The smallest MacBook Pro is getting the biggest upgrade: Apple's M5 chip, announced today and available in the 14-inch model. Also getting the new silicon are the iPad Pro, in both sizes, and Apple's Vision Pro headset.
The GPU also offers enhanced graphics capabilities and third-generation ray tracing that combined deliver a graphics performance that is up to 45 percent higher than M4. … Together, [the CPU cores] deliver up to 15 percent faster multithreaded performance over M4
You can pre-order an M5 MBP for delivery later this month, with prices starting at $1599 for an otherwise familiar spec sheet: 10 cores each for the CPU and GPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The iPad Pro, which also gets Wi-Fi 7 and a faster cellular modem, starts at $999 for a Wi-Fi-only 11-inch model.
iPad Pro with M5 delivers:
• Up to 6.7x faster 3D rendering with ray tracing in Octane X when compared to iPad Pro with M1,2 and up to 1.5x faster than iPad Pro with M4.
• Up to 6x faster video transcode performance in Final Cut Pro for iPad when compared to iPad Pro with M1,2 and up to 1.2x faster than iPad Pro with M4.
• Up to 4x faster AI image generation performance in Draw Things for iPad when compared to iPad Pro with M1,2 and up to 2x faster than iPad Pro with M4.
• Up to 3.7x faster AI video upscaling performance in DaVinci Resolve for iPad when compared to iPad Pro with M1,2 and up to 2.3x faster than iPad Pro with M4.
Recent updates to iPadOS vastly improved multitasking, with desktop-style windowing and resizing, so the extra power on those iPads no longer feels so superfluous. That my old iPad Mini feels fresh with it, though, is a reminder that you might not need a new device if that's what you're thinking about.
