Apple has introduced the M5, which delivers substantial AI acceleration and upgrades throughout the silicon. Fabricated with third-generation 3-nanometer process technology, the M5 integrates a newly designed 10-core GPU with a dedicated neural accelerator per core. This architecture enables significantly faster GPU execution of AI workloads, achieving over 4X the peak compute throughput of its predecessor, the M4. The GPU also implements advanced graphics capabilities, including third-generation hardware, ray tracing, and increasing graphics performance by up to 45% over M4. The M5 features the world’s fastest CPU core with up to ten CPU cores six for efficiency and up to four for performance delivering up to 15% greater multithreaded performance than the M4.
The upgraded sixteen-core neural engine, enhanced media engine, and a 30% increase in unified memory bandwidth (up to 153 GBs) further accelerate demanding tasks. The M5’s efficient, high-performance architecture now powers the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Vision Pro, all engineered to leverage these advanced capabilities. All three devices are available for pre-order today.
“M5 sets a thrilling new benchmark for AI performance on Apple silicon,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “With innovative neural accelerators in the GPU, M5 supercharges AI workloads. It delivers blazing graphics performance, the world’s fastest CPU core, and an even more powerful neural engine. Thanks to soaring unified memory bandwidth, M5 delivers unprecedented performance and groundbreaking capabilities to MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro.”
A New GPU Architecture Designed For AI And Graphics
The M5’s GPU architecture is purpose-built for AI workloads. Its 10-core GPU features a dedicated neural accelerator in each core, delivering 4X the peak GPU compute power of the M4 and over 6X the AI throughput of M1. With M5, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro, you can execute AI tasks faster, such as running stable diffusion models in Draw Things or processing large language models locally with web AI.
The M5’s new GPU with enhanced shader cores delivers up to 30% faster graphics performance than M4 and is 2.5 times faster than M1. The third-generation ray tracing engine improves ray-traced graphics by up to 45% in compatible applications. The second-generation dynamic caching in the GPU optimizes memory usage, enabling smoother gameplay, higher-fidelity 3D visuals, and faster rendering for graphics-intensive tasks. On Apple Vision Pro, the M5 powers micro-OLED displays with 10% more pixels and refresh rates up to 120 hertz for enhanced sharpness and reduced motion blur. The GPU architecture is designed to work smoothly with Apple’s software frameworks. Apps that use built-in Apple frameworks and APIs such as Core ML, Metal Performance Shaders, and Metal 4 instantly benefit from improved performance. Developers can also create custom solutions for their apps. They can program the neural accelerators directly with Tensor APIs in Metal 4.
A Faster Neural Engine To Power Intelligent Features.
The new 16-core neural engine offers strong AI performance while using very little energy. It works together with the neural accelerators in the CPU and GPU. This makes the M5 chip well-suited for AI tasks. For example, AI features on Apple Vision Pro now run faster and more efficiently. Turning 2D photos into spatial scenes in the Photos app or creating a Persona is also faster.
The neural engine in M5 also boosts performance for Apple Intelligence. Thanks to these enhancements, on-device AI tools, such as Image Playground, run faster. The improved neural engine and unified memory in M5 help Apple Intelligence models run better overall. In addition, developers using Apple’s Core Models framework will also see faster results.
Enhanced Memory to Do Even More with AI
M5 has a unified memory bandwidth of 153 GBs. This is almost 30% more than M4 and over twice as much as M1. This unified memory lets the entire chip access a single large pool of memory. Devices like MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro can run bigger AI models right on the device. The unified memory also powers the faster CPU, GPU, and neural engine. This delivers better multi-threaded performance in apps, faster graphics in creative apps and games, and improved AI performance when running models on neural accelerators or the neural engine. With 32 GB of memory, M5 lets users run demanding creative programs like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro simultaneously. They can do this even while uploading large files to the cloud.
Apple Silicon and the Environment
Apple 2030 is the company’s plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business by the end of this decade. The goal is to cut product emissions from materials, electricity, and transportation. The energy-efficient M5 chips help the new fourteen-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro meet Apple’s high energy-efficient standards. It also lowers the total energy these products use over their lifetime.
Source: Apple unleashes M5, the next big leap in AI performance for Apple silicon
