Apple's M-series of SoCs continues with generational performance improvements, and the upcoming M5 SoC will be no exception. A Russian YouTuber Wylsacom obtained an unreleased iPad Pro based on the M5 SoC and published benchmark data for it. As a reminder, the same source correctly previewed last year's M4 MacBook Pro. The early numbers suggest that Apple's next-generation tablet silicon focuses more on graphics than on a raw CPU jump. A single-core CPU IPC performance improves by roughly 12% relative to frequency, and multi-core performance improves by approximately 15% over the standard M4 in iPad Pro. Meanwhile, GPU performance shows significantly larger gains in some tests, reaching as much as 35% in graphics workloads. That kind of uplift won't transform every task, but it could deliver noticeably smoother frame rates in games and more sophisticated visual effects in creative apps.

Given Apple's habit of carrying phone-class architecture into its M-series chips, the M5's strengths align with improvements first seen in the family's A-class parts, where advances in neural and graphics subsystems have increasingly been used to augment traditional rendering pipelines. Digging into the sample that surfaced, the leaked iPad Pro is listed as a 256 GB model with 12 GB of RAM, which is a step up from last year's comparable 8 GB configuration. It is reasonable to expect Apple to reserve 16 GB or higher for larger storage tiers as it has in past launches. If the M5 really pairs modest CPU boosts with a substantial GPU jump, the benefits would extend beyond the iPad form factor, with thinner MacBook Air and Pro models that receive the chip also seeing improved CPU and GPU data scores, thanks to bigger cooling capacity. Especially with active cooling, Apple could push these chips way past this point, and again claim the performance crown.
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