Apple debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with Fusion Architecture for new MacBook Pro models

Apple unveils M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with new 'Fusion Architecture'

Apple on Tuesday debuted the latest addition to the M-series of chips, as it announced its new M5 Pro and M5 Max, which are powering the new MacBook Pro. The tech giant says the chips are engineered around its new Fusion Architecture, an advanced design that merges two dies into a single, high-performance system on a chip (SoC), which includes a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities. Both chips feature an 18-core CPU, marking an upgrade from the 14-core configuration in the M4 Pro and the 16-core in the M4 Max. The CPU now features six "super cores," which is Apple's term for its highest-performance cores, alongside 12 all-new performance cores. Collectively, the CPU boosts performance by up to 30% for pro workloads. "The GPU scales up the next-generation architecture introduced in M5 to an up-to-40-core GPU," Apple explained in a press release. "With a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 Pro and M5 Max are over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation." Graphics performance is up to 20% faster overall, with ray-tracing workloads improving by as much as 35%. M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory, up from 48GB on M4 Pro, with bandwidth of 307GB/s. M5 Max continues to support up to 128GB of unified memory, with bandwidth increased to 614GB/s. Apple says the M5 Pro is aimed at pro users such as data modelers, post-production sound designers, and STEM students who need strong CPU and GPU performance, along with large amounts of unified memory for complex projects and workloads. M5 Max is designed for pro users, such as 3D animators, app developers, and AI researchers who run workloads that demand maximum GPU compute and the highest unified memory bandwidth, the tech giant says. The new MacBook Pro models are available for pre-order tomorrow, with availability beginning March 11.

Apple Launches MacBook Pros With New M5 Pro, M5 Max Chips

After shipping the M5-based version of the MacBook Pro 14 in the latter part of 2025, Apple followed its usual pattern of releasing higher end models of the 14- and 16-inch models with Pro and Max versions of the processor, along with an M5 model of the MacBook Air. The M5 Pro and M5 Max bring updated connectivity and improved battery life -- which was already excellent -- to the laptops, which are otherwise mostly unchanged from earlier M4 Pro and M4 Max models: We'll have to keep waiting for versions equipped with an OLED display, though. Prices for the new laptops start at $2,199 for the MacBook Pro 14 and $2,699 for the MacBook Pro 16 with the M5 Pro and $3,599 and $3,899 for the M5 Max. The new laptops incorporate an N1 networking chip which brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Historically, the higher-end chips add CPU and GPU cores for improved speed overall as well as faster graphics processing, and the M5 introduced neural accelerator clusters on the GPU to boost performance on AI, notably the math that's essential for image and video generation which the Neural Engine can't handle as well. Apple also debuted two upgraded models of its relatively old Studio Display and very old Pro Display XDR. The new $3,299 Studio Display XDR now comes in a 27-inch 5K model that adds a long-awaited 120Hz refresh rate, while the cheaper 27-inch $1,599 Studio Display has an improved webcam and Thunderbolt 5 support -- no HDR or high refresh for the mainstream crowd. Preorders for all start tomorrow and start shipping on March 11.

Apple unveils new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

As part of its big week of announcements, Apple has unveiled a new pair of M5 chips alongside two new MacBooks. The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips will power the new MacBook Pro that was just announced today, while the new MacBook Air comes with the base M5. According to the company's press release, the M5 Pro and M5 Max come with an "advanced GPU with Neural Accelerators and higher unified memory bandwidth for a massive increase in AI compute." At the heart of the M5 Pro and M5 Max are what Apple is calling a new "Fusion Architecture" that "combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC)." The chips both feature a new 18-core CPU, six of which Apple is now calling "super cores, that are the word's fastest CPU core." The other 12 are "all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded workloads." ALtogether, Apple says these CPU changes improve performance by "up to 30 percent for pro workloads." Meanwhile, the GPU is a jump over the next-gen design we saw in the M5, as it goes to up to 40 cores. Each GPU core has a Neural Accelerator in it, and together with the higher unified memory bandwidth, the company says the M5 Pro and M5 Max offer "over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation."

