MacBook Pro M5 launch: What we expect from the next refresh
If you're in the market for a new MacBook Pro, you have the option of the MacBook Pro with the M4 chip. The series is powered by the M4 line of chips, including the base M4, the M4 Pro, and the M4 Max. However, if you're not in a hurry, you may want to wait for the rumoured next-generation MacBook Pro refresh, which could debut as soon as later this year. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, this launch is mostly confirmed. Wondering what this new series of MacBooks might bring to the table? Here's a quick wrap of what reports have said so far.
The MacBook Pro expected later this year is likely to be powered by the upcoming M5 series of chips This would naturally follow the M4 models currently available. As for which versions of the M5 Apple might launch, such as the M5 Pro or M5 Max, remains to be seen. However, given Apple's previous release patterns, including with the M4 series, it wouldn't be surprising to see these variants arrive.
Reports suggest Apple could be saving a significant redesign or an OLED display upgrade for 2026. The Elec also reported this in February, making it more than likely that this year's model will be another incremental refresh, much like the past couple of generations.
So, while the OLED MacBook Pro could become a reality in 2026, the M5-powered MacBook Pros may continue to ship with the current Liquid Retina XDR display.
Even the base version of the MacBook Pro with the entry-level M4 chip now includes 16GB of unified memory. With Apple Intelligence set to be a core part of future products, 16GB of unified memory will likely remain a consistent inclusion in the MacBook M5 as well.
Mark Gurman suggests that the MacBook Pro M5 refresh could arrive around the same timeframe as the M4 generation did, meaning a potential launch in October to November 2025. So, if you're currently using an older MacBook Pro, don't need an urgent upgrade, and can wait for the next major model, it may be worth holding out until then.
First Published: 5 May 2025, 08:25 PM IST
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Apple wants to turn AirPods into heart rate monitors, will use AI for it
Apple is exploring how its wearable devices like AirPods can double as heart rate monitors. A newly published research paper from the Apple Research team discusses the possibility of using AI-powered acoustic models to estimate heart rate from heart sound recordings. These heart rate recordings or sounds can be captured from the body using devices like AirPods. The study, titled 'Foundation Model Hidden Representations for Heart Rate Estimation from Auscultation', seeks to identify if foundation AI models trained on general audio and speech can accurately estimate heart rate from heart sounds. This non-invasive method, known as auscultation, typically involves listening to sounds produced by the heart. The idea is similar to how doctors use a stethoscope to listen to heart rate to diagnose and monitor various medical conditions. The researchers at Apple want to follow the same technique and use wearables like AirPods to capture heart sounds and use AI to measure heart rate by analysing it. Apple revealed that its researchers tested six major foundation models, including HuBERT, wav2vec2, and its own internally developed version of CLAP (Contrastive Language-Audio Pretraining), to see how well these models could pick up heartbeats from phonocardiograms — recordings of heart sounds. The research shows that even though these models weren't built for healthcare tasks, they managed to outperform traditional methods based on handcrafted audio features. 'In this work, using a publicly available phonocardiogram (PCG) dataset and a heart rate (HR) estimation model, we conduct a layer-wise investigation of six acoustic representation FMs: HuBERT, wav2vec2, wavLM, Whisper, Contrastive Language-Audio Pretraining (CLAP), and an in-house CLAP model,' Apple said in the paper published online. During the research, the Apple team used a publicly available dataset of over 20 hours of hospital-recorded heart sounds, annotated by medical experts. The team then split the audio clips into 5-second segments, with the AI analysing them to predict heart rate in beats per minute (BPM). The study revealed that mid-level layers in AI models worked best for detecting heart signals, while deeper layers—which are usually fine-tuned for speech recognition—were less effective at analysing biological sounds like heartbeats. This suggests that Apple would need to focus on specific parts of AI models rather than using them as-is for health tracking. Although the research did not reveal any plans for a commercial product, it does suggest Apple's intent to do more with its devices. Apple has already previewed the expanding possibilities of earbuds like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, which can offer heart rate tracking. But with AI, Apple wants its wearables to do even more. AirPods already feature high-quality microphones used for Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency Mode, which could theoretically pick up subtle heart sounds. If Apple manages to integrate this AI-powered heart rate detection into AirPods, it could help users with passive heart rate monitoring without needing an Apple Watch and offer more advanced fitness tracking and early detection of irregularities with the heart. advertisement
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Foreign-branded mobile phone sales in China edge up in April
Foreign-branded phone sales in China, including Apple's, rose slightly to 3.52 million units in April, after a weak first quarter with a 9% drop in Apple sales. Facing strong domestic competition, Apple offered discounts up to 2,530 yuan on iPhone 16 models to boost sales. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Sales of foreign-branded mobile phones in China , including Apple Inc 's iPhones , edged up in April, according to data released by a government-affiliated research company on based on the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that April shipments of foreign-branded phones in China rose to 3.52 million units from 3.50 million a year the largest foreign mobile phone maker in China's smartphone-dominated market, Apple's performance plays a significant role in the overall data on foreign-branded phone sales in the uptick in April comes after a sluggish first quarter in which Apple's phone sales in China dropped 9%.Apple has faced increased competition from domestic rivals and has resorted to price cuts to stay competitive. Chinese ecommerce platforms are offering discounts of up to 2,530 yuan ($351) on Apple's latest iPhone 16 models earlier this month.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta forays into defence sector, signs deal with Anduril for ‘AI, mixed reality gear'
Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta Platforms and defence technology startup Anduril Industries have announced a deal to develop 'mixed reality gear' to provide soldiers with enhanced control on the battlefields, according to reports. The development, will fuse Meta's augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) tech with Anduril's data analytics platform 'Lattice', into a product such as glasses, goggles or visors, AFP reported. 'Meta has spent the last decade building AI and AR to enable the computing platform of the future. We're proud to partner with Anduril to help bring these technologies to the American servicemembers that protect our interests at home and abroad,' Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the release. Anduril describes its Lattice platform as an AI-powered command and control system that integrates data from thousands of sources to provide real-time battlefield intelligence for decision making. The partnership will include developing new products for US military use and includes an AI-powered helmet with virtual reality (VR) and AR features, according to a Bloomberg report. Anduril is working with Meta 'to design, build, and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception and enable intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield', the company blog said. According to a report by Core Memory, at least one of the products will be a 'sci-fi-style military helmet' named 'Eagle Eye'. 'It's the thing that everyone's always wanted. People have called them different things: They've called them Call of Duty googles. They've called it, you know, the helmet from Halo. These are old ideas that have only recently become really technologically viable,' Palmer Luckey, the co-founder of Anduril, told Core Memory in an interview. Notably, Meta changed its 'acceptable use' policies in November to allow use of its large language AI models by US military contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. and Palantir Technologies Inc. A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Bloomberg said. Notably, Anduril's Luckey also co-founded Oculus VR, the gaming headset company he sold to Meta in 2014. He was removed from Meta after controversy around financing a group creating anti-Hillary Clinton memes ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. Since Donald Trump's re-election, Mark Zuckerberg's politics too have trended rightward. The tech billionaire also bought a $23 million residence in Washington DC. (With inputs from Agencies)
