Apple Launching M5 iPad Pro And Macs This Year

According to rumours we heard around the end of 2024, Apple reportedly plans to debut an M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro in 2025.

Manufacturing of M5 Chip

A recent study indicates that the items appear to be on pace. According to ETnews (Korean), the packaging stage of Apple’s M5 chip manufacture, a critical step towards mass production, has been underway since January.

The die is protected and connected to a circuit board during the packaging step of chip production. It is the last stage before a chip is tested and sent into mass manufacturing.

M5 iPad Pro Release Timeline

Although it’s unclear if ETnews is reiterating earlier stories or reporting from its source, the magazine asserts that the iPad Pro is “likely” to be the first M5 gadget. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted in December of last year that the M5 iPad Pro will “enter mass production” in the second half of 2025, and this timeframe is consistent with his estimate. About 18 months after the debut of the M4 iPad Pro, the M5 iPad Pro would be released in the autumn, maybe at the September iPhone 17 event.

According to ETnews, efforts are also on to build “more facilities for mass production of high-end M5 models such as Pro, Max, and Ultra.” These processors are for the next MacBook Pro upgrade, which is anticipated to happen in October or November, almost a year after the launch of the M4 MacBook Pro series. Interestingly, Apple hasn’t launched an Ultra chip since the M2, although the M4 Ultra is anticipated shortly.

M5 Chip Technology

Additionally, ETnews offers some information regarding the M5 processor itself. The chip’s maker, TSMC, is utilizing N3P, the third iteration of their 3nm technology. N3E, an improved 3nm technology, is used to build the M4. The M5 chip produced by N3P is up to 10% more efficient and 5% quicker than the M4. TSMC’s SoIC-MH technology, which stacks semiconductor chips vertically to boost performance and heat control, is used to make the M5 Pro chip.