It was a little over a year ago that Apple surprised the pundits when it debuted the M4 in the then-new iPad Pro in May 2024. Will it manage to raise the bar again at WWDC next week?
In the past, Apple would save its new Apple silicon chip and Macs or iPad Pros for the WWDC or even in the fall. But last year's announcements upended that rhythm entirely, so it’s well within reason that Apple will reveal the new M5 SoC (system on a chip) when WWDC gets started next week on June 9, 2025. The question then remains, which Macs will debut first with the new M5 chips?
What we know about the M5 chip, along with the M6 and M7
If Apple were to announce the M5 chip at WWDC next week, rumors point to chip maker TSMC not using 2nm, but instead their third-generation 3nm manufacturing. Originally, it was strongly assumed that the M5 would be the first to receive the 2nm design, but now it's looking like that will happen in 2026 with an M6 chip.
While it will reportedly still use the 3nm design, the M5 will be an improvement over the M3 and M4. It will also feature a newly designed System on Integrated Chip (SOIC), improving thermal management and helping to reduce electrical leakage.
It is a bit of a surprise that the M5 could carry on with the 3nm manufacturing process. TSMC previewed 2nm chip in April of this year, and mentioned delivery could happen sometime in the second half of 2025. There’s a 10-15% increase in speed (same power level) or a 20-30% drop in power level without a drop in performance.
If the 3nm M5 rumor holds, that will set up a 2nm redesign for the M6 next year and continue with the M7 in 2027. Apple has apparently given the M6 the code name “Komodo” (RED notwithstanding) and the M7, “Sotra.”
Both the M6 and M7 could be ready for the next generations of AI, which need as much power as possible, utilizing the CPU, GPU, and NPU.
Additionally, as Apple works to improve Apple Intelligence, it will need far more powerful servers which could take advantage of the M7.
As we learned way back in 2020 when Apple first announced the silicon and the M-series of chips, every year will feature a new and improved system on a chip, while the older models will still run well. I bought a 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 that I still use today. But I get more work done on my 2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, simply because it’s just more powerful. It can still handle editing 8K footages in Final Cut Pro 11 and crunching data in Excel without breaking a sweat.
Which Macs will receive the M5?
According to Apple news and rumors guru Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple will release a new M5 MacBook Pro in the fall of 2025. It's also within reason that Apple will ship MacBook Pros with the standard M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max options.
The MacBook Air with an M4 debuted in March 2025, so an M5 upgrade may not be on the cards until 2026. The same goes for an M5 iPad Pro. New 24-inch iMacs don't seem to follow a set pattern, and the M4 models shipped last year. The long-rumored 3o- or 32-inch iMac could happen this year, per Apple rumors maestro, Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac), but it seems to be more like wishful thinking at this point.
There's a good chance the Mac Studio may not get an M5 upgrade at all, as it also came out in March 2025 and skipped the M3 Max. Although, curiously, it has an M3 Ultra option along with M4 Max. Why no M4 Ultra? According to Apple (via Ars Technica), not every generation of Apple silicon will have an Ultra version. But it is interesting they waited almost 18 months from the debut of the M3 to offer an Ultra version, yet it is an option along with an M4 Max.
The Mac Pro is starting to get long in the tooth and still is only available with an M2 Ultra option about three years after its debut. Short of Apple canceling it, we could see an M5 Ultra Mac Pro in 2025 and perhaps one of the first unveiled at WWDC 2025.
And finally the Mac mini, which like the Mac Pro and iMac, doesn’t have a regular release schedule. Apple may opt to skip an M5 upgrade and wait for the M6 or M7. The Mac mini got an M4 and M4 Pro upgrade in late 2024, nearly two years after the M2 and M2 Pro options were offered in January 2023.
Apple silicon development history
Just how fast has the development of Apple silicon been, especially compared to processors of the past? Much like the ARM processor technology of the iPhone and other iDevices, whose technology the M-series is based upon, it's pretty much annual.
In June 2020 at the WWDC, Apple made the Earth-moving announcement they'd be developing their own processors. It was the biggest news for Macs and iPad Pros since Apple moved to Intel from PowerPC in 2005/06. The first units, an M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, debuted at the end of the year. The M1 Max and M1 Ultra came out in 2021.
The M2 wasn't announced until WWDC 2022 and by the end of October 2023, we had the "screaming fast" M3 along with new MacBook Pros. Fast-forward about six months, and Apple surprised everyone with the M4 chip which found its way first in the iPad Pro.
Time to upgrade?
Considering a Mac upgrade? Here’s a buying suggestion: if you have an M1 or M2 Mac (or even an Intel), an upgrade could make sense. My M1 MacBook Pro and M1 Max Mac Studio are still going strong, but I could actually upgrade to an M5 MBP and take full advantage of the improvements. The MacBook Pro stopped being the first computer I’d use earlier this year, and, while it was still good with Final Cut Pro, I opted to not upgrade to version 11 of the software.
If you have an M4 Mac, or even an M3, you’re probably good to wait for the M6 or M7 chips. Apple really built these chips and Macs to last, comparatively speaking of course.