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Apple’s M5 chip is here, making a splash in three new products this week to deliver notable performance improvements.
This week also saw Apple announce a minor rebrand for its Apple TV+ streaming service, while the company continues work on upcoming software updates to introduce new features and address bugs, so read on below for all the details!
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Everything Apple Announced This Week
We haven’t gotten a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out on Wednesday of this week. A new M5 chip made an appearance in updated MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models.
All of the new products are available for pre-order now ahead of a launch next Wednesday, October 22, and be sure to check out the latest episode of The MacRumors Show where Dan and Hartley talk through all of the announcements.
Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip
Apple this week updated the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip, while more powerful 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models remain available with M4 Pro and M4 Max chip options.
In addition to the faster M5 chip, the new base MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage that is up to twice as fast as in the M4 model.
Notably, the M5 MacBook Pro does not ship with a power adapter in Europe, with Apple removing it from the box in response to upcoming EU regulations that will require power adapters to be optional, though it could have elected to address the requirement in a more consumer-friendly way.
Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More
Apple on Wednesday also announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips.
The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core for significant improvements in AI performance, while Apple’s custom N1 networking chip delivers Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support. Apple’s custom C1X modem in cellular models supports up to 50% faster data performance.
Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support
Apple this week updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band.
With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared to the previous model with the M2 chip. It also renders more pixels, allowing for sharper images and crisper text, and the Vision Pro can now ramp up to a 120Hz refresh rate to reduce motion blur and provide a smoother experience when using Mac Virtual Display.
Apple TV+ Being Rebranded as Apple TV
Buried in its announcement this week about “F1: The Movie” making its streaming debut on December 12, Apple also revealed that Apple TV+ is being rebranded as simply Apple TV.
A single line near the end of the press release states “Apple TV+ is now simply Apple TV, with a vibrant new identity,” which has started to appear in the latest betas of iOS 26.1 and related updates in the form of a more colorful icon.
iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon
Apple’s software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will likely be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The pending update comes as Apple continues beta testing on the more significant iOS 26.1 and related updates.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we’ve covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!
Article Link: Top Stories: New M5 MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro
