cellular models. They receive Apple’s C1X modem which was introduced with the iPhone 17.
The iPad Pro M5 starts at $999/£999 for the 11-inch model and $1,299/£1,299 for the 13-inch model. It’s available for pre-order starting today and goes on sale Wednesday, October 22. For more details on this product, check out our iPad Pro news hub.
New MacBook Pro
As rumored before the announcement, Apple is only announcing new MacBooks with the standard M5 chip; there is no sign of high-end models with an M5 Pro or M5 Max. As before, the M5 laptop is only available in 14-inch size.
Like the iPad Pro, the MacBook Pro’s main upgrade is the M5 chip. Apple claims this delivers “up to 3.5x the AI performance and up to 1.6x faster graphics than the previous generation.” But there’s also improved battery life (around 24 hours, compared to 22 hours on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro) and faster SSD performance.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 starts at $1,599/£1,599. It’s available for pre-order starting today and goes on sale Wednesday, October 22. For more details on this product, check out our MacBook Pro M5 news hub.
New VisionPro
Finally, the M5 appears on a second iteration of Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset. The company says this will mean “faster performance, sharper details throughout the system, and even longer battery life, setting a new standard for what’s possible in spatial computing.”
In addition to the M5 chip, the new Vision Pro features a new Dual Knit cushioned band to improve comfort. M2 Vision Pro owners can order a new group for $99.
The updated Vision Pro is available for pre-order starting today for customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States, and will go on sale in these countries on Wednesday, October 22. Other countries will follow.
