M5 chip

The M5 iPad Pro is the most powerful Apple tablet ever, with a chip many Mac models don’t have yet. It just launched in October but a deal means shoppers can already buy it at a discount. Amazon knocked $100 off the cost of both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions — that puts it back to its lowest price since the release. 

It’s gift-buying season, and you know who the new iPad Pro would make a great gift for? You. It’s a very capable computer for creatives and digital nomads, thanks to the M5 processor. And don’t overlook the gorgeous OLED display and Mac-like operation thanks to iPadOS 26.

With Apple’s M5 chip appearing in more devices, it’s time for an M5 vs. M4 chip smackdown. Apple unveiled its new M5 chip in October, marking a significant leap forward in on-device artificial intelligence performance over its predecessor. So let’s compare the M5 chip to the M4 chip. 

While maintaining the same core architecture as the M4 chip, the M5 delivers dramatic improvements in AI processing, graphics capabilities and memory bandwidth that position it as Apple’s most AI-focused silicon to date. But it enough to temp would-be upgraders?

The M3 Ultra-equipped Mac Studio is among the most powerful Macs you can currently buy. Despite featuring faster cores, Apple indirectly confirmed it will not launch an M4 Ultra chip. 

This won’t be the case with the M5, as the company reportedly plans to launch an M5 Ultra-powered Mac Studio in 2026.

The internet is going crazy over the Apple Vision Pro’s new Dual Knit Band, with AI users creating increasingly fantastical mutant versions of the distinctive-looking strap.

The craze started with people turning the white knit headband into a head-covering hat, but kicked into overdrive after X.com user John Dagdelen posted an image Sunday of a samurai warrior dressed head-to-toe in Vision Pro-inspired armor.

“We are not thinking big enough,” Dagdelen said in his X.com post. Dagdelen, founder of the Fluid operating system for VR headsets, who said he used ChatGPT to create the Vision Pro samurai image.

His AI creation clearly inspired others to think bigger … or at least weirder.

A wild array of AI creations followed, including some that animated Dagdelen’s samurai. The jokesters envisioned all sorts of bizarre designs and uses, from Star Wars characters to high-fashion gowns and handbags. There’s even an automotive design where the lenses make up a car’s front grill and headlights.

“There are some pretty creative ones,” Dagdelen told Cult of Mac.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Griffin gets his hands on the new M5 Vision Pro, and he’s all too happy to share his first impressions about the upgraded headset.

Also on The CultCast:

• The latest iOS beta offers a strange option for people who dislike Liquid Glass.
• New rumors about Apple’s folding iPhone and iPad make both projects sound a bit shaky. And the prices we might pay when these devices finally arrive? Outrageous!
• The Mac mini is one smokin’ machine, and it powers some pretty sweet setups.
• And finally, we field a question from a listener about our Cult of Mac workflows.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video version, embedded below.

The 2025 iPad Pro is the best high-end tablet Apple’s ever made. Don’t make the mistake of dismissing it as a “chip and ship” upgrade because the major change is the new M5 processor. Plenty of other enhancements make the tablet better than the M4 model. It moves files much faster, charges more quickly, offers better Wi-Fi and more.

If you’re still using an older model like the M1 iPad Pro, you’ll see really huge changes for the better if you upgrade to Apple’s latest tablet.

Based on my time with the M5 iPad Pro, here are seven new features that make the tablet really stand out.

After spending some time with Apple’s new base-model 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro, I’ve come to a clear conclusion: It’s an excellent laptop that represents the absolute best iteration of a formula Apple perfected years ago. But whether you should buy one depends entirely on what you’re upgrading from and what you actually do with your computer.

Apple’s new M5-powered MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Vision Pro hit store shelves Wednesday, and shoppers who preordered the devices began receiving them as well.

The first reviews for Apple’s new M5 MacBook Pro just landed, and the consensus among tech reviewers is clear: The incremental update improves an already excellent laptop. The 14-inch machine’s design remains unchanged from last year’s M4 model. However, improvements to processing power, storage speed and AI capabilities make it a compelling option for those upgrading from older machines. Still, current M4 MacBook Pro owners have little reason to feel envious.

Across M5 MacBook Pro reviews from The Verge, Wired, Tom’s Guide and Engadget, the laptop earns praise for its performance while raising questions about who should actually buy it.

Many early reviews of the 2025 iPad Pro with Apple’s new M5 processor share a general theme. The new chip makes the device faster, and paired with the major redesign of iPadOS 26, the tablet might just rival a MacBook.

Read on for M5 iPad Pro reviewers’ comments.

The Apple M5 chip jumped from rumor to reality Wednesday with the launch of MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models running the new cutting-edge processor. But so far, there’s been no official mention of an M5 Mac mini, M5 MacBook Air, M5 Studio or M5 iMac.

Here’s when the next generations of these Macs are rumored to reach customers, along with the probable launch dates of the M5 Pro and M5 Max versions of the MacBook Pro.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With the M5 chip, Apple silicon blows our minds once again with its insane combination of performance and efficiency. How does Apple keep pulling this off?

We discuss all the lustworthy new hardware that the M5 powers: MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Vision Pro.

Also on The CultCast:

• What’s the new Vision Pro headset’s biggest upgrade? Hint: It’s not the chip.
• If you’re picking up a new iPad Pro, you really should go big on storage.
• How did the upcoming Steve Jobs commemorative $1 coin go so hilariously wrong?

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Apple’s newest M5 iPad Pro might look the same as its predecessor, the M4 iPad Pro. But when you compare the two tablets’ internals, you realize a lot has changed. It’s not just a minor processor upgrade.

If you’re on the fence about upgrading or plan to buy a new iPad, here’s how the M5 iPad Pro stacks up against the M4 model.

Anyone feeling underwhelmed by Apple’s promise that its new M5 CPU runs up to 15% faster than its predecessor needs to check out the first benchmark score for the M5-powered MacBook Pro. The upcoming notebook CPU’s multithreaded performance actually comes in more than 20% faster than last year’s model. And it blows older models away.

That said, the improvement in single-core CPU performance isn’t as strong, but still respectable.

Apple’s M5-powered MacBook Air will launch in spring 2026. The company is also working on refreshed Mac Studio, Mac mini, and new external monitors for next year.

Apple unveiled the first set of M5-powered devices earlier this week, including the 14-inch MacBook Pro, Vision Pro and iPad Pro.

Apple’s newest M5 MacBook Pro does not ship with a power brick in the box in Europe and the U.K. But this time, don’t blame Apple for the move.

The change stems from new EU regulations around energy efficiency and electronic waste reduction.

Apple just revealed the 2025 iPad Pro, which gets a speed boost from the new M5 processor, and some variants get 50% more RAM. The premium tablet includes an OLED screen in both the 13-inch and 11-inch versions.

“Powered by the next generation of Apple silicon, the new iPad Pro delivers our most advanced and versatile iPad experience yet,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “iPad Pro with M5 unlocks endless possibilities for creativity and productivity — with a huge leap in AI performance and a big boost in graphics, superfast wireless connectivity, and game-changing iPadOS 26 features, it pushes the boundaries of what iPad can do yet again.”

Apple launched the M5 Vision Pro on Wednesday, bumping the impressive headset up from the years-old M2 processor. The punchier M5 processor boosts the headset’s video resolution and refresh rate for a clearer, sharper image.

The updated Vision Pro is “setting a new standard for what’s possible in spatial computing,” said Apple Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing Bob Borchers in Apple’s press release. “Spatial computing is even more capable, entertaining, and magical with the new Vision Pro.”

The M5 isn’t the only upgrade, either. A new Dual Knit Band elegantly adds comfort and style to the headset. And as icing on the cake, the M5 Vision Pro boasts noticeably improved battery life. 

The M5 Vision Pro starts at the same high price of $3,499 with 256GB of storage. It’s available for preorder today, with deliveries and in-store availability beginning on October 22. 

Apple’s new M5 chip packs more power than predecessors, with advanced performance for Apple Intelligence and pumped up GPU performance boosting graphics processing, among other incremental improvements across the chip.

“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,” he added, “M5 brings far more performance and capabilities to MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro.”

Apple unveiled an upgraded 14-inch MacBook Pro powered by the new M5 chip on Wednesday. While the laptop looks the same as its predecessor, it sports a faster new Apple silicon processor to deliver even better performance.

“MacBook Pro continues to be the world’s best pro laptop, and today, the 14-inch MacBook Pro gets even better with the arrival of the M5 chip,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release.

Apple’s SVP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak, teased the imminent launch of the M5 MacBook Pro on X today.

“Mmmmm… something powerful is coming,” Joswiak said on X, with his post accompanied by a short clip giving a quick glimpse at the upcoming MacBook Pro.

Some previous rumors point to an upgraded MacBook Pro with Apple’s M5 processor launching very soon, but other reports say it won’t be out until 2026. Turns out both might be correct.

A leak on Friday indicates the MacBook Pro running the base version M5 chip will debut quite soon. However, the variants with the M5 Pro and M5 Max supposedly won‘t launch before 2026.

Supplies of iPad Pros and 14-inch MacBook Pros powered by M4 chips are running low across Apple Stores. This indicates the imminent arrival of M5-powered models.

While reports of an M5 iPad Pro refresh surfaced before, this marks the first solid indication that Apple could launch an M5 MacBook Pro this year as well.

Apple guards its upcoming products with extreme secrecy. However, a major leak in October 2024 saw the Russian YouTuber Wylsacom unboxing the M4 MacBook Pro weeks before its official release.

The same story now unfolds with the upcoming M5 iPad Pro. Wylsacom unboxed and showcased the device a few days ago, again weeks before launch. And another Russian YouTuber did the same the next day. So how do Russian YouTubers manage to grab unreleased Apple products so early?

We can stop wondering about the details of the M5 iPad Pro — a YouTuber apparently got hold of Apple’s next tablet and revealed nearly everything about it. That includes running benchmark tests on the unreleased processor and finding a huge jump in graphics performance.

His time with the tablet — assuming this is a legitimate leak — shows that Apple must consider the previous M4 iPad Pro to be an excellent device because all that changed seems to be the newer, faster M5 processor.