Apple's powerful SoC — "system on a chip" — processors have been the source of its greatness for years, bringing incredible performance and long-lasting battery life to iPhones, iPads, and Macs because they use far less power processing everything we do on a laptop.
However, with the premium M5-series chips, Apple might be shaking things up.
According to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, in a Medium post on Monday, Apple will utilize "server-grade SoIC [System-on-Integrated-Chip] packaging" in its M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra chips, excluding only the base M5 chip.
More specifically, "Apple will use 2.5D packaging called SoIC-mH (molding horizontal)," which will feature "separate CPU and GPU designs" — a significant change for Apple silicon.
Kuo says this move is meant to "improve production yields and thermal performance," and it has the potential to make Apple's premium M5 chips soar above the competition if executed well.
What we know about Apple's upcoming M5-series chips
To expand on the rumor from Kuo, the System-on-a-Chip design was originally used by Apple (and has since been used in almost every chip found in an Apple device) because it prevented bottlenecked performance, thanks to all the processor's individual elements neatly packed into one chip.
And yet, Apple is deviating from its highly successful chip construction in lieu of new SoIC-mH packaging that'll separate the CPU and GPU. In theory, as long as the M5 CPU and M5 GPU are equally matched, there shouldn't be any bottleneck issues.
And with the use of TSMC's latest advanced N3P node, or the third-generation 3nm process, M5 Pro-powered devices and up will most likely perform better than any we've seen so far.
Apple M5 series chip1. The M5 series chips will adopt TSMC’s advanced N3P node, which entered the prototype phase a few months ago. M5, M5 Pro/Max, and M5 Ultra mass production is expected in 1H25, 2H25, and 2026, respectively.2. The M5 Pro, Max, and Ultra will utilize… https://t.co/XIWHx5B2CyDecember 23, 2024
Kuo also believes M5 chips will soon power Apple Intelligence via the company's Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers. He estimates, "Apple's PCC infrastructure build-out will accelerate after the mass production of the high-end M5 chips," which will replace the existing M2 Ultra chips powering servers.
He says the M5 chips are "better suited for AI inferencing." With much stronger, AI-focused chips powering Apple's servers, Apple Intelligence may gain more attractive features and be able to carry out tasks faster and with more reliability.
Furthermore, Kuo even provides a few estimated production dates for us. He expects the base M5 chip to begin mass production in the first half of 2025, the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips to start production in the second half of 2025, and finally, the M5 Ultra's production to begin sometime in 2026.
These production estimates align with how the M4-series chips have rolled out this year, which means we could see Apple's first M5-powered MacBook in October 2025.
