It was previously revealed in leaks that the Apple M5 Pro and M5 Max-powered MacBook Pros are expected to launch sometime in the first half of 2026, but a new rumor from Fixed Focus Digital on Weibo has revealed that the M5 Max and Pro SoCs themselves may launch as early as March 2026. Apple generally announces new SoCs alongside at least one new product that will sport the new SoC, so either we will see new MacBooks launch alongside those chips or Apple will launch something like an M5 Max Mac Studio at the same time.
The leaker also claims that Apple will be using TSMC’s advanced SoIC (System on Integrated Chip) packaging to bring down production costs for the SoC slightly. Supposedly this is one way that Apple will fight the high DRAM costs after it allegedly slipped from TSMC’s priority customer list. The slip from the priority list was supposedly accompanied by a significant production price increase for Apple, and it is thought that the AI boom is to blame for that price increase.