Apple touts Fusion Architecture for M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with 'super cores'

Apple has just announced the new, more powerful MacBook Pro models powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. In previous editions of Apple Silicon, the Pro variant was essentially just two chips, while the Max was four. But for the M5 generation, Apple has combined two dies into a single chip ... From the M1 to the M4 chip lineup, the Pro variants gave you two of the base chips and the Max version gave you four. With the M5, Apple has used an advanced packaging method to combine pairs of the M5 into a single system on a chip. The chips are built using a new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture. This innovative design combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC), which includes a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities [...] It brings together two third-generation 3-nanometer dies with high bandwidth and low latency using advanced packaging. Apple highlights four of the latest technologies embedded into the chips. Apple has also renamed the high-performance cores as "super cores." M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new 18-core CPU architecture. It includes six of the highest-performing core design, now called super cores, that are the world's fastest CPU core. Alongside these cores are 12 all-new performance cores, optimized for power-efficient, multithreaded workloads. Collectively, the CPU significantly boosts performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads. The GPU scales up the next-generation architecture introduced in M5 to an up-to-40-core GPU. With a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 Pro and M5 Max are over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation. The GPU substantially increases graphics capabilities -- now up to 35 percent for apps using ray tracing than M4 Pro and M4 Max -- enhancing advanced visual effects and 3D rendering. Apple says this approach results in an "unparalleled combination of performance, efficiency, and on-device AI capabilities." "M5 Pro and M5 Max are a monumental leap forward for Apple silicon, leveraging our new Fusion Architecture to scale the capabilities of Apple silicon while preserving its core tenets of performance, power efficiency, and unified memory architecture," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "Both chips underscore our relentless pace of innovation, integrating the world's fastest CPU cores, a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators, a faster Neural Engine, and high-bandwidth, high-capacity memory -- resulting in an unparalleled combination of performance, efficiency, and incredible on-device AI capabilities for MacBook Pro." Apple says the M5 Pro chip is aimed at people like data modelers, sound designers, and STEM students, while the M5 Max is pitched toward 3D animators, app developers and AI researchers.

Apple's New MacBook Pro With M5 Pro and M5 Max Are Supercharged for Creative Pros

Apple has unveiled faster, more powerful MacBook Pro laptops with the all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Apple calls its new MacBook Pro "the world's best pro laptop." The latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops feature the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, promising "game-changing performance and AI capabilities" for Apple's super popular pro laptops. The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips feature next-generation Fusion architecture, up to an 18-core CPU, and up to a 40-core GPU. Both chips promise significant improvements in CPU, GPU, and AI performance compared to the M4 Pro and M4 Max, and feature higher unified memory bandwidths than before. The up-to-18-core CPU features six "super cores," as Apple calls them. These form what the company says is the world's fastest CPU core. As for the GPU, each core, up to 40 in the M5 Max, has its own Neural Accelerator. AI tasks are up to four times faster than with M4 Pro and M4 Max, while AI image generation is up to nearly eight times faster compared to the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Both chips also offer up to 50 percent better graphics performance than the M4 Pro and Max chips. Taken together, the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro laptops should not only be way better for AI-based tasks, which are plentiful in the latest creative applications, but also much better across all aspects of photo and video editing workflows. While PetaPixel will do its own benchmarking as soon as possible, Apple specifically notes that the M5 Max MacBook Pro is up to 5.4 times faster when working with video effects in Blackmagic's DaVinci Resolve Studio compared to M1 Max and up to three times faster compared to M4 Max. Topaz Video is up to 3.5 times faster on the M5 Max than on the M4 Max. There are also significant gains in SSD performance. Compared to prior models, the new MacBook Pro series offers up to two times faster SSD performance. Apple says the SSD can reach speeds of up to 14.5GB/s, which is extremely fast. The M5 Pro MacBook Pro starts with 1TB of storage, while M5 Max starts at 2TB. The new MacBook Pro includes the N1 chip, Apple's new wireless networking chip that supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, which means better connectivity. The laptops promise up to 24 hours of battery life, feature the same great Liquid Retina XDR display as before, including a nano-texture matte-finish option, and the same 12-megapixel Center Stage camera and studio-quality internal mics. Both machines also feature Thunderbolt 5, which Apple describes as the best implementation in the industry, thanks to the M5 Pro and M5 Max's Thunderbolt 5 architecture. It is also worth noting that the new MacBook Pro has an 8K-capable HDMI port and can drive up to two high-resolution external displays with the M5 Pro and up to four with the M5 Max. "MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max redefines what's possible on a pro laptop, now up to 4x faster than the previous generation," says John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. "With Neural Accelerators in the GPU, the new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do -- all while maintaining exceptional battery life. Combined with even faster unified memory and storage, it empowers users to take their work even further, unleashing new possibilities and pushing the boundaries of what they can do." The new MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max starts at $2,199 for the 14-inch M5 Pro model and $2,699 for the 16-inch M5 Pro version. MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at $3,599 and $3,899 for 14- and 16-inch versions, respectively. Both laptops are available in space black and silver. The new notebooks will be available to preorder starting on March 4, with shipping starting on March 11. Apple also announced today that its 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 now comes standard with 1TB of storage, up from 512GB, while still starting at $1,699.

Apple reveals new MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

The biggest release? A new MacBook Pro with Apple's newest and most powerful chipsets, the M5 Pro and M5 Max. The MacBook Pro with the M5 chip came out back in October, so the release of the M5 Pro and M5 Max was long overdue based on Apple's previous release cycles with its in-house Silicon chipset. Mashable gave the MacBook Pro M5 a stellar review, and these long-awaited MacBook Pros with the M5 Pro and M5 Max are basically just more powerful versions of that device for professional users with advanced computing needs. Before getting into specs, the first thing we should mention is that Apple has surprisingly raised MacBook Pro prices across the board. We're not just talking about the new MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips being more expensive than their predecessors with equivalent silicon. Today, Apple has also effectively raised the starting price of the MacBook Pro M5 that was released in October. The 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 previously had a starting price of $1,599. Apple has raised the price by $100, bringing the new starting price to $1,699. Thankfully, Apple isn't asking consumers to just pay more for the same device. Apple has done away with the 512GB of storage option, making 1TB of storage the new base model. So, while Apple fans have to pay $100 more for a MacBook Pro, they're now getting double the storage. Now, as for the newest members of the MacBook Pro family, the 14-inch M5 Pro starts at $2,199, which is $200 more than its M4 Pro predecessor, and comes with a 15-core CPU and a 16-core GPU. The 16-inch M5 Pro starts at $2,699, also $200 more than its M4 Pro predecessor, and comes with an 18-core CPU and a 20-core GPU. Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pros come with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage in their base models. By far the most expensive models are the ultra-powerful MacBook Pros with the M5 Max chipset. The 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max starts at $3,599, and the 16-inch M5 Max starts at a whopping $3,899. Both base models come with an 18-core CPU and a 32-core GPU and include 36GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. According to Apple, the new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max altogether provide up to four times the AI performance compared to the equivalent M4 chipsets and up to eight times the AI performance when compared to the M1 chips, Apple's first Silicon chipset, which came out in 2020. The new MacBook Pros also include Apple's wireless networking chip called N1, which brings improved performance and reliability for wireless connections over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Apple says that the new MacBook Pros also boast two times faster SSD performance and up to 24 hours of battery life. Now, as for the M5 Pro and M5 Max specific upgrades, users will see huge performance boosts in AI processing, video editing, 3D modeling, gaming, and more. Apple says 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M5 Pro will see: As for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the M5 Max chip, Apple says that users will see:

