New M5 Chips Spotted in iOS 26.3 Beta

[leifp]

I mean when you think about what I wrote & the recent change to order a Mac on the store page, it could be you just choose how many cores on your Max & how many cores for graphics & that's it.

It certainly falls in line with my own hopes that the rumoured re-split architecture (chiplets etc) allows for discrete GPUs to return on the Mac Pro. No need to spend for more than CPU cores and a bit of GPU then jam in some GPUs as required (and when required).

I have a friend who’s frustrated by the massive splits in computing (x86, Arm, RiskV on hardware and Windows pre 11, 11, 11 Arm, a million and one Linux variants etc on software) at the moment but he’s just paranoid about the amount of work he needs to do to troubleshoot family and friends! I welcome change for performance sake and hope that these computing models cannot only coexist but also coexist within Apple’s offerings. Choice is good!

I’m due for a Mac Studio but a completely re-architected Mac Pro would make me hesitate…

 

[leifp]

This logic, then, presuming they cannot put an Ultra chip into the current chassis (at least the 14") . . . that would mean Only M5 and M4 Max models of various capabilities. That does introduce a substantial price tier adjustment, but since they have done away with standard tiers (at least on a landing page), maybe this is fine. It certainly cleans up the lineup a bit. And with such a focus on AI, I can see how they would want to sell more chips with more GPUs. But, again, then I hope they put a Max chip in the Mac minis. Other than not wanting to cannibalize the Studio, I don't see why a Max chip in the Mini hasn't already been done.

You can already get the M4Pro to throttle in a Mac mini so the Max chips would be floundering for breath. As @DHagan4755 notes, there may be a completely new nomenclature incoming to deal with a new approach to chip architectures. We will see soon…

 

[ksec]

I assume macOS have to be passed RC before it is loaded on to the new Mac. Assuming it takes 2 weeks after OS official release to announce new MacBook Pro and one additional week to ship we are at least 3 weeks away from it ?

This is similar time frame to iPhone 16e release last year so I presume MacBook Pro will release along wide iPhone 17e?

Around 18th of Feb if not 25th?

 

[hoodlum90]

Looks like the M5-series will not see a massive power increasement in relation to the M4-series since they’re releasing an M5 Ultra chip.

Since it looks like Apple is releasing the M5 Studio first, there won't be any issues with supporting the Ultra chip in the Studio.

 

[Umacga]

The iOS 26.3 RC mentions two unreleased SoCs, T6051 and T6052, with associated H17C and H17D platform names.

Oh, man. I misread that SOC# at first and was really excited that Apple was bringing back the 6502 chip and that we'd FINALLY get native Apple II backward compatibility on the M5.

 

[hoodlum90]

I just noticed the following on Reddit as a possible reason for having only M5 MAX and ULTRA chips. I still cannot see them doing an M5 ULTRA chip in the MacBook Pro, so I still think we will see a M5 Studio in addition to the M5 MacBook Pro within the next month (before 26.4)

• "M5 Max": 1x [CPU chiplet] + 1x [GPU chiplet] ("M5 Pro" tier)
• "M5 Max": 1x [CPU chiplet] + 2x [GPU chiplet]
• "M5 Ultra": 2x [CPU chiplet] + 4x [GPU chiplet] (and options with fewer GPU chiplets?)

 

[tenthousandthings]

What if there’s an M5 Mac mini on the next Mac announcement (likely next week with the OS 26.3 release) and, at the same time, we know the M6 gen is coming as soon as next fall? Like, in October. Would you wait?

It remains to be seen if the redesigned Mini gets the same cadence as MBP and/or MBA. I think probably yes, but it’s currently an unknown.

On the merits, if we’re talking about M5 versus M6 (and not M5 Pro versus M6 Pro, where I would not wait), then I would wait for WMCM packaging with the A20/M6, the successor to InFO. TSMC recently (late January) gave a tour of its physical build-out to trusted local Taiwan media, here is a translation/distillation of a comparison table used in one of the local stories:

 

[DHagan4755]

It certainly falls in line with my own hopes that the rumoured re-split architecture (chiplets etc) allows for discrete GPUs to return on the Mac Pro. No need to spend for more than CPU cores and a bit of GPU then jam in some GPUs as required (and when required).

I have a friend who’s frustrated by the massive splits in computing (x86, Arm, RiskV on hardware and Windows pre 11, 11, 11 Arm, a million and one Linux variants etc on software) at the moment but he’s just paranoid about the amount of work he needs to do to troubleshoot family and friends! I welcome change for performance sake and hope that these computing models cannot only coexist but also coexist within Apple’s offerings. Choice is good!

I’m due for a Mac Studio but a completely re-architected Mac Pro would make me hesitate…

Yep it would make sense for Apple to simplify in this way. One chip with customizable & scalable graphics cores.

