If a new MacBook Pro, iPad Pro or Apple Vision Pro is on your shopping list, I’d suggest holding off. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that M5 versions of all these three could be announced this week.
Just like last year, it’s looking likely that these will be spaced out over the course of the next few days — either as just press releases or bite-sized event videos.
Looking at leaked M5 benchmarks, we’re set for another speed demon of a chip that is more incremental in CPU performance (12% faster single-core speed), but another big step forward for graphics (36% faster GPU). Let’s take a look at what we’re expecting to be announced over the next few days.
M5 MacBook Pro
It’s October, so this is the most predictable of the three, but how many of them are available could be surprising. So far, Gurman has confirmed that the base 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro is “ready for launch,” and since we’ve seen the new laptops enter mass production, the stars are aligning.
But we could be waiting for a while longer before seeing the M5 Pro and M5 Max. As AppleInsider reported that we could be waiting until early 2026 for these higher-specced models.
In terms of what to expect, this is looking like a spec bump with no real change to the design itself. For those, you may want to consider waiting a year, as the M6 model is sounding like a proper overhaul — OLED touchscreen display, thinner design and a chip manufactured on TSMC’s 2nm process.
M5 iPad Pro
We’ve already seen a lot of the M5 iPad Pro — namely in a Russian unboxing video. So a new iPad Pro was also expected to be coming sooner rather than later. While there is no substantial redesign coming (that came with last year’s M4 model), the changes look set to make this more pro than ever.
This comes down to two key things: a bump to the M5 chip for vastly faster graphics processing for rendering tasks (and gaming) alongside a 33% increase in base RAM to 12GB, and two front cameras instead of one.
That last one is slightly contested, as there was no evidence of a second camera in the unboxing video. But if it’s true, this would make it way easier to have video calls in both portrait and landscape.
M5 Apple Vision Pro
We’ve heard about the Apple Vision Pro 2 for so long that I was starting to think it would never happen. But now, it is, and the headset is going to get a warmly welcomed upgrade to its chip performance that should unlock many more complex spatial computing experiences.
While the move from M4 to M5 for the above two products is going to be much more minor, jumping from M2 is going to be significant — vastly improved CPU cores, and a huge GPU upgrade with hardware accelerated ray tracing. Alongside this, there could also be an R2 chip, which should improve input from the Vision Pro’s many sensors in real-time.
Don’t expect this to be a significant overhaul, as development of a next-generation Vision Pro has been suspended in favor of smart glasses. But the Cupertino crew is expected to include the far better Dual Knit Band head strap in the box for comfort, and it may even come in a Space Black color too.
What’s not expected?
What about everything else that’s on everybody’s Apple rumor list? Well, that’s where the details get fuzzy. Given there’s a new MacBook Pro, I’m kinda surprised that we’re not hearing anything about an M5 Mac mini or M5 iMac.
That being said, though, these would be my most likely unexpected announcements to happen. At best, we may get a footnote or two during the MacBook Pro debut to say these are also getting the new chip.
Don’t expect a new Apple TV 4K or an upgraded HomePod. These are more likely coming in early 2026.
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