Apple has officially unveiled the M5 Pro and M5 Max, its most advanced silicon yet, designed to power the latest MacBook Pro models.
Built on a new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture, the chips combine two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC). As a result, they deliver major gains in CPU, GPU and AI performance.
At the centre of both chips is a new 18-core CPU, made up of six high-performance “super cores” and 12 redesigned performance cores.
These are aimed at handling multithreaded pro workloads more efficiently. Apple claims up to a 30% boost in pro performance, alongside significantly stronger single-threaded output compared to previous generations.
Graphics also take a noticeable step forward. The M5 Pro scales up to a 20-core GPU, while the M5 Max doubles that to as many as 40 GPU cores. Each GPU core now includes a Neural Accelerator. Consequently, AI compute is pushed to over four times the peak GPU performance of the previous generation, according to Apple. Ray tracing performance has improved too. Specifically, there are gains of up to 35% in supported apps.
Memory bandwidth is another headline upgrade. The M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with bandwidth up to 307GB/s. Meanwhile, the M5 Max stretches to 128GB and an enormous 614GB/s. For creators working with large datasets, 3D rendering, or AI models, that translates to faster token generation and smoother handling of complex scenes.
Video professionals aren’t left out. Both chips feature Apple’s updated Media Engine, supporting hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, AV1 decode and ProRes workflows. A faster 16-core Neural Engine is also onboard to accelerate on-device AI features and Apple Intelligence tasks.
Connectivity has been upgraded as well, with integrated Thunderbolt 5 controllers on each port. There are also improved memory safety protections through Apple’s always-on Memory Integrity Enforcement.
The new MacBook Pro models powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max are available to pre-order now, with availability starting March 11.
Apple calls this a “monumental leap” for Apple silicon. Whether that proves true will depend on real-world benchmarks.
On paper, M5 Pro and M5 Max look like the company’s most ambitious performance push yet – especially for users whose workflows lean heavily on AI, video production and high-end graphics.
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