Apple’s manufacturing partners have begun the packaging process for the upcoming M5 chips, as reported by ETNews. Packaging refers to the process of wiring the raw silicon die and encasing it in a protective layer, a crucial step in preparing the chips for use in devices. These new chips are built on TSMC’s 3nm N3P node, which offers notable improvements over previous generations. The M5 chips promise a 5% boost in performance and a 5-10% increase in power efficiency, making them highly efficient for next-gen devices.
One of the key areas of focus for the M5 generation is enhanced AI performance. Apple is set to significantly upgrade the Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is central to AI tasks. The M4’s NPU is already impressive, rated at 38 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), but the M5’s NPU is expected to push these capabilities even further, likely offering substantial improvements in AI-driven applications and tasks.
Another groundbreaking innovation in the M5 series is the introduction of System-on-Integrated-Chips-molding-Horizontal (SoIC-mH) technology. This new method allows chips to be stacked and bonded with copper connectors, improving heat conductivity and performance. The M5 will also feature a new mounting technique with an improved adhesive layer that holds the chips to the motherboard. This advancement will enable the stacking of additional chips, optimizing space, similar to how RAM is placed on smartphones.
Packaging for the M5 chips will be managed by several companies, with ASE (Taiwan) handling the initial production and Amkor (US) and JCET (China) taking over for later batches. The first M5 chips, starting with the vanilla version, are expected to debut in iPad Pros later this year, with Pro, Max, and Ultra versions to follow. The M5 Pro is expected to be the first to use the SoIC-mH stacking technology.
As for the Ultra chip, which hasn’t seen an update since the M2 generation, analysts predict it won’t debut until 2026, meaning the Mac Pro and Mac Studio may not see updates this year.
