Apple upgrades 14" MacBook Pro, Vision Pro to M5 chip

Following a teaser from earlier today, Apple announced its 14” MacBook Pro with the brand-new M5 chip. It’s joined by the Apple Vision Pro, which also gets the new chip, replacing the Apple M2 found in the launch model.

MacBook Pro 14 with M5 chip

The new M5 MacBook Pro 14 promises some sizeable gains over the outgoing base M4 variant. It features a 10-core CPU with 4x performance units and 6x efficiency units, alongside an all-new 10-core GPU that includes a Neural Accelerator in each core.

Apple claims 3.5x faster performance for AI workflows, compared to the M4 model and a 6x jump from the M1 generation. The M5 gets a 16-core Neural Engine and a 20% jump in multithreaded performance. The new chip also features a 30% jump in memory bandwidth, which now comes in at 153GB/s.

But the biggest update for the M5 MacBook Pro 14 is on the battery life side where Apple claims up to 24 hours on a single charge. That’s all, thanks to the optimizations on the M5 chip, as you still get a 72.4Wh battery cell like the M4 model, which is once again bundled with a 70W USB-C power adapter.

Apart from the new chip, the hardware on the M5 MacBook Pro 14 remains the same as last year’s M4 model. You get a 14.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display with 1,964 x 3,024px resolution and 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate. It sports the same 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness and comes with a 12MP Center Stage webcam.

In terms of I/O, you get a MagSafe charging port, 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 1x HDMI, a SDXC card slot and a headphone jack. Wireless connectivity remains capped at Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 with the M5 chip comes in Space Black and Silver colors and starts at $1,599 | €1,799 | £1,599 for the 16/512GB variant. Pre-orders are now open in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the UAE, while shipments begin on October 22.

Apple Vision Pro with M5 chip

The new M5-equipped Vision Air comes with some minor differences compared to its predecessor. The new chip enables it to render 10% more pixels on the micro-OLED displays, resulting in sharper images and text. The refresh rate can now go up to 120Hz compared to 100Hz on the first-gen model.

Thanks to the chip upgrade, the M5 Vision Pro can run AI features up to 50% faster for first-party apps and 2x faster for third-party apps.

Apple also claims improvements in battery endurance with up to 2.5 hours of general use and 3 hours of video playback.

And if the original Vision Pro received its fair share of criticism for its weight, the new model is even heavier, weighing 750–800 grams, depending on the Light Seal and headband configuration. For reference, the M2 Vision Pro weighs 600–650 grams.

Vision Pro Dual Knit Band

Apple also announced a new Dual Knit Band – sold separately for $99. It utilizes 3D knitting technology with upper and lower straps and is also compatible with the original M2 Vision Pro model.

The M5 Vision Pro retains its starting price of $3,499 | €3,699 | £3,199 for the 256GB storage trim and will be available from October 22.