Reports suggest that the Apple M5 Pro and M5 Max are different versions of the same chip, using a brand new 2.5D packaging process.

2026-02-09 23:31:02

Abstract generation in progress

Tech Home February 10 News, earlier reports suggested that upcoming MacBook Pro models equipped with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips would support more flexible CPU core and GPU core configurations. A recent change on Apple’s official website seems to confirm this.

The latest reports indicate that the change might be even more thorough: the M5 Pro and M5 Max may not be two completely independent chips, but different versions of the same chip.

As early as last year, there were reports that Apple would adopt a new packaging process for higher-end M5 series chips.

The M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra will use server-grade SoIC packaging technology. Apple will use a packaging process called SoIC mH (molding horizontal packaging) to improve yield rates and thermal performance, and will adopt a separated CPU and GPU design.

By separating the CPU and GPU cores in this way, users may have greater freedom when choosing configurations. For example, they can opt for a basic CPU configuration while maximizing GPU cores to meet high graphics performance requirements.

Recent changes to Apple’s official website also provide more evidence for this speculation. Tech Home noticed that Apple adjusted the Mac online purchasing process, removing the previous series of customizable pre-configured options, allowing users to start from scratch and customize hardware specifications.

YouTube blogger Vadim Yuryev found that in recently leaked beta code, there was no trace of the M5 Pro chip at all, and he believes he knows why.

I finally figured out why the recently leaked beta code doesn’t show the Apple M5 Pro chip: Apple has adopted a new 2.5D chip technology, using a single M5 Max chip design to support both the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips simultaneously. This saves Apple a huge amount of cost in product model (SKU) and design.

The difference between the two versions is: if you want to maximize both GPU cores and memory, you must choose the M5 Max.

This theory sounds quite reasonable. Besides allowing Apple to better utilize chip binning to improve yield rates, the company only needs to design one logic motherboard. Once the new models are officially released, teardown reviews will quickly verify whether this speculation is accurate.

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