Apple Debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips for Demanding Pro Workflows

Apple has announced the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, both built to power professional creative workflows. Apple calls its brand-new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips "the world's most advanced chips for pro laptops," and has announced them alongside the new MacBook Pro. The M5 Pro and M5 Max build upon last year's base M5 chip and feature all-new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture. This new design combines two dies into a single system on a chip (SoC), including a "powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities," Apple explains. The M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a new 18-core CPU design, including six of Apple's highest-performing core designs, which it calls "super cores." The Cupertino tech giant says these are the world's fastest CPU cores. There are a dozen all-new performance cores designed for power-efficient, multithreaded workflows alongside these six super cores. Collectively, the CPU promises up to 30 percent better performance for pro workloads. The GPU scales up to a next-generation architecture with up to 40 cores, and each GPU core has a Neural Accelerator and higher unified memory bandwidth. The M5 Pro and M5 Max are up to four times more powerful in GPU compute for AI-based tasks than the previous generation, and their graphics capabilities, specifically ray tracing, are up to 35 percent better than the M4 Pro and M4 Max. "M5 Pro and M5 Max are a monumental leap forward for Apple silicon, leveraging our new Fusion Architecture to scale the capabilities of Apple silicon while preserving its core tenets of performance, power efficiency, and unified memory architecture," says Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "Both chips underscore our relentless pace of innovation, integrating the world's fastest CPU cores, a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators, a faster Neural Engine, and high-bandwidth, high-capacity memory -- resulting in an unparalleled combination of performance, efficiency, and incredible on-device AI capabilities for MacBook Pro." Apple says M5 Pro is designed for all pro users who require "robust processing power and graphics." M5 Pro features an up-to-18-core CPU and up to 20 GPU cores. M5 Pro has four more max CPU cores compared to M4 Pro, delivering up to 30 percent better CPU performance. M5 Pro supports up to 64GB of unified memory with higher bandwidths of 307GB/s. Taken all together, M5 Pro offers up to four times the peak GPU compute compared to M4 Pro and up to six times the peak GPU compute compared to M1 Pro for AI-based tasks. Graphics performance for other tasks, like games, is up to 20 percent better than M4 Pro and 2.2 times higher than on M1 Pro. M5 Max is for users who demand maximum GPU compute. M5 Max has the same CPU cores as M5 Pro but offers up to 40 GPU cores, double that of the M5 Pro. Compared to M4 Max, M5 Max's CPU is up to 15 percent faster, and its graphics are 20 percent faster. M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with an even higher memory bandwidth of up to 614GB/s. Both the Apple M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a faster 16-core Neural Engine than before and Apple's latest Media Engine, with support for hardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVC, AV1 decode, and ProRes encode and decode engines. They also support an industry-first, always-on memory safety protection mode, Memory Integrity Enforcement. The new chips, of course, support Thunderbolt 5. Apple notes that each Thunderbolt 5 port has its own custom-designed controller, directly on chip, which is "the industry's most capable implementation of Thunderbolt 5." The new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are only currently available in the updated MacBook Pro models, also announced today. If the past is any indication, M5 Pro and M5 Max will come to other future Mac models soon.

Apple debuts M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with Fusion Architecture

Apple unveiled the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, featuring a new "Fusion Architecture" that combines two dies into a single system on a chip. The new chips target professional workstations and artificial intelligence applications, promising significant performance gains over the previous M4 generation. Apple stated the architecture allows for higher unified memory bandwidth and increased AI compute capabilities. The M5 Pro and M5 Max feature an 18-core CPU with six "super cores" and 12 "all-new performance cores." Apple said this configuration improves performance by up to 30 percent for pro workloads. The company described the super cores as the "world's fastest CPU core," though this claim requires third-party verification. The GPU includes up to 40 cores, each equipped with a Neural Accelerator. Apple stated this design offers over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation. Graphics performance is boosted by up to 35 percent for apps using ray tracing compared to the M4 Pro and M4 Max. The new MacBook Pro, powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max, is available for pre-order starting March 4. The hardware is scheduled to arrive on March 11. Devindra Hardawar, an Apple Silicon expert, stated that benchmarks have proven the company's previous claims of having the "world's fastest" core true. The two-die design is not novel, as companies like Intel and AMD have implemented similar architectures. Apple announced the new chips as part of a broader week of announcements, which also included a new MacBook Air powered by the base M5 chip.

