Notebookcheck Logo

Apple M5 Pro 18-Core

Apple M5 Pro 18-Core

The Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) is a high-end system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed for premium laptops, introduced in March 2026 alongside the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro lineup. Built on Apple's all-new "Fusion Architecture" utilizing a third-generation 3-nanometer process, the SoC uses advanced packaging to combine two dies into a single chip using SoIC-mH (by TSMC according to rumors).

Architecture and CPU Performance

The M5 Pro shifts Apple's core naming conventions and features an 18-core CPU setup. It combines 6 "Super Cores" (10-Wide Architecture with up to 4.6 GHz) which deliver the world's fastest single-threaded performance via an enhanced cache hierarchy and increased front-end bandwidth—with 12 "Performance Cores" (7-Wide Architecture with up to 4.4 GHz) optimized for power-efficient multithreaded processing. According to Apple, this new configuration results in up to a 30% increase in multithreaded performance for demanding pro workloads compared to the M4 Pro. The new P-Cores slot in between the E-Cores of the M5 (6-Wide Architecture with 3.05 GHz) and should offer around 70% of the performance of the Super cores according to this source.

Compared to other SoCs, the 18-core M5 Pro should be able to outperform the older 16-core M4 Max, positioning itself at the top of the mobile SoC class. In terms of single-core performance, the M5 Pro should deliver comparable results to the Apple M5, which topped our charts in Geekbench 6.5 Single, for example (ahead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-96-100 and the M4 SoCs).

For graphics, the SoC scales up to a next-generation 20-core GPU. It features an enhanced shader core, second-generation dynamic caching, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. This delivers up to 20% higher raw graphics performance than the M4 Pro.

Additionally, the chip boasts a nice bump in AI performance. By integrating a faster 16-core Neural Engine and placing dedicated Neural Accelerators inside each GPU core, the M5 Pro pushes over 4x the peak GPU compute for AI compared to its predecessor.

The M5 Pro supports up to 64 GB of unified memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 307 GB/s. The SoC also packs Apple’s latest Media Engine (supporting hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, AV1 decoding, and ProRes encode/decode) and introduces native, on-chip controllers for Thunderbolt 5.

The SoC is manufactured in the modern 3nm process at TSMC (N3P).

SeriesApple M5

Series: M5

Apple M5 Max compare3.05 - 4.61 GHz18 / 18 cores24 MB L3
Apple M5 Pro 18-Core « 3.05 - 4.61 GHz18 / 18 cores24 MB L3
Apple M5 Pro 15-Core compare3.05 - 4.61 GHz15 / 15 cores24 MB L3
Apple M5 9-Core compare3.05 - 4.61 GHz9 / 9 cores
Clock Rate3048 - 4608 MHz
Level 2 Cache32 MB
Level 3 Cache24 MB
Number of Cores / Threads18 / 18
6 x 4.6 GHz Apple M5 S-Core
12 x 4.4 GHz Apple M5 P-Core
Manufacturing Technology3 nm
GPUApple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU
64 Bit64 Bit support
ArchitectureARM
Announcement Date03/03/2026
Product Link (external)www.apple.com

Benchmarks

Cinebench 2026 - Cinebench 2026 CPU Single Thread
738 Points (100%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench 2026 - Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi
9481 Points (93%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench 2024 - Cinebench 2024 CPU Single Core
201 Points (24%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Cinebench 2024 - Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi Core
2347 Points (44%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Blender - Blender 3.3 Classroom CPU *
134.5 Seconds (2%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Geekbench 6.7 - Geekbench 6.7.1 Single-Core
4295 points (99%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Geekbench 6.7 - Geekbench 6.7.1 Multi-Core
28436 points (95%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   - Hide comparison chart
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
230 ms (0%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
153175 Points (98%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
402 Points (97%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
596 Points (96%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
2725 Points (84%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption - external Monitor *
4.9 Watt (3%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
012345Tooltip
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
7.6 Watt (6%)
+ 1 benchmarks and specifications   + Show comparison chart
0123456789Tooltip
- Range of benchmark values
red legend - Average benchmark values
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Amazon Logo
  • $2,621.99
    Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Pro chip with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU: Built for AI, 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 24GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Space Black
  • $3,134.05
    Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Pro chip with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU: Built for AI, 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 48GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Space Black
  • $3,299.00
    Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Pro chip with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU: Built for AI, 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 48GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Silver
  • $3,933.57
    Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Max chip with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU: Built for AI, 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 48GB Unified Memory, 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Space Black
  • $2,704.67
    Apple 2026 MacBook Pro Laptop with Apple M5 Pro chip with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU: Built for AI, 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 24GB Unified Memory, 2TB SSD, Wi-Fi 7; Space Black

v1.35
log 30. 13:08:45

#0 ran 0s before starting gpusingle class +0s ... 0s

#1 no ids found in url (should be separated by "_") +0s ... 0s

#2 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#3 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:32:03 +0200 +0.002s ... 0.002s

