Apple has expanded the M5 series with the M5 Pro and M5 Max; These new processors offer more power for demanding professional workflows, thanks to the brand new Fusion architecture with super cores.
Apple’s Fusion Architecture is an innovative design that combines a powerful CPU, scalable GPU, Media Engine, central memory controller, Neural Engine and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities in one SoC (system on a chip). You will find the M5 Pro and M5 Max in the latest generation of MacBook Pro.
Brand New Fusion Architecture
With the M5 Pro and M5 Max, Apple introduces the Fusion Architecture, an advanced design that fuses two chips into one System on Chip (SoC). This combination of two third-generation 3-nanometer chips offers high bandwidth and minimal delay. Together, the chips include a powerful CPU, a scalable GPU, a Media Engine, a central memory controller, a Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities.
Apple’s most advanced CPU cores
The M5 Pro and M5 Max are equipped with a new 18-core CPU, consisting of 6 supercores and 12 brand new performance cores. The leading supercore, originally introduced as a performance core in the M5, is now referred to as ‘supercore’ for all products with an M5 chip, such as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro. Known for its powerful design, this core delivers the fastest single-thread performance in the world, thanks in part to improved front-end bandwidth, a new cache hierarchy, and improved branch prediction.
Also new in the M5 Pro and M5 Max are the optimized performance cores, which provide more energy-friendly multi-thread performance for professional workflows. Together with the supercores, they ensure up to 2.5x better multi-thread performance than the M1 Pro and M1 Max. This makes everything faster and the MacBook Pro can effortlessly handle demanding professional tasks, such as complex data analysis or demanding simulations.
M5 series specifications
M5 Pro is designed for professional users who need a powerful processor and a lot of memory for complex projects, such as data modelers and sound designers. M5 Max is ideal for heavy workloads that require maximum graphics performance, such as 3D animators and app developers.
M5
- 10-core CPU with 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores
- up to 10-core GPU
- Neural Accelerators
- Up to 32 GB memory (standard 16 GB)
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 153 GB/s memory bandwidth
- Media engine: H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW with hardware acceleration
- Ray tracing with hardware acceleration
- 1 (ProRes) encoding and decoding engine
- choice of up to 2 TB of storage
M5 Pro
- up to 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores
- up to 20-core GPU
- Neural Accelerators
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 307 GB/s memory bandwidth
- Media engine: H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW with hardware acceleration
- Ray tracing with hardware acceleration
- 1 (ProRes) encoding and decoding engine
- choice of up to 4 TB of storage
- up to 64 GB RAM
M5 Max
- up to 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores
- up to 40-core GPU
- Neural Accelerators
- 16-core Neural Engine
- up to 614 GB/s memory bandwidth
- Media engine: H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW with hardware acceleration
- Ray tracing with hardware acceleration
- 1 (ProRes) encoding and decoding engine
- choice of up to 4 TB of storage
- up to 128 GB RAM
Advanced technologies in M5 Pro and M5 Max
M5 Pro and M5 Max include these advanced technologies on the chip itself:
- A faster one 16 core Neural Engine with a better bandwidth connection to memory for faster on-device AI features and Apple Intelligence.
- The newest MediaEngine from Apple with support for H.264 and HEVC, encoding and decoding in ProRes and decoding in AV1.
- Support for Memory Integrity Enforcementa new form of memory protection that is always enabled and does not hinder device performance.
- Thunderbolt 5 portseach with a specially designed controller directly on the chip, utilizing Thunderbolt 5 extremely effectively.
Availability M5 series
The M5 chip can be found in the MacBook Air, 14-inch MacBook Pro (entry-level), iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro. At the time of writing, the M5 Pro and M5 Max processor can only be found in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2026.
You can buy the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chip, among others MediaMarkt, Coolblue, Amazon, Azerty, InformatiqueYorcom or Bol.com. Are you going to sell your old MacBook? Nowadays you can also do this via our sales page.