Apple’s 3nm M5 Chip, Based On TSMC’s N3P Process, To Enter Mass Production In 2H25 With Major Performance Gains For Macs; No iPad Pro Refresh Incoming

Apple is expected to begin mass production of its next-generation M series of chips in the second half of 2025, which will be used in Macs and the company’s Apple Intelligence servers. Prominent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared the timeline of the chips in a new Medium post and also shared when users can expect the higher-end versions of the chips. The company is also expected to launch its M4 Ultra chip next year, and based on the information, Apple will potentially follow the same route as the M4 chip.

The M5 chip is expected to enter mass production in the second half of next year

The M5 chip will deliver better computational and graphical performance compared to the M4 chips. The chip will continue to be a 3nm chip instead of 2nm, but the company will switch to TSMC’s advanced N3P process, which means that users can expect some performance gains over the M4 chip. The chip’s efficiency will also be improved compared to its predecessor, which will contribute to better battery life on the forthcoming MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models.

As mentioned, Apple will launch the M5 chips next year, with mass production slated for the second half. The timeline is pretty similar to the M4 chip, except for the OLED iPad Pro. What this means is that the company will potentially release the M5 version of the iPad Pro by the end of next year instead of in the Spring. Other than the iPad Pro, the M5 chip will make it to the public with the launch of the MacBook Pro models, potentially in October or November time frame.

Apple is expected to launch the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max MacBook Pro models in October of next year. It remains to be seen if Apple will upgrade the new Mac mini with an M5 chip as well. As for the MacBook Air lineup, we can expect the M5 variants to be announced in the first half of 2026, while the higher-end M5 Ultra will make it to the real world in the second half of 2026.

Apple opted for a different release cycle for its Macs this year, with the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini launching together in the last quarter, the MacBook Air expected in March of the following year, and lastly, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro with an ‘Ultra’ chip arriving in mid to late 2025. The company is also expected to upgrade its servers, which are currently powered by the M2 Ultra chips. Apple’s AI servers will be upgraded to the M4 Ultra next year, which will allow for faster cloud-based processing for all the high-end Apple Intelligence features the company has planned for the future. We will share more details on the new 3nm M5 chips, so be sure to stick around.