Apple just dropped its most significant hardware refresh in years, unveiling new MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro models powered by the breakthrough M5 chip. The timing couldn't be better - with the holiday quarter approaching and Wall Street watching every pricing move amid tariff concerns, Apple's keeping prices flat while delivering what executives call a "huge boost to AI workloads."
Apple just rewrote the rules for professional computing. The company's Wednesday announcement of M5-powered MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro models represents more than a routine refresh - it's Apple's boldest bet yet on AI-driven workflows reshaping how we work.
The M5 chip sits at the heart of this transformation. According to Apple's official release, the new silicon delivers four times the peak compute performance of its M4 predecessor. "M5 delivers a huge boost to AI workloads," Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, told reporters.
That performance leap comes at a critical moment. Apple's December quarter typically drives its biggest sales surge, fueled by holiday shopping and enterprise budget cycles. This year carries extra weight - it's the first full quarter of iPhone 17 availability, and the company needs secondary products to maintain momentum.
The pricing strategy reveals Apple's confidence. MacBook Pro models start at $1,599, iPad Pro at $999, and the refreshed Vision Pro at $3,499 - identical to previous generations despite mounting tariff pressures. Wall Street analysts have been watching closely to see whether Apple would pass semiconductor costs to consumers or absorb them internally.
"Starting prices for the latest M5 models are the same as the previous versions," CNBC's reporting confirmed. That's a calculated risk, especially with President Trump's announced tariffs targeting semiconductors and China-manufactured components.
The numbers tell the story of Apple's hardware ecosystem beyond the iPhone. Mac sales hit $8.05 billion in the June quarter, up 15% year-over-year, while iPad revenue reached $6.58 billion despite an 8% decline Apple attributed to tough comparisons. Combined, these product lines still pale next to iPhone's $45 billion quarterly revenue - nearly 47% of Apple's total.
But the M5 launch isn't just about raw performance. It's Apple's answer to the AI computing arms race. While competitors scramble to retrofit existing architectures for machine learning workloads, Apple built AI acceleration directly into its silicon roadmap. The Vision Pro's inclusion in this refresh signals the company's commitment to spatial computing, even as analysts consider its revenue "negligible."
