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Things are changing at Apple after a stunning 2024, which saw the Apple M4 chip put unprecedented power across almost the entire range of Apple devices.
If last year was a revolution, the next step will likely be an evolution: How will Apple proceed with the M5 chip, which is expected to launch later this year?
Respected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests the M5 chip is coming in the second half of 2025 and, along with powering iPads, iPhones, and Macbooks, will also spread to new devices like a refreshed Apple Vision Pro.
Techopedia explores everything we know and what we expect from the M5 chipset.
Key Takeaways
- Apple is expected to release the M5 chip in mid to late 2025.
- The M5 base variant will likely come first, followed by the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra.
- The M5 chip could be the first Apple chip to use 2-nanometer technology, although 3nm is more likely.
- An Apple Vision Pro with an M5 chipset is expected in the second half of 2025.
- We can then expect new iPads, iPhones, and Macbooks to launch with M5 chips.
What Is Apple M5 Chip?
The Apple M5 chip is the next generation of Apple’s silicon, set to power the 2025 editions of the MacBook, iPhone, and iPad range.
The M5 will help Apple in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, with Apple Intelligence still seeing a staggered roll-out across devices such as last year’s iPhone 16 and iPad Pro 2024.
This could be the moment when the Cupertino-based tech giant switches focus from launching AI products to actively improving and iterating the user experience — all of which requires some hefty on-board processing power.
For instance, there are suggestions that next year’s iPhone 17 models, such as the iPhone 17 Ultra, will see a boost to 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB of RAM, to better handle edge AI applications, all powered by the M5 chip.
Expected M5 Chip Features & Specs
Speed, Efficiency, 2nm or 3nm?
The thought of an M5 chip that is much more powerful than the M4 chip will be a mouthwatering prospect for many.
Although Apple’s manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) may begin production of 2nm chips this year, mass production (needed to manufacture chips at the scale required for Apple’s iPhones) is reported to not start until later in the year.
As an explainer, “2-nanometer technology” features more transistors on a chip than the current 3nm standard.
If 2nm becomes reality, the move is expected to provide around 10-15% speed improvement or a 25-30% power reduction compared to the 3nm process already used in chips like Apple’s A17 Pro.
Chips that continue to get more powerful while using less energy will also contribute to longer battery life in smartphones and tablets.
With such a tight timeline, we suspect many of Apple’s flagship products will continue using TSMC’s 3nm process for another generation. But if the stars align, we could see 2nm.
The jury is out on this one.
Other features in the mix include AI inferencing — or AI making predictions for what the user wants to see next.
We also expect an improved version of the service offered by Apple’s Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers, which extends your iPhone or iPad’s processing capabilities into the cloud but keeps user data private from everyone, including Apple.
Expected Mac M5 Chip Release Date
A Potential Release Date is Mid-2025
The Mac M5 chip’s release date is thought to be around May or June 2025, during the build-up to Apple’s annual WWDC conference. It will be attached to a new product, such as a revamped Apple Vision Pro.
As reaction to Apple’s take on spatial computing has so far been muted, launching the M5 with a new Vision Pro could be a smart tactic, but we expect it is iPhone and Macbook users who will see the benefit of a new chip in the Fall of 2025.
Looking at the previous release schedule, we expect the M5 base variant to drop first, followed by an M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra.
| Processor | Release Date |
|---|---|
| M1 | November 2020 |
| M1 Pro | October 2021 |
| M1 Max | October 2021 |
| M1 Ultra | March 2022 |
| M2 | June 2022 |
| M2 Pro | January 2023 |
| M2 Max | January 2023 |
| M2 Ultra | June 2023 |
| Entire M3 Series | October 2023 |
| M4 | May 2024 |
| M4 Pro | October 2024 |
| M4 Max | October 2024 |
| M4 Ultra | Q1 2025? |
| M5 | Expected Mid-2025 |
| M5 Pro, Max, Ultra | Q1 2026? |
Apple’s AI Journey Powered By M5 Chips: The Road Ahead
Before getting ahead of ourselves, we must remember that, in many ways, Apple is still playing catchup with artificial intelligence.
Despite the hype that surrounds AI, there is no avoiding the fact that it is still not fully baked into Apple products. Apple Intelligence is still very much in beta in current models, and Siri remains a voice assistant rather than a large language model (LLM).
However, it’s not where we are; where we are heading really matters.
While Apple Intelligence has technically placed generative AI into various 2024 models, we expect the next generation to really make use of the technology.
The more power the M5 can place in the heart of devices, the more opportunity there is to make AI mainstream for the less tech-savvy users out there.
The Bottom Line
Steve Jobs famously said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward.” The M4 marked a big leap for Apple, but it is likely going to be the software that comes with the M5 that we all notice.
We look forward to seeing a world with powerful Apple Intelligence powered by the M5 chip. Sometimes, the future only makes sense in hindsight.
