Apple Debuts M5 Chip With Next-Gen GPU, AI Performance Boost

Apple today announced the M5, its next-generation Apple silicon, marking Apple's biggest leap in AI performance yet. Built on third-generation 3-nanometer technology, the new chip debuts a next-gen GPU architecture, a faster CPU and Neural Engine, and increased memory bandwidth. The M5 will power the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro, all of which are available for pre-order today.

The M5 features a new 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, a change that Apple says delivers over four times the peak GPU compute performance for AI workloads compared to the M4. The GPU also supports third-generation ray tracing for improved graphics realism and rendering speed, while providing a graphics performance boost of up to 45 percent over its predecessor. The chip's new 10-core CPU is up to 15 percent faster in multithreaded tasks and features the world's fastest performance core, according to Apple. The 16-core Neural Engine has also been improved for faster, more efficient AI processing.




Unified memory bandwidth sees a nearly 30 percent increase to 153GB/s, which Apple says will allow devices to run larger AI models completely on-device. The company also highlighted how the new architecture will benefit Apple Vision Pro, enabling it to render 10 percent more pixels and support refresh rates up to 120Hz for a more fluid experience.

The M5 chip's debut follows a recent unboxing video that claimed to show the new iPad Pro ahead of its launch and aligns with FCC filings that surfaced just a couple of weeks ago, which appeared to confirm several of Apple's unreleased M5-powered devices. The announcement also comes on the heels of a teaser from Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak, who hinted that "something powerful" was coming.

"​M5 ushers in the next big leap in AI performance for Apple silicon," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "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."

Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for details on today's updates.