Apple unveils M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with new ‘Fusion Architecture’

Source: TechCrunch

Apple on Tuesday debuted the latest addition to the M‑series of chips, as it announced its new M5 Pro and M5 Max, which power the new MacBook Pro.

Fusion Architecture

The chips are engineered around Apple’s new Fusion Architecture, an advanced design that merges two dies into a single, high‑performance system on a chip (SoC). The architecture integrates:

• A powerful CPU
• A scalable GPU
• Media Engine
• Unified memory controller
• Neural Engine
• Thunderbolt 5 capabilities

CPU

• Both chips feature an 18‑core CPU, up from the 14‑core configuration in the M4 Pro and the 16‑core in the M4 Max.
• The CPU includes six “super cores” (Apple’s highest‑performance cores) and 12 all‑new performance cores.
• Overall CPU performance is boosted by up to 30 % for pro workloads.

GPU and AI Compute

“The GPU scales up the next‑generation architecture introduced in M5 to an up‑to‑40‑core GPU. With a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core and higher unified memory bandwidth, M5 Pro and M5 Max are over 4× the peak GPU compute for AI compared to the previous generation.” – Apple press release

• Graphics performance is up to 20 % faster overall.
• Ray‑tracing workloads improve by as much as 35 %.

Memory

• M5 Pro supports up to 64 GB of unified memory (up from 48 GB on M4 Pro) with a bandwidth of 307 GB/s.
• M5 Max supports up to 128 GB of unified memory with a bandwidth of 614 GB/s.

Target Users

• M5 Pro: Aimed at data modelers, post‑production sound designers, and STEM students who need strong CPU and GPU performance plus large unified memory for complex projects.
• M5 Max: Designed for 3D animators, app developers, and AI researchers who require maximum GPU compute and the highest unified memory bandwidth.

Availability

The new MacBook Pro models are available for pre‑order tomorrow, with shipments beginning March 11.