Apple’s M5 chip could continue an unexpected new trend: report

Apple silicon debuted in 2020 with the first M-class chip, the M1, which launched in MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. But last year, Apple made a big product shift when it launched the M4, and per a new report, that trend looks set to continue with the upcoming M5 chip.

M5 MacBook Pro may be delayed until early 2026

Yesterday Mark Gurman published an overview of new Apple products in the works for early 2026 release.

One of the big surprises from the report involves the M5 MacBook Pro.

Until now, the M5 MacBook Pro has been expected to launch this fall. That timing was previously shared by Gurman, and lined up with Apple’s pattern with M4 models last fall and M3 the year before.

But now, it sounds like Apple’s changing its plans.

From the report at Bloomberg:

The company had been planning to release new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros — code-named J714 and J716 — later this year with M5 chips. But Apple is now internally targeting a launch early next year, meaning that the current MacBook Pro release cycle may last a little longer than usual.

The timing remains fluid, and Apple previously launched the M1, M3 and M4 MacBook Pros in either October or November.

Elsewhere it reiterates: “Though those computers were originally slated for a 2025 release, Apple is considering pushing them back to 2026.”

It’s unclear why Apple would need to push back the launch of the M5 MacBook Pros, and there are no additional details in the report.

But something Gurman does confirm is that one M5 product is still set for launch this fall.

That product? The M5 iPad Pro.

iPad Pro could get Apple’s new M-class chip before the Mac…again

Last year, Apple did something with the M4 chip that it never had before. It launched the chip exclusively in the iPad Pro.

Before 2024, if you wondered what the ‘M’ in Apple’s M-series chips stood for, the easy answer was ‘Mac.’

Even though Apple sold certain iPad models with M-class chips, it was always long after those chips had debuted on the Mac.

But the M4 arrived in Apple’s new iPad Pro last May, and didn’t hit the Mac until a full six months later.

Now, it sounds like a similar scenario could play out with the M5.

If Gurman’s reporting proves right, the brand new M5 chip will launch in the iPad Pro this fall. And that iPad will be the only M5 product until some time in early 2026.

Launching a new M-series chip in the iPad once can be called a fluke. But doing the same thing with a second new chip in a row? That seems more like a trend.

Perhaps Apple needs a little more time to get the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips ready, thus the MacBook Pro delay. But since the iPad Pro will only have the base M5 chip, it can ship sooner.

In any case, the unexpected move of debuting M-series chips in the iPad might be something we should all get used to.

What do you think of the M5 launching first in the iPad Pro? Let us know in the comments.

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