Apple Launches M5 Chip With Focus On Ai Performance

Apple has unveiled its latest system on a chip, the M5, promising significant improvements for MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro devices. The company said the chip delivers more efficient Ai performance, faster graphics and higher bandwidth memory.

New Architecture

Built on third-generation 3-nanometre technology, the M5 features a redesigned GPU with ten cores, each including a Neural Accelerator. Apple said this design enables over four times the peak GPU compute performance for Ai workloads compared with the M4, and six times compared with the M1.

The chip also includes an improved 16-core Neural Engine, a new media engine and memory bandwidth increased to 153GB/s. The CPU has up to ten cores, made up of four performance and six efficiency cores, which Apple said delivers up to 15 per cent faster multithreaded performance over the previous generation.

Johny Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies at Apple, said the launch was designed to align with the growing role of Ai across devices.

“M5 ushers in the next big leap in Ai performance for Apple silicon,” Srouji said. “With the introduction of Neural Accelerators in the GPU, M5 delivers a huge boost to Ai workloads. Combined with a big increase in graphics performance, the world’s fastest CPU core, a faster Neural Engine and even higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 brings far more performance and capabilities to MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro.”

Ai And Graphics Applications

Apple said the chip’s performance will be evident in workloads such as diffusion models in apps like Draw Things, or large language models running locally on platforms such as webAI.

The GPU is also optimised for graphics, with third-generation ray tracing and improved shader cores. Apple claims up to 30 per cent faster graphics than the M4, and up to 2.5 times faster than the M1, with some ray tracing workloads performing 45 per cent faster.

These improvements are expected to support applications ranging from 3D modelling and rendering to gaming titles like Cyberpunk 2077, which Apple has previously highlighted in Mac demonstrations.

Faster Neural Engine

The new Neural Engine is designed to improve on-device Ai features across Apple products. On Vision Pro, it enables faster transformation of 2D photos into spatial scenes and quicker generation of digital personas.

Apple said the engine also improves performance of its Apple Intelligence features, including tools such as Image Playground and writing assistants. Developers working with Apple’s Foundation Models framework will also benefit from higher throughput when running models locally.

Expanded Memory Capacity

M5 supports up to 32GB of memory, allowing devices to handle larger Ai models fully on-device. The increase in bandwidth also supports faster rendering in creative applications such as Final Cut Pro, while enabling users to multitask with multiple high-demand applications.

Apple said the memory improvements, alongside the chip’s efficiency, would allow creators to run professional software suites while maintaining cloud workflows in the background.

Sustainability Goals

Apple linked the efficiency gains in M5 to its wider Apple 2030 environmental plan, which aims for carbon neutrality across its operations by the end of the decade.

The company said the lower power consumption of the M5 contributes to energy savings across the lifespan of supported devices.

Availability

The M5 chip will debut in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro, all available for pre-order from today.

Last Updated on October 16, 2025 by Nick Ross