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A long-time Apple Insider, Ming-Chi Kuo @mingchikuo on X, has leaked some juicy details on the company's next-gen M5 series of processors, particularly the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra. According to this user, Apple will reportedly use a new packaging technology called SoIC-mH, which has the potential to significantly improve the chip's performance, efficiency, and yield rates.
In this article, we will discuss how the supposed use of the new packaging technology could benefit the M5 series of CPUs.
Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions. Also, please take the presented information with a grain of salt, as they are based on leaks.
Apple reportedly wants to use SoIC-mH packaging technology for M