It is clear that Apple’s new M5 chip is a lot faster than the older M1 chip, but how much faster is that exactly?
M5 chip vs M1 chip
Apple took a huge step with the M1 chip in 2020: Macs became faster, more economical and quieter. We are now several generations further and have arrived at the M5 chip. But how much faster is the M5 actually compared to the M1? And do you also notice that difference in practice? Time for a comparison.

A huge leap forward
The M5 chip is roughly 3 to 4 times faster than the original M1 chip for heavy tasks. This is due to higher clock speeds, more cores and major architectural improvements that Apple has implemented over several generations.
If you are still using an M1 machine, switching to M5 is a huge jump in speed. And you especially notice this in video editing, 3D rendering and AI tasks. The M1 is often sufficient for daily office work, but with the M5 everything goes a lot faster and your Mac or iPad can last much longer. These are the main differences:
Performance
The M5 is considerably faster, with approx 84 percent higher scores in benchmarks than the M1. This applies to most applications. But in applications that use multiple cores, the M1 Ultra is faster.
Neural engine
Designed for AI purposes, the M5 chip is up to 6x faster in AI performance and 7.7x faster in AI video processing. The M1 chip does support Apple Intelligence, but with the M5 chip it goes a lot smoother.
Bandwidth
The M5 offers a memory bandwidth of 153 GB/s, more than double the M1.
GPU
The M5 GPU is about 2x faster than the M1 in benchmarks. But keep in mind that it depends a lot on which programs you use.

The M5 is that much faster
Here you can see an overview of improvements of the M5 compared to the M1:
- CPU/GPU: 4 to 6x faster
- AI: up to 6x faster
- Bandwidth: > 2x faster
- Rendering: 6.8x faster
- Gaming: 2.6x faster
In addition to all the speed improvements, the M5 chip is also more energy efficient. This ensures less heat development and a longer battery life.
Want to buy a device with M5 chip?
If you want to purchase a device with an M5 chip, you currently have a choice between an iPad Pro and a MacBook Pro. Keep an eye on the deals below to make sure you don’t pay too much!
Apple iPad Pro 2025 deals
Compare all Apple iPad Pro 2025 prices
Apple MacBook Pro M5 2025 deals
Compare all Apple MacBook Pro M5 2025 prices