 

[Aries79]

And what if we are getting the new Mac Studio + Apple Studio Display, and no MacBook Pro? What if they will skip the M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pro all together?

 

[DHagan4755]

No one here expected Apple to release only M5 Max and M5 Ultra MacBookPros. That is what the article is suggesting.

No one expects an M5 Ultra in MacBook Pros. My first blush impression of this article was to point out that we were expecting the higher end M5 chips to show up in the release candidate for macOS 26.3.

 

[ebika]

Impossible....they barley work on mac studio with copper cooling....you cannot bend physics . So there are 0% chances

Probably, but I'm reacting to what they said in the top post for this thread. "We have three possibilities: there's an M5 Pro chip along with an M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip and it's just not added to the iOS 26.3 code yet, Apple is changing its numbering, or Apple is planning for M5 Max and M5 Ultra ‌MacBook Pro‌ models." Take up your impossibilities with them.

 

[Farquar]

No, it's really suggesting the Studio is getting updated soon, which we could kind of guess anyway, though this whole thing is at least a bit surprising.

Well I hope so, but I doubt it. I am looking to get a Studio soon. But Apple usually is too greedy to release a cheaper way to get is most powerful chip until at least a few months have gone by.

 

[Wulf^2]

The iOS 26.3 release candidate includes references to a pair of unreleased chips that are in the M5 family, according to information found by Nicolás Alvarez and shared with MacRumors.

The iOS 26.3 RC mentions two unreleased SoCs, T6051 and T6052, with associated H17C and H17D platform names. The 17 is a reference to the M5, as the standard M5 chip is numbered H17G. Typically, the "C" lettering is used with a Max chip, and the "D" lettering is used for Ultra chips. G is used for standard chips, and S is used for Pro chips.

When using Apple's past numbering and lettering as a reference, that would suggest an M5 Max and an M5 Ultra chip. There is no current reference to T6050 H17S, which is the chip identifier and platform name we'd expect for the M5 Pro.

Since we're currently waiting on new versions of the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the chip references located are a bit confusing. We have three possibilities: there's an M5 Pro chip along with an M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip and it's just not added to the iOS 26.3 code yet, Apple is changing its numbering, or Apple is planning for M5 Max and M5 Ultra MacBook Pro models.

• Chip 1 in the beta: T6051, H17C. Presumably M5 Max.
  
• Chip 2 in the beta: T6052, H17D. Presumably M5 Ultra.
  
• Not in the beta: T6050, H17S. Chip identifier expected for M5 Pro.

Apple's past Max chips have all used "C" lettering, including the M1 Max (H13C), M2 Max (H14C), M3 Max (H15C/H15M), and M4 Max (H16C). There was also an M variant of the M3 Max for the 14-core chip, with Apple using C for the 16-core chip.

Ultra chips have all used "D" lettering, including the M1 Ultra (H13D), M2 Ultra (H14D), and M3 Ultra (H15D). There was no M4 Ultra chip.

It's not clear why we are only seeing signs of an M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip, but rumors suggest that new MacBook Pro models with higher-end M5 chips are set to launch in the next few weeks. Apple is supposedly working on a Mac Studio in the M5 family, which would use an M5 Ultra chip, but we haven't heard rumors about an upcoming launch.

Article Link: New M5 Chips Spotted in iOS 26.3 Beta

This is, what I get from all these numbers:

The previous M-series consists of actual SOCs (CPU,GPU,NPU ...) and LPDDR chips. There is a code for the SOC and a code for the combined SOC+RAM, i.e. the platform. For the latter, the letters G,S,M,C and D (or J) have been used for 4,8,16,24,32,64 16-bit weide memory controllers. The A chips have 4 controllers, i.e. the memory bus is 64 bit wide, which is available on a single LPDDR module mounted on top of the SOC. The base M models use two chips mounted next to the SOC, the pro have e.g. 256 bit wide bus. The max 512 bit wide. This is done with 128 bit wide modules due to the available space. Finally the ultra has again double the width. For the M5 we only see G (128 bit bus), C and D speaking for the bus width (C) of the M1-4 max and (D) for the bus width of the ultra. If this pattern holds, we get a medium (pro?) system with (up to) 512 bit wide bus and a new one (max?) with (up to) 1024 bit wide. Historically, the CPU core count of the pro and max did not differ too much. I would guess, this stay the same. The difference between pro and max is the GPU, which will likely stay like that for the M5 series. As the GPU requires more bandwidth than the CPU, I would guess the memory controllers are on the GPU die. So, it is reasonable to assume we will still get a pro version (SOC with one CPU and one GPU die, 512 bit wide bus) and a max (with one CPU and two GPU dies, 1024 bit wide bus). The new ultra could be two CPU and two GPU dies. Well, this is just a guess, but we will soon see ....

 

[Farquar]

Let me ask you something. You, or anyone waiting for the next Mac mini.

What if there’s an M5 Mac mini on the next Mac announcement (likely next week with the OS 26.3 release) and, at the same time, we know the M6 gen is coming as soon as next fall? Like, in October. Would you wait?

I’m asking because I’m on that position. I’m waiting for the M5 Mac mini but it’s being said that the M6 gen is coming quite soon…

I think if it were a Mac mini I was waiting for, the lowest end Mac available, I don't think I'd be that nit picky over a chip released today vs. one 8 months down the road.

 

[Mindfighter]

And what if we are getting the new Mac Studio + Apple Studio Display, and no MacBook Pro? What if they will skip the M5 Pro and Max MacBook Pro all together?

I'd put some money on this seeing this rumour, it makes perfect sense. So a release of Mac Studio with the new Studio Display when 26.3 is released and then OLED Macbook Pro's in Q4.

 

[iLilana]

so studio and not MBP?

 

[Zdigital2015]

The MacBook Pro isn’t getting the M5 Ultra, it’ll get what has worked before and that is the Pro and Max SoCs. The Pro strikes a good balance for most users and I don’t think Apple is going to mess with that formula especially with the redesign coming later this year. Besides, the Ultra is a niche inside a niche. Apple is not here for wish fulfillment, I’m not sure why its so difficult for people to accept that fact.

 

[Jack Burton]

Ah, the ultra. I want but cannot justify.

 

[groove-agent]

Too hot.

Plus you do

Agreed! M5 entry level, M5 Max maximum performance. M5 Pro?... What?!

I think Apple is just as confused with their naming conventions as their customers. What's just as silly is Dell Computers has adopted this stupid naming convention now too.

 

[groove-agent]

I would love to have a chip I can comfortably game with so I can ditch my PC. What would be useful in my opinion is if Apple released an ARM based thunderbolt 5 eGPU. This would keep the Mac cooler being external, plus it would allow a lot of Mac buyers to upgrade their Macs later or independently of the Mac's GPU. Maybe having a second GPU could work together to give more processing power.

 

[DIMEZ]

I just noticed the following on Reddit as a possible reason for having only M5 MAX and ULTRA chips. I still cannot see them doing an M5 ULTRA chip in the MacBook Pro, so I still think we will see a M5 Studio in addition to the M5 MacBook Pro within the next month (before 26.4)

• "M5 Max": 1x [CPU chiplet] + 1x [GPU chiplet] ("M5 Pro" tier)
• "M5 Max": 1x [CPU chiplet] + 2x [GPU chiplet]
• "M5 Ultra": 2x [CPU chiplet] + 4x [GPU chiplet] (and options with fewer GPU chiplets?)

I can see these. they really dont need a base, pro and max chip. Especially with how the m5 base performs or on par with pro chips (vs m4pro). I do think they'll update the Mac Studio... there's nothing with the air? they're usually released in March?

 

[Ja50n]

Hopefully this means they’re cutting down on the Ultra lag. M3 Ultra took 17 extra months, and we still haven’t seen M4 Ultra.

 

[Antony Newman]

Let me ask you something. You, or anyone waiting for the next Mac mini.

What if there’s an M5 Mac mini on the next Mac announcement (likely next week with the OS 26.3 release) and, at the same time, we know the M6 gen is coming as soon as next fall? Like, in October. Would you wait?

I’m asking because I’m on that position. I’m waiting for the M5 Mac mini but it’s being said that the M6 gen is coming quite soon…

If the M6 & M6 Pro are both available fo the mac mini in 2026 …. would it not cannibalise the lower end Mac Studio?

The earlier release of the M6 - may be reserved for MacBook Airs / Macbook Pros.

My guess is they would hold the Mac Mini until 2027

 

[Vincent Hanna]

The M6 is only going to come to the MacBook Pro line, if it even comes in 2026 at all.

M5 for everything else this calendar year.

 

[vr38dett]

What about... The Mac Pro... It's the oldest machine in the lineup and the only chip option is an M2 Ultra that starts at $7k. If they offer an M5 Max chipset in the Mac Pro, they can come down market a little bit, but still come in above the Mac Studio. There's a huge gap between a $4k Mac Studio and a $7k Mac Pro.

I would bet there's customers that want the expandabliity of the Mac Pro, but would be happy to have the M5 Max as an option. Perhaps the Mac Pro with a theoretical M5 Max would start at $4,499.00 or $4999.00. Just speculation, but they would undoubtedly expand the sales of the Mac Pro by lowering the barrier to entry.