Apple’s ‘M5 Week’ Could Bring 3 New Products
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It’s all but certain that Apple has more to show us before 2025 is over. Even if we hadn’t been hearing multiple rumors of new iPads, Macs, and even a Vision Pro update over the past few months, Apple has almost always followed up its big September iPhone and Apple Watch releases with an October debut of other hardware — and that could be happening again this week.
For the past four years, these events have been largely Mac-centric, headlined each fall by the release of Apple’s higher-end MacBook Pro lineup, from the freshly-redesigned M1 Pro/Max models in 2021 to last October’s M4 lineup.
A Familiar October Pattern
There was also a bump in the road in 2022 when Apple skipped a formal October event, slipping out the M2 iPad Pro, 10th-generation iPad, and third-generation Apple TV 4K via a series of press releases. The M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro models arrived later, in January 2023. Apple followed a similar approach last October, dressing it up as a “Week of Mac” with daily product reveals accompanied by “mini-event” videos.
That brings us to this year, with growing signs that instead of a Mac-focused event, it will be Apple’s next silicon generation, the M5, that serves as the theme for a fresh round of October product announcements.
All Eyes on Apple’s M5 Chip
Over the weekend, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter that he expects Apple to “turn its attention to the rest of its fall product pipeline this week.”
Until recently, reports of what might be coming this fall had been a bit muddled. Nearly every reliable source agreed that an M5 iPad Pro was in the cards, but in July, Gurman said Apple was considering delaying the M5 MacBook Pro until early 2026.
That wasn’t a sure thing, but it also didn’t seem unreasonable that Apple might choose to repeat its 2024 M4 launch cycle, unveiling its latest silicon in the iPad Pro before bringing it to the Mac.
At the end of September, a series of FCC filings slipped out early listing what appeared to be an entire lineup of six new iPad Pro models — covering all the usual size and Wi-Fi/cellular variants — alongside a lone MacBook Pro and a Vision Pro. This was a bit perplexing until dwindling stock levels gave us the other piece of the puzzle; inventory levels of the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro were dwindling, while the M4 Pro and M4 Max models remained readily available.
Returning to an Earlier Playbook
At that point, the writing was clearly on the wall, suggesting that rumors of October and early 2026 Mac launches were both correct — they were merely referring to two different members of the same family.
Although Apple unified the MacBook Pro lineup into a single 14-inch design with the M3 chip, it’s still the same entry-level model in principle, and can easily be launched ahead of its more powerful siblings. This makes particular sense if Apple already has the M5 chip ready for other devices, such as the iPad Pro.
In other words, Apple is likely preparing to debut the 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro on its own this month, while holding back the higher-end models until early next year. While that’s a departure from the 2023–24 launches, where MacBooks with all three chips arrived simultaneously, it does mirror the earlier days of Apple silicon, when the M1 and M2 MacBook Pro models — old-style 13-inch designs in those days — came out several months ahead of the flagships.
Meanwhile, Gurman believes that the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips aren’t “ready in volume” yet. He didn’t seem to be aware of this in July, when he first predicted a delay — suggesting at the time it was simply Apple spreading out releases for revenue reasons — but it now seems like a more plausible explanation.
What to Expect from ‘M5 Week’
Last year, Apple gave us a ‘Week of Mac’ during which it unveiled one new Mac per day: the M4 iMac on October 28, the M4 and M4 Pro Mac mini on October 29, and the M4 MacBook Pro lineup on October 30, that least one being exactly one year to the day after the M3 lineup debuted in 2023.
This year, it seems like the releases are going to be about the silicon across multiple families. As we’ve already hinted at earlier — and as the rumors have been saying for the past few weeks — here’s what’s expected to arrive:
- The M5 iPad Pro: Expect an upgrade to Apple’s latest M5 silicon, but few other changes. Rumors of a second front-facing camera for use in portrait orientation remain unconfirmed. A pair of Russian videos unboxing what they claimed were leaked M5 iPad Pro models showed a design essentially the same, aside from the removal of the “iPad Pro” inscription from the back, and they didn’t mention or show the extra camera.
- The M5 MacBook Pro: This is expected to be Apple’s most understated 2025 Mac refresh — expect a new M5 chip with the same design. More speculative reports suggest that Thunderbolt 5 may finally trickle down from the M4 Pro and Max models, and minor camera tweaks are possible, but the most significant upgrade will be the M5’s performance and efficiency improvements.
- The M5 Vision Pro: This is the one upgrade few mainstream consumers are asking for, but Apple’s headset is overdue for a silicon refresh. The current model packs in an aging M2 chip that was already on its way out when Apple unveiled the spatial computing headset in 2023. A refresh to an M5 chip will give the headset a much-needed performance boost that should be of interest to its target audience, but it’s not expected to get any meaningful design or price changes, so it will likely remain confined to a niche market.
There’s also one more “wildcard” device that could be just around the corner: a new Apple TV 4K. Apple’s abrupt decision to rebrand Apple TV+ this week suggests that it may not only have a new set-top box in store, but it could be preparing to give it a new name. After all, things were confusing enough even with the plus sign on the end; since the rebrand, the phrase “Apple TV on Apple TV on Apple TV” has become something of a meme. A new name for the set-top box would greatly simplify things, even if Apple doesn’t make any changes to the Apple TV app. However, as I said yesterday, it could also choose to narrow the scope of the app so that it’s all about Apple TV, much like nearly every other streaming app — including Apple Music.
We still don’t know what form these announcements will take, although it’s apparent that Apple doesn’t plan to hold a formal event. We’re already past Apple’s typical release time for today, and Friday is an odd day for announcements, which makes a one-two-three punch like last year’s “Week of Mac” less likely. If Gurman is right about timing, a same-day trifecta of press releases now seems the safer bet.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
