The M5 has a few specification differences with the M4 that we managed to uncover when Apple’s updated 13-inch iPad Pro became part of an unsanctioned unboxing video. However, the company has officially announced the new chipset, and there are a ton of improvements made to it that we will discuss here. Surprisingly, those performance upgrades come despite the SoC sporting up to a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU.
Like Apple’s latest A-series chipsets, the M5 sports Neural Accelerators in each GPU core, resulting in massive compute performance improvements over the M4
Coming to the CPU first, the M5’s 10-core configuration offers six performance and four efficiency cores just like the M4, making it unchanged from a single generation. Despite this lack of change, Apple says each of these cores delivers up to a 15 percent multi-threaded performance improvement over the M4. Additionally, the new Apple Silicon also delivers up to a 30 percent performance gain in graphics, and with the Neural Accelerator housed in each CPU and GPU core, the M5 can obtain four times the compute capabilities of its immediate predecessor.
As for memory bandwidth, the M5 reaches 153GB/s, making it 30 percent higher compared to the 120GB/s memory bandwidth limit of the M4. Since the new SoC supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, there are improvements in this area, with Apple claiming up to a 45 percent performance increase for applications supporting this feature. The Neural Engine retains its 16-core configuration, but even then, it can deliver powerful AI performance while consuming the least amount of power.
This component will work in unison with the M5’s Neural Accelerators in the CPU and GPU to make the Apple Silicon entirely optimized for artificial intelligence-related workloads. For instance, using the Apple Vision Pro, users can transform 2D photos into spatial scenes in the Photos app or generate a Persona, which will operate with greater speed and efficiency. The M5 also boosts faster Apple Intelligence performance, with on-device AI tools like Image Playground running quicker.
What about the M5 Pro and M5 Max?
In case you did not notice, the M5 Pro and M5 Max are not a part of Apple’s announcements, which can be puzzling, but leaked code in macOS Tahoe revealed that both high-end chipsets will launch later. Though no reason was provided, YouTuber Vadim Yuryev believes it could be due to the M5 Pro and M5 Max offering a new chip design that separates both the CPU and GPU blocks, allowing for entirely customized configurations for users based on the workloads running on their machines. While we wait for those releases, we will bring updated information on the M5, so stay tuned.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
