Apple has recently introduced three new products equipped with the innovative M5 chip: a standard MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro featuring improved connectivity via the N1 and C1X modems, and a refreshed Apple Vision Pro headset. These launches align with Apple’s goal to highlight the third iteration of its 3-nanometer technology chip, underlining enhanced graphics capabilities and advanced AI functions that can operate on devices locally.
As stated by Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, the M5 chip signifies a notable leap in AI performance for Apple silicon. The integration of Neural Accelerators within the GPU provides a considerable enhancement to AI tasks. Alongside upgraded graphics capabilities, the fastest CPU core in the world, a swifter Neural Engine, and expanded unified memory bandwidth, the M5 chip remarkably advances the efficiency and features of the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Apple Vision Pro.
Apple has achieved significant advancements in GPU and AI capabilities with the M5 chip. The new 10-core GPU, incorporating a dedicated Neural Accelerator for each core, delivers over four times the peak GPU computational power when compared to the M4. This results in performance that is up to 30% faster and an upgraded ray-tracing engine. The 16-core Neural Engine stands out as well, optimizing AI processing. For example, the upgraded Vision Pro can quickly convert 2D images into spatial scenes or create enhanced Personas.
The M5 chip is also equipped with a unified memory bandwidth of 153GB/s, offering nearly a 30% enhancement over the M4, which makes it exceptionally efficient for executing LLM models locally. This progress establishes Apple as a frontrunner in AI-ready hardware, aiding users across various activities such as studying, coding, video and photo editing, and object rendering. Expectations are high for the forthcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max, which are anticipated to further elevate these specifications, rendering future models of the MacBook Pro even more adept for intricate tasks.