Apple MacBook Pro with M5 Max chip just launched: What's new?

How much power is too much power? This is exactly what you will be left wondering when you take a close look at Apple's new productivity beast, the M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro. With a starting price of Rs 3,99,900, the laptop has just been launched and it is the most powerful laptop by the Cupertino-based tech giant today. Along with the laptop, the M5 Max chipset has also made its debut and will be a good fit for 3D artists, AI researchers and professionals with heavy-duty needs. If you fit into any of these categories and have been thinking of upgrading, read on. We have done all the homework and broken it all down for you. Also read: Apple launches MacBook Pro with M5 Pro chip: Key features, upgrades and price in India Apple's new MacBook Pro powered by the M5 Max chipset runs on an 18 core CPU made up of six super cores and 12 new performance cores. Apple says these super cores are the fastest CPU cores in the world for single threaded tasks. The new performance cores are designed to handle multithreaded pro workloads more efficiently. Compared to the M4 Max, multithreaded performance is said to be up to 15 percent higher. When compared to M1 Max, the jump is even more. Now, the aspect that is bound to stand out the most about the M5 Max chipset is how it is built. The chipset is built on Apple's brand new Fusion Architecture and combines two third generation 3 nanometer dies into a single system. In simple terms, this allows Apple to pack in more CPU power, a larger GPU, faster memory bandwidth and stronger AI acceleration. Compared to the M4 Max generation, Apple has claimed some serious gains in graphics, AI compute and multithreaded performance. If you thought that CPU has all the gains, you are wrong. The GPU upgrades are also worth a serious look. The M5 Max scales up to a massive 40 core GPU. And each GPU core includes a dedicated Neural Accelerator, which is expected to play a big role in boosting AI performance. Apple has claimed over four times the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the M4 Max, and more than six times compared to M1 Max. For users running large language models locally or working with complex AI pipelines, this leap matters. In terms of graphics, Apple claims that the M5 Max delivers up to 20% higher performance than M4 Max. In apps that use ray tracing, users can expect to see up to 30% better performance. As for 3D rendering in tools like Cinema 4D or detailed architectural visualisation, faster previews and shorter export times can be expected. Apple didn't forget unified memory upgrades as well. The M5 Max supports up to 128GB of unified memory with bandwidth up to 614GB per second. This high bandwidth is critical for handling massive datasets, complex scenes and high token generation in LLM workloads. On top of that, the chip includes a faster 16 core Neural Engine, Apple's latest Media Engine with hardware accelerated H.264, HEVC and AV1 decode, ProRes encode and decode, and built-in Thunderbolt 5 controllers. Since the MacBook Pro M5 Max is priced at almost Rs 4 lakh, it certainly isn't for every kind of user. If your typical work day looks like Google docs and spreadsheets, it might not be wise to spend that much on a new laptop. However if you need a laptop that can do a lot of heavy lifting and often find yourself pushing your system to its limit, this might be a worthy upgrade. The people who might need this much power are 3D animators rendering detailed environments, AI researchers training and testing models locally, developers compiling massive codebases, and video editors working with multiple high resolution footage. There is no doubt that the combination of an 18 core CPU, up to 40 core GPU, Neural Accelerators in every GPU core and up to 128GB unified memory makes this one of the most capable pro laptops available right now. In other words, the M5 Max MacBook Pro is about power. It comes with more cores, more memory bandwidth, and promises better AI performance. And if your work demands maximum compute in a portable form factor, this is the answer.