Apple has reportedly placed orders for M5 chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company aka TSMC as it begins production development for its next-generation processors.
According to a recent report by The Elec (via MacRumors), the M5 series is expected to use an improved ARM architecture and will be manufactured using TSMC’s 3-nanometer process.
Apple has opted not to use TSMC’s more advanced and newer 2nm process for the M5 chip; this decision is believed to be driven by cost considerations. Or maybe it is because Apple has been saving it for its 20th anniversary MacBook Pros, which will be released in 2026 with an M6 chipset.
Apple is teaming up more with TSMC on a new hybrid SoIC package using carbon fiber composite tech. Word is, they started small-scale trial production back in July.
The devices expected to benefit from the new chip include:
- iPad Pro: Anticipated to debut in late 2025 or early-to-mid 2026.
- MacBook Pro: Expected models featuring M5 chips are likely to arrive in late 2025.
- MacBook Air: M5 variants are projected for early 2026.
- Apple Vision Pro: An updated version of the headset incorporating the M5 chip is expected between fall 2025 and spring 2026.
Apple is rumored to be using the M5 chip’s dual-use SoIC design in its AI servers, boosting AI performance for both gadgets and cloud services.
Taiwanese foundry TSMC has been key to Apple ditching Intel chips since 2020.