Last year, Apple rolled out the M5 chipset for MacBook Pro, promising better performance than ever with 10-core functionality, and today they’ve announced the next step of integration.
Apple has revealed the latest additions to its catalogue today, including a 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, an M5-equipped MacBook Air, and new Studio Displays for consumers. The MacBook Pro features the all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets, which are said to deliver game-changing performance and AI capabilities to the mobile platform. With M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets, the MacBook Pro features a new CPU and a next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, bringing higher unified memory bandwidth and delivering up to 4x AI performance compared to the previous generation (M4 Pro).
Apple’s Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, says, “With Neural Accelerators in the GPU, the new MacBook Pro enables professionals to run advanced LLMs on device and unlock capabilities that no other laptop can do — all while maintaining exceptional battery life. Combined with even faster unified memory and storage, it empowers users to take their work even further, unleashing new possibilities and pushing the boundaries of what they can do,” touting the prowess of the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets. The M5 Pro and Max chipsets are designed with Large Language Models in mind, and these are the most advanced models with LLM neural processing produced by Apple yet
On top of the new MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max, Apple has a few more tricks up their sleeve, and it has introduced the new MacBook Air with M5. Apple claims the new M5-equipped MacBook Air can perform AI tasks up to four times faster than the M4 model, without sacrificing the signature light and durable aluminum design the MacBook Air is known for. Equipped with a Liquid Retina display, 12MP Center Stage camera, up to 18 hours of battery life, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for up to two external displays, this MacBook Air is the next generation under the hood and outside the case.
The new MacBook Air M5 is tethered to the power of macOS Tahoe and Apple Intelligence, delivering portable computing solutions and weightless travel for college students and creative professionals on the go. The MacBook Air M5 is available in 13 and 15-inch models and comes in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver colourways. John Ternus calls the MacBook Air M5 “The perfect laptop for anyone who values the unrivalled combination of performance and portability.”
The last item Apple brought to consumers today is the new Studio Display and Studio Display XDR. Studio Displays are premium monitors designed for creatives. The new Studio Display features a 12MP Center Stage camera, a studio-quality three-microphone array, and an immersive six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio. It now also deploys the new and powerful Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, providing more downstream capabilities for high-speed accessories or daisy-chaining displays to the Studio itself.
The more advanced Studio Display XDR features what Apple claims is the “world’s best pro display,” and it has a 27-inch 5K mini-LED backlit screen with a Retina XDR display complete with (5120×2880) resolution, to illuminate even the finest details on a project. Studio Display XDR has a super-fast 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,000 nits for HDR content and more than 2,000 local dimming zones. The XDR also boasts variable refresh rate (and adaptive sync) functionality, which keeps up with the rest of your setup without intervention.
All of the Apple products announced today will go up for pre-order tomorrow, March 4, and the pricing of the new suite of Apple products is listed below (with prices that can increase due to consumer configurations).
- The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $2,999 (CAD).
- The 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro starts at $3,599 (CAD).
- The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at $4,999 (CAD).
- The 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M5 Max starts at $5,399 (CAD).
- The 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,499 (CAD).
- The 15-inch MacBook Air with M5 starts at $1,799 (CAD).
- The Studio Display starts at $2,099 (CAD).
- The Studio Display XDR replaces Pro Display XDR and starts at $4,499 (CAD).
Consumers looking for more information on everything Apple (including where to post up for pre-orders tomorrow) can check out their official website.
