![\"Vision](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Vision-Pro-M5-Demo.jpg\")
While the latest model sees no hardware changes beyond the chip and the headband, the M5 chip unlocks a series of new capabilities for the Vision Pro, such as a higher refresh rate, more rendered pixels, and longer battery life. <\/p>\n
Apple recently refreshed its Vision Pro headset with the M5 chip, but how different is it from the original version? This guide lists all of the differences between the two models.<\/p>\n
While the latest model sees no hardware changes beyond the chip and the headband, the M5 chip unlocks a series of new capabilities for the Vision Pro, such as a higher refresh rate, more rendered pixels, and longer battery life. <\/p>\n
The M5 Vision Pro isn’t classified as a second-generation model, which reveals how incremental Apple sees the update over the original M2<\/a> version. Nevertheless, it refines the headset in specific ways. All of the differences between the two models are as follows:<\/p>\n Apple Vision Pro<\/a> (2024) Apple \u200cM2\u200c chip Made with TSMC’s third-generation 5nm node (N5P) Based on A15 Bionic chip from iPhone<\/a> 13 (2021) 8-core CPU (4 performance and 4 efficiency cores) New GPU architecture<\/p>\n Integrated Neural Accelerator in every GPU core<\/p>\n Metal 4 developer APIs Third-generation ray tracing engine<\/p>\n Hardware-accelerated mesh shading<\/p>\n Second-generation dynamic caching<\/p>\n LPDDR5 memory 100 GB\/s memory bandwidth Support for AV1 decode<\/p>\n Dedicated display engine<\/p>\n 10% more rendered pixels<\/p>\n Up to 100Hz refresh rate 2\u20132.5 hours battery life 30W power adapter included Solo Knit Band and Dual Loop Band included Weighs 600\u2013650 grams (21.2\u201322.9 ounces) Made in China Released February 2024 Started at $3,499 (\u00a33,499 or \u20ac4,000) The new chip is dramatically more powerful and efficient, making the device tangibly faster at tasks that push multiple subsystems at once, such as creating spatial photos or loading widget-heavy environments. Latency is reduced and overall responsiveness improves enough to feel noticeable in daily use. While there aren’t many workflows that can take full advantage of the M5 chip’s capabilities, it provides considerable performance headroom and strengthens the headset’s technical foundation for future versions of visionOS and third-party apps.<\/p>\n That said, the upgrade is still bound by the same cameras, sensors, and displays as the \u200cM2\u200c model. The new 120 Hz refresh rate and 10% increase in rendered pixels subtly enhance motion smoothness and realism, but they don’t transform the experience. Battery life is also slightly better, yet none of these shifts make the \u200cM2\u200c version feel obsolete. The software remains identical across both models, and since the new Dual Knit Band is available separately, comfort is also not a differentiator.<\/p>\n For current owners, the decision to upgrade hinges on use-case. Developers, designers, or professionals who push the headset to its limits will appreciate the added headroom and smoother responsiveness. For everyone else\u2014especially those who primarily use the Vision Pro for watching TV and movies, Mac Virtual Display, browsing, or light productivity\u2014the \u200cM2\u200c version still delivers the same fundamental experience.<\/p>\n The \u200cM2\u200c model’s secondary-market prices also change the equation. With no trade-in program and units now listed on eBay at substantially lower prices, the original Vision Pro has become a far more accessible entry point into Apple’s spatial computing experience. That makes the M5 model the better option for new buyers who want the most longevity and headroom, but the \u200cM2\u200c model remains better value for those entering the platform for the first time or waiting for a larger generational leap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple recently refreshed its Vision Pro headset with the M5 chip, but how different is it from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[3239,111,139,69,145,360,361,745,362],"class_list":{"0":"post-118267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-virtual-reality","8":"tag-buyer","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-virtual-reality","14":"tag-virtualreality","15":"tag-vision-pro","16":"tag-vr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u200cApple Vision Pro\u200c (2025)<\/p>\n
\nApple M5 chip<\/p>\n
\nMade with TSMC’s third-generation 3nm<\/a> process (N3P)<\/p>\n
\nBased on A19 Pro chip from iPhone 17 Pro<\/a> (2025)<\/p>\n
\n10-core CPU (4 performance and 6 efficiency cores)<\/p>\n
\nMetal 4 developer APIs with Tensor APIs to program GPU Neural Accelerators<\/p>\n
\nLPDDR5X memory<\/p>\n
\n153 GB\/s memory bandwidth<\/p>\n
\nUp to 120Hz refresh rate<\/p>\n
\n2.5\u20133 hours battery life<\/p>\n
\n40W power adapter included<\/p>\n
\nCounterweighted Dual Knit Band included<\/p>\n
\nWeighs 750\u2013800 grams (26.4\u201328.2 ounces) <\/p>\n
\nMade in Vietnam<\/p>\n
\nReleased October 2025<\/p>\n
\nStarts at $3,499 (\u00a33,199 or \u20ac3,700)<\/p>\n