Without much fanfare, Apple has unveiled three new flagship products today via a press release—no special event, no prerecorded show. That might be because the new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and Vision Pro don't change the mold—they're identical to their predecessors—but internally, they're debuting Apple's highly anticipated M5 chip.
All of the devices are available for preorder today and go on sale October 22. Here's everything you need to know.
The New M5 Chip
The M5 processor is the heart of the announcements today, as it powers all the new Apple hardware. It's built on the 3-nanometer process, with a 10-core GPU and a neural accelerator in each core, which Apple claims improves performance in GPU-based AI workloads and provides four times the peak GPU compute performance over the M4 chip.
Graphics performance in general is 30 percent higher than on the M4, and the 10-core CPU offers 15 percent faster multi-threaded performance. (Apple claims this is the “world's fastest CPU core.”) The 16-core Neural Engine has also been enhanced, which should mean Apple Intelligence and other AI tasks (like transforming a 2D photo to a spatial scene) should be faster. Apple says there's a 30 percent increase in unified memory bandwidth, allowing larger AI models to run on the device, but it also helps deliver better performance for the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.
The New iPad Pro
It has been roughly a year and a half since the debut of the M4-powered iPad Pro, but the new M5 iPad Pro tablets don't change much outside of the processor. You still have two sizes to choose from: 11 or 13 inches. Both of them feature fast charging—you can get 50 percent in 30 minutes when using a compatible charger—though annoyingly, Apple only includes a 20-watt USB-C power adapter in the box.
Both feature Apple's N1 networking chip that debuted in the iPhone 17, which includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Also in tow is the C1X 5G modem from the iPhone Air for 50 percent faster cellular performance and 30 percent less power usage than the M4 iPad Pro. Over its predecessor, you'll see a 3.5X boost in AI performance, 1.5X faster 3D rendering with ray tracing, up to 1.2X faster video transcode performance in Final Cut Pro, and 2.3X faster AI video upscaling performance in DaVinci Resolve. The 256- and 512-GB models use 12 GB of unified memory now, twice as much as before, and the faster memory bandwidth means everything gets a speed boost.
Many of the other specs are the same. They're just as thin as before, feature Apple's Tandem OLED display technology, and can hit 1,600 nits at peak brightness. You still get the nano-textured glass upgrade if you want to reduce glare on the screen. Speaking of the screen, Apple says there's a new capability for these iPads to drive external displays at up to 120 Hz; if you already have a 120-Hz screen, a new Adaptive Sync feature will ensure the lowest possible latency between iPad and monitor.
As before, the 11-inch iPad Pro costs $999, and the 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299. They're compatible with the Apple Pencil Pro, Apple Pencil USB-C, Magic Keyboard, and Smart Folio.
The New MacBook Pro
Interestingly, Apple did not completely revamp its MacBook Pro lineup with the M5 chip. Instead, there's just one new model: a 14-inch MacBook Pro with four storage options (512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, or 4 TB) and three unified memory options (16, 24, or 32 GB). The base version starts at $1,599, like before, but if you max out all of the upgrades, it can cost as much as $3,369. We'll likely see M5 Pro and M5 Max chip options in 2026 alongside a 16-inch MacBook Pro.
You'll see similar speed increases like on the iPad Pro M5—3.5X faster AI performance, 1.6X faster graphics over the prior M4-powered MacBook Pro, and 2X faster SSD performance. Otherwise, this is the same 14-inch MacBook as before, with the claimed “24-hour” battery life, mini-LED display with the nano-texture glass option, a six-speaker system, and a 12-MP webcam. There are three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI, an SDXC slot, a headphone jack, and the MagSafe charging port.
The New Vision Pro
Widely regarded as a miss with consumers, Apple's Vision Pro mixed-reality headset is back but with no major changes to the hardware. Well, there's a new head strap: the Dual Knit Band. It's included in the box, and Apple says it's soft and cushioned, allowing for a comfier fit. The headset is now powered by the M5 chip, which enables faster performance, sharper details throughout visionOS 26, and better battery life. Specifically, Apple says the M5 renders 10 percent more pixels on the micro-OLED displays than before, and the refresh rate can also jump up to 120 Hz.
Battery life is now two and a half hours of general use, as opposed to just two hours on the original Vision Pro. That extends to three hours with video playback.
Unfortunately, the price remains firm at $3,499. It's arriving right before Samsung is expected to unveil its Android XR mixed-reality headset, Project Moohan, which will hopefully come with a lower price tag.
