The Apple M2, introduced in 2022, is primarily designed for Apple's mainstream devices like MacBook Air and Mac mini, offering robust performance for everyday and moderately demanding tasks.

The Apple M5 is anticipated as a future successor, aiming to push performance boundaries for professional applications and the most demanding workloads.

The Apple M2 is manufactured using the 5 nm process and integrates an efficient architecture with an Apple M2 (10 Core) graphics unit. The Apple M5 utilizes the more advanced 3 nm process, which allows for higher transistor density and potentially better energy efficiency or more performance.

It also features an Apple M5 (10 Core) graphics unit, and both support PCIe 4.0. In benchmarks, the Apple M5 shows significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance than the Apple M2, making it considerably faster in compute-intensive applications. Even in gaming scenarios, the Apple M5 outperforms the Apple M2, benefiting from its newer architecture and a higher maximum memory bandwidth of 154 GB/s compared to 102 GB/s.

This enables smoother frame rates and improved graphics rendering. Thanks to the smaller 3 nm manufacturing process, the Apple M5 is expected to offer superior performance per watt compared to the 5 nm Apple M2, leading to better energy efficiency. While the Apple M2 offers an established price-performance ratio for current products, the Apple M5 will be positioned as a premium processor in future, higher-priced devices, with its higher costs justified by its significantly increased computing power.

The Apple M2 is a solid choice for users seeking balanced performance and efficiency for daily use. The Apple M5 is recommended for professional users who require maximum computing power, highest efficiency, and the latest technology for the most demanding tasks.

Apple M2

  • Established performance for mainstream applications
  • Manufactured using the 5 nm process
  • Good price-performance ratio
  • Maximum memory bandwidth of 102 GB/s

Apple M5

  • Significantly higher computing power (single- and multi-core)
  • Manufactured using the advanced 3 nm process
  • Superior energy efficiency
  • Maximum memory bandwidth of 154 GB/s

Performance Overview
Average performance across multiple benchmarks

Single-core performance
Rank 2 - 62 %
Apple M2
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple M5
Multi-core performance
Rank 2 - 61 %
Apple M2
Rank 1 - 100 %
Apple M5
Cinebench 2024 Single-Core

Cinebench 2024 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple M2
Apple M2 61 %
8C / 8T · 3.50 GHz
120 pts
Apple M5
Apple M5 100 %
9C / 9T · 4.61 GHz
198 pts
Geekbench 6 Single-Core

Geekbench 6 Single-Core
Single-core performance

Apple M2
Apple M2 63 %
8C / 8T · 3.50 GHz
2,596
Apple M5
Apple M5 100 %
9C / 9T · 4.61 GHz
4,133
Geekbench 6 Multi-Core

Geekbench 6 Multi-Core
Multi-core performance

Apple M2
Apple M2 61 %
8C / 8T · 3.50 GHz
10,062
Apple M5
Apple M5 100 %
9C / 9T · 0.91 GHz
16,472
iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

Apple M2
Apple M2 69 %
Apple M2 (10 Core)
3,550
Apple M5
Apple M5 100 %
Apple M5 (10 Core)
5,133

More benchmarks

At a glance

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
FamilyApple M series (38)Apple M series (38)
CPU groupApple M2 (8)Apple M5 (6)
ArchitectureM2M5
Technology5 nm3 nm
SegmentNotebookNotebook
Socket
PredecessorApple M1Apple M4
SuccessorApple M3

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
CPU Cores / Threads8 / 89 / 9
Hyperthreading / SMT
Core architecturehybrid (big.LITTLE)hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core Cluster 1: 4x Avalanche
0.66 - 3.50 GHz
3x P-Core
0.91 - 4.61 GHz
Core Cluster 2: 4x Blizzard
0.60 - 2.42 GHz
6x E-Core
0.90 - 3.05 GHz
L2-Cache20.00 MB28.00 MB
L3-Cache
Overclocking

Integrated graphics (iGPU)

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
GPU nameApple M2 (10 Core)Apple M5 (10 Core)
GPU frequency0.45 - 1.40 GHz0.34 - 1.90 GHz
CUs / Shader160 / 1280160 / 1280
Raytracing
Max. displays23
Max. GPU Memory24 GB24 GB
Technology5 nm3 nm
Release dateQ2/2022Q4/2025

NPU AI performance

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
AI hardwareApple Neural EngineApple Neural Engine
AI specifications16 Neural cores @ 15.8 TOPS16 Neural cores @ 60 TOPS
NPU + CPU + iGPU

Memory & PCIe

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
MemoryLPDDR5-6400 (102.4 GB/s)
LPDDR5X-9600 (153.6 GB/s)
Max. Memory24 GB16 GB
Memory channels22
ECCNoNo
PCIe4.04.0
PCIe Bandwidth

Thermal Management

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
TDP20 W17 W
TDP (PL2)
TDP up30 W
TDP down10 W15 W
T. junction max.100 °C100 °C

Technical details

Wischen
Apple M2Apple M5
Chip designMonolithicMonolithic
AES-NI
Operating systemsmacOS, iPadOSmacOS, iPadOS
Instruction setArmv8.5-A (64 bit)Armv9.2-A (64 bit)
ISA extensionsRosetta 2 x86-EmulationRosetta 2 x86-Emulation, AVX2, SME
Release dateQ2/2022Q4/2025
Release price
DocumentsTechnical data sheet

Your rating

Here you can rate one or both of the processors. The average rating of Apple M2 is 4.4 stars (743 ratings), while Apple M5 has received 4.7 stars (397 ratings).

Click on the stars to rate one or both processors.

Apple M2
Apple M2
8C / 8T · 0.66 - 3.50 GHz
Apple M5
Apple M5
9C / 9T · 0.91 - 4.61 GHz

Most popular CPUs in both categories

Apple M2
Apple M2
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