The new M5 Pro y M5 Max are already on the table. Apple new super cores change the denomination for processor cores in the middle of the current generation. It’s not only a marketing strategy but also a new reflection on the architecture that Apple Silicon has used since the M1 model.
In this article we explain the reach of M5 Apple super cores and the changes they will bring. It’s much more than a marketing strategy to make users curious, it’s a new philosophy for the Apple family.
New Apple super cores M5 and the changes
To understand the changes it’s important to know how Apple Silicon architecture worked up until now. All the M family chips have two types of cores in the CPU.
- Performance cores. The most powerful ones, used for demanding tasks.
- Efficiency cores. Low consumption cores for daily tasks without spending too much battery.
This architecture is taken from the ARM technology and it has worked fine for 5 generations. The new super cores M5 Pro and M5 Max eliminate the efficiency cores and there are two new cores for the chips.
- Apple super cores. The next step in performance units.
- New performance cores. An intermediate step with a complete redesign and optimization for multi thread professional tasks and sustained power.
Apple super cores already existed but under other name
The most interesting detail is that super cores are not exclusive for Apple M5 Pro and M5 Max. They already existed on the M5 standard version, the MacBook Air chip, iPad Pro and Apple Vision Pro. The name at that moment was performance cores as usual. Now that the Pro and Max versions of M5 are out, Apple changed the name retroactively for every M5 model.
This means that the cores your MacBook Pro M5 had when you bought it months ago, now have a different name. The chip hasn’t changed, only the label. This is just a marketing strategy for the M5 family devices. And it also helps to make the jump from M4 to M5 Pro less evident.
Real numbers in performance and cores comparison
The M4 Pro chip had up until 14 CPU cores. Normally 10 for performance and 4 efficiency ones. The M5 Pro introduces 18 cores, 6 super cores and 12 new performance ones.
A critical reading shows that Apple reduced the high performance cores from 10 to 6 and compensated with 12 new type cores. An optimistic reading from Apple is that you now enjoy 18 cores. The new performance cores are not the old efficiency ones. The redesign allows for a 30% high performance in multithread tasks in comparison with the M4 Pro chip. We can only determine this after benchmark tests are performed.
New Apple Fusion architecture
The branding and name change is anecdotic. The technical update in the M5 Pro and M5 Max processors is on the Fusion architecture. A new method that combines two pieces of chip in one processor. Up until now, all CPU, GPU, memory and components were introduced into one chip. As chips grow bigger in cores and power, it generates problems. If a component overheats, it affects the others.
By separating CPU and GPU into two different processors but with the same substratum, the high speed connectivity and low latency remains, but heat doesn’t affect the performance. Each part is cooled and powered independently.
M5 Pro and M5 Max share the same processor with 18 cores. The only difference is on the GPU processor. The Pro model has 20 cores and the Max 40. This new design simplifies manufacturing and improves chip selection processes. It helps Apple to sum up new cores without great jumps on prices.
Why does the change arrive now?
The building of the M5 Ultra for Mac Studoi requires each M5 Max design to be with two pieces chip. The M4 Ultra was cancelled by unexplained reasons that technical community identify as temperature and power originated. M5 Ultra already appears on macOS code and the M5 Max models already found a solution for heating problems. The road for a M5 Ultra is already here and Apple is trying to make further changes for improved performance.
The numbers on paper indicate that Apple super cores will bring more efficiency and a better performance for users. But the 30% improvement is only on paper now. They will also perform 4 times better in GPU and up until 614 GB/s in memory bandwidth for the M5 Max model. If we add the processors separation for thermal improvements, the new M5 family is likely to be a great success.