Apple launches M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

Apple has just announced two new processors: the M5 Pro and M5 Max. The new chips will power the MacBook Pro it revealed on Tuesday, offering an 18-core CPU and a new “Fusion Architecture” that integrates two 3nm dies into a single system-on-a-chip (SoC).

The CPU’s 18-core setup includes six “super” cores and 12 new performance cores, which Apple says is “optimized to deliver greater power-efficient, multithreaded performance.” The chips deliver up to 2.5 times higher multithreaded performance when compared to the M1 Pro and M1 Max.

The M5 Pro combines the 18-core CPU with an up to 20-core graphics processor, featuring an enhanced shader core “with second-generation dynamic caching and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.” Apple says the M5 Pro delivers up to 20 percent higher performance than the M4 Pro.

Meanwhile, the M5 Max offers an up to 40-core GPU with over four times the compute compared to the previous generation, according to Apple. Both the M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a 16-core neural engine for on-device AI, Thunderbolt 5 support, and Memory Integrity Enforcement.