#4 composed specs +0.019s ... 0.021s

#5 did output specs +0s ... 0.021s

#6 getting avg benchmarks for device 20889 +0.007s ... 0.029s

#7 got single benchmarks 20889 +0.007s ... 0.036s

#8 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.036s

#9 min, max, avg, median took s +0.412s ... 0.448s

#10 return log +0.53s ... 0.978s

Reviews for the Apple M5 Pro 18-Core processor

Apple M5 Pro & M5 Max GPU Analysis - M5 Max GPU on par with the GeForce RTX 5070 and faster than Strix Halo

Apple M5 Pro & M5 Max GPU Analysis - M5 Max GPU on par with the GeForce RTX 5070 and faster than Strix Halo

Apple launches their new M5 Pro and M5 Max SoCs with new GPU models. We test the 20-core M5 Pro GPU as well as the flagship 40-core M5 Max GPU in synthetic benchmarks as well as gaming tests and also check the efficiency compared to previous Apple GPUs as well as Nvidia's Blackwell graphics cards. Update: MBP 16 shows the full potential of the M5 Max GPU
Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 16.2", 2.1 kg
Apple M5 Pro & M5 Max CPU Analysis - M5 Max is not much faster than the M4 Max

Apple M5 Pro & M5 Max CPU Analysis - M5 Max is not much faster than the M4 Max

Apple launched their new M5 Pro & M5 Max chips with different a different approach including tiles and new super cores. We test and analyze the new M5 Pro/Max CPUs, both in terms of performance as well as efficiency. Users of the new M5 Pro can be very happy, but the results of the new M5 Max is a bit sobering. Update: MBP 16 with M5 Max
Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 16.2", 2.1 kg
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 Review - M5 Pro makes one of the best multimedia laptops even better

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 Review - M5 Pro makes one of the best multimedia laptops even better

The MacBook Pro 16 with the M5 Pro gets a big bump both in terms of CPU as well as GPU performance. Apple also includes faster PCIe 5.0 SSDs as well as Wi-Fi 7, so the overall package is even better than before. Update: M5 Pro beats RTX 5090 in many creator benchmarks
Apple M5 Pro 18-Core, M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 16.2", 2.1 kg

Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro: Apple M5 Pro 20-Core GPU, 16.20", 2.1 kg
  External Review » Apple MacBook Pro 16 2026 M5 Pro

   » Apple's M5 Pro & M5 Max easily beat the RTX 5090 in PugetBench creator benchmarks

   » The base model of the MacBook Pro 16 with the M5 Pro and 1 TB SSD is an excellent multimedia laptop

   » Major weakness: Apple MacBook Neo battery life suffers from excessive cost cutting

Google LogoAdd as a preferred source on Google
Mail Logo

» Mobile CPU Comparison
Comparison of all mobile CPU series

» Mobile Processors - Benchmarklist
Benchmarklist of all known CPUs that are used in laptops (desktop and laptop CPUs)

Other CPUs of the series M5

» Apple M5 Max
   18x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
» Apple M5 Pro 18-Core
   18x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
» Apple M5 Pro 15-Core
   15x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
» Apple M5 10-Core
   10x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
» Apple M5 9-Core
   9x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz

Surrounding CPUs

+ Apple M5 Max
   18x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
» Apple M5 Pro 18-Core
   18x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
- Apple M4 Max 16-Core
   16x 2.59 GHz - 4.51 GHz
- AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D
   16x 2.5 GHz - 5.4 GHz
- Intel Core Ultra 7 255U
   1.7 GHz - 5.2 GHz
- Apple M5 Pro 15-Core
   15x 3.05 GHz - 4.61 GHz
- Apple M4 Max 14-Core
   14x 2.59 GHz - 4.51 GHz
Klaus Hinum (Update: 2026-03- 4)