Apple launches M5-powered iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Vision Pro lineup

Apple announced on October 15 that its next-generation M5 system-on-chip will power refreshed versions of the iPad Pro, a 14-inch MacBook Pro and an upgraded Vision Pro headset, with preorders opening immediately and the products arriving in stores on October 22. The company described the launch as a lineup-wide performance and connectivity upgrade centered on on-device artificial intelligence.

At the center of the update is the M5, built on a third-generation 3-nanometer process. Apple said the chip has a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and a 16-core Neural Engine. Apple provided performance claims including up to 15 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance versus the prior generation, up to 45 percent faster graphics in some workloads, and up to 3.5 times faster AI performance on iPad Pro compared with the M4. Apple also said unified memory bandwidth rises to roughly 153 GB/s.

The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models retain the same Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED displays, thin chassis and optional nanotexture glass but add the M5, faster storage, and higher base memory. Apple said the 256GB and 512GB iPad Pro configurations now...