Apple’s new M5 chip promises 4x AI performance and 45% faster graphics

Apple has taken the wraps off its next-generation silicon, the M5. Built on a third-generation 3nm process, the new chip is a major leap forward, with a clear and aggressive focus on GPU and AI performance. The M5 is now available in new versions of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and the Apple Vision Pro, with pre-orders live now.

While the CPU sees a respectable generational uplift, the GPU is the clear winner here. The new 10-core GPU architecture from Apple is a radical redesign, now featuring a dedicated Neural Accelerator in each core. Apple claims this new design delivers a massive 4x increase in peak GPU compute performance compared to the M4 and over 6x compared to the M1. This is a huge boon for GPU-based AI workloads, with Apple specifically highlighting faster performance in diffusion models and local LLMs.

Graphics capabilities have also been substantially improved, as the M5 features a third-generation ray tracing engine and an upgraded shader pipeline that, combined, deliver up to 45% faster graphics performance than the M4. For the Apple Vision Pro, this extra horsepower enables a higher 120 Hz refresh rate and a 10% increase in pixel count for a sharper and smoother experience.

On the CPU front, the gains are more modest. The M5 features an up to 10-core CPU with four performance cores and six efficiency cores, delivering up to 15% faster multi-threaded performance than the M4. This is complemented by an enhanced 16-core Neural Engine for on-device AI tasks and Apple Intelligence features. To feed these more powerful components, the M5 also gets a boost in unified memory bandwidth of about 30%, now hitting 153 GB/s. Apple says this, combined with capacities up to 32 GB, allows for larger AI models to run entirely on-device and provides a better multitasking experience in creative suites like Adobe Photoshop.

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KitGuru says: With the new M5, can Apple convince users from Linux and Windows to jump into its ecosystem?

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