Apple has unveiled its latest processor, the M5, promising the most significant performance leap yet for Apple Silicon, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and graphics capabilities.
The company said on Tuesday that the M5, built on third-generation 3-nanometre technology, introduces a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in every core, enabling AI workloads to run more than four times faster than on the previous-generation M4 chip. Graphics performance is up to 45 per cent higher, with third-generation ray tracing delivering smoother visuals and faster rendering for advanced applications.
The M5 features a 10-core CPU, including six efficiency cores and up to four performance cores, offering up to 15 per cent faster multithreaded performance than the M4. It also includes a new 16-core Neural Engine designed to speed up AI-powered tools and workflows, complementing the accelerators integrated into the GPU and CPU.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, 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.”
The chip offers 153GB/s of unified memory bandwidth — a 30 per cent increase over the M4 — and supports up to 32GB of memory. Apple said the design allows larger AI models to run entirely on-device, while also boosting performance in creative and professional software suites such as Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro.
The M5 will power the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro. Apple said the Vision Pro headset will benefit from a 10 per cent increase in pixel rendering and refresh rates of up to 120Hz, improving detail and reducing motion blur.
Apple added that the M5’s power efficiency supports its wider environmental targets. Under its Apple 2030 programme, the company has committed to achieving carbon neutrality across all operations by the end of the decade.