Apple M5
- Boost/Base Clock:
- 4.5 GHz / 2.9 GHz
- Core/Thread Count:
- 10 Core / 10 Thread (4 Performance + 6 Efficiency)
- Cache:
- 16MB L2 + 4MB L1
- TDP:
- 22 Watts
- CPU Process Node:
- 3 Nanometers (Enhanced)
- CPU Series:
- Apple Silicon, Fifth Generation
- Form Factor:
- Laptop
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Manufacturer: Apple Last updated: 2026-10-10
Apple M5 Review
The Apple M5 is a 10-core System-on-Chip (4 performance cores plus 6 efficiency cores) built on an enhanced next-generation 3nm process within a 22 Watt TDP, found in the MacBook Pro 14-inch, MacBook Air, and iPad Pro.
The M5 keeps the M4's 4-performance/6-efficiency core layout but raises clocks modestly and pairs with a redesigned 10-core GPU carrying per-core Neural Accelerators and up to 153GB/s of memory bandwidth, a genuine step up in on-device AI throughput even at the base tier. It's the CPU-side companion to the M5 GPU already listed in this catalog's graphics-cards category.
Modest CPU Gains, Bigger AI Gains
Keeping the same core layout as the M4 while raising clocks slightly, the M5's headline improvements sit mostly on the GPU and Neural Engine side, where per-core Neural Accelerators meaningfully boost on-device AI performance.
Paired With a 153GB/s Memory System
The M5's unified memory system, shared with its 10-core GPU, delivers up to 153GB/s of bandwidth, keeping both CPU and GPU well fed for everyday creative and AI-assisted workloads.
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 single-core scores in the low-4,000s and multi-core scores around 15,500 represent an incremental but real gain over the M4, in line with a modest clock-speed bump on an already mature process.
Benchmarks
The benchmarks below are published results for specific applications. They are measured separately and do not feed the two scores above.
Puget Bench for Photoshop v1.0 - points (More is Better)
- Apple M5 Max15043.83 points
- Apple M5 Pro14885.21 points
- Apple M5 (this product)12095.89 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D12088.31 points
- Intel Core i9-14900KF10029.96 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K7098.88 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900KF6892.97 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 109006600 points
Puget Systems runs a fixed set of real Photoshop jobs: opening and saving large files, resizing, content-aware fill, blurs and filters. A higher score means less waiting on the tasks a retoucher repeats all day.
Photoshop is decided mostly by how fast a few cores are, not how many there are, so a chip with fewer but faster cores often beats one with more cores. Treat a gap under about 5 percent as something you would never notice while working.
Puget Bench for After Effects v1.0-1.1 - points (More is Better)
- Intel Core i9-14900KF13588.09 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D12906.24 points
- Apple M5 Max11280.89 points
- Apple M5 Pro9928.85 points
- Apple M5 (this product)7261.63 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K6945.81 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10900K6799.67 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i5 10400F5598.67 points
RAM preview and rendering of 2D and 3D compositions in After Effects, including camera tracking.
After Effects still runs largely on one core at a time, so per-core speed decides this and extra cores add very little. This is the benchmark where a high-clock chip pulls ahead of a many-core one.
Puget Bench for Premiere Pro v2.0 - points (More is Better)
- Apple M5 Max149750.46 points
- Intel Core i9-14900KF129174.45 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D126611.82 points
- Apple M5 Pro106874.78 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K82202 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10850K78258 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9700K77118.8 points
- Apple M5 (this product)59412.56 points
Plays back and exports 4K and 8K timelines across several camera codecs, with effects and multi-stream sequences, in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Export time rewards more cores, but much of the timeline work runs on the hardware decoder and the graphics card instead of the processor. A small gap here rarely changes how the edit feels.
Puget Bench for DaVinci Resolve v2.0-2.1 - points (More is Better)
- Intel Core i9-14900KF135454.8 points
- Apple M5 Max116240.93 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D113372.15 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900KF93174 points
- Apple M5 Pro81178.5 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700K81083 points
- Apple M660099 points
- Apple M5 (this product)46949.38 points
Grading, effects, AI tools and export in DaVinci Resolve Studio, across the codecs a colourist actually works in.
Resolve leans harder on the graphics card than on the processor, so the CPU difference here is usually smaller than the difference your GPU choice would make. Use it to rule out a bottleneck, not to pick a winner.
Puget Bench for Lightroom Classic v1.0-1.1 - points (More is Better)
- Apple M5 Max11549.6 points
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D10942.9 points
- Apple M5 Pro10909.17 points
- Apple M5 (this product)6668.19 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i7 11700K6167.4 points
- 10th Gen Intel Core i9 10850K5769.67 points
- 11th Gen Intel Core i5 11600KF5499.67 points
- 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900K4635.96 points
Measures a full Lightroom Classic catalogue workflow: importing, building previews, scrolling the library, exporting JPEGs and running the AI tools such as Denoise.
Import and export spread across every core, so core count counts for more here than it does in Photoshop. The AI tools lean on the graphics card, so a CPU gap matters less if you pair either chip with a strong GPU.
Measured results
Cinebench scores
| Cinebench 2024, Single-Core Median of 3 independently published results. | 200 198 to 208 |
| Cinebench R23, Single-Core Median of 2 independently published results. | 2,435 2,411 to 2,459 |
Measured results
Geekbench scores
| Geekbench 6, Multi-Core Median of 3 independently published results. | 17,862 17,072 to 17,874 |
| Geekbench 6, Single-Core Median of 3 independently published results. | 4,276 4,195 to 4,309 |
Our verdict
Reviewed by Burooj Alam. Rated by us, not by users.
Best for
- MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 14-inch, or iPad Pro buyers wanting Apple's current base-tier chip with meaningfully improved on-device AI performance.
Not for
- Buyers needing more than 10 cores for sustained heavy multi-threaded work, look at the M5 Pro or M5 Max instead.
- Buyers needing x86 software compatibility without emulation.
Specifications
What these specs meanIdentity
| Brand | Apple |
|---|---|
| Product Line | Apple Silicon |
| Model Number | M5 |
Segment and platform
| Microarchitecture | Apple Silicon, Fifth Generation |
|---|---|
| Process Node | 3 nm |
Core configuration
| Total Cores | 10 |
|---|---|
| Performance Cores | 4 |
| Efficiency Cores | 6 |
| Total Threads | 10 |
Clock speeds
| P-Core Base Clock | 2.9 GHz |
|---|---|
| P-Core Boost Clock | 4.5 GHz |
Cache
| L2 Cache | 16 MB |
|---|
| Form Factor | Laptop |
|---|---|
| TDP | 22 W |
FAQs
What are the key specifications of the Apple M5?
The Apple M5 has 10 cores and 10 threads, a 2.9 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost clock and a 22 W TDP.
Who is the Apple M5 best suited to?
Best suited to: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 14-inch, or iPad Pro buyers wanting Apple's current base-tier chip with meaningfully improved on-device AI performance.
What are the drawbacks of the Apple M5?
Not the best fit for: Buyers needing more than 10 cores for sustained heavy multi-threaded work, look at the M5 Pro or M5 Max instead; Buyers needing x86 software compatibility without emulation.