Apple may introduce its upcoming M5 chip not in the next-gen iPad Pro, but in the MacBook Pro this fall.
Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple could drop the M5 chip in its upcoming next-gen notebook before its other devices. The company surprised the computing last year when it introduced the M4 chip in the iPad Pro in May 2024, followed by the MacBook Pro last October.
Gurman also posted that Apple will update its Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktops to the current generation M4 chip series. These machines could arrive around Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference this June.
The M5 series is expected to feature an enhanced ARM architecture and is reportedly being manufactured using TSMC’s advanced 3-nanometer process technology. Apple’s decision to forgo TSMC’s more advanced 2nm process for the M5 chip is believed to be due to cost considerations. However, the high-end versions of the M5 will still feature significant advancements over their M4 equivalents, mainly through the adoption of TSMC’s System on Integrated Chip (SoIC) technology.
Apple is also said to be using a 3D chip-stacking approach to vertically stack the chips, which offers improved thermal management and reduces electrical leakage compared to traditional 3D designs. The company is also said to have expanded its cooperation with chipmaker TSMC on the next-generation hybrid SoIC package, which also combines thermoplastic carbon fiber composite molding technology.
A series of references as to what are believed to be the M5 chip has already been discovered in official Apple code. Finally, it’s rumored that Apple will employ a dual-use SoIC design, and plans to deploy the M5 chip within its AI server infrastructure to bolster AI capabilities across both consumer devices and cloud services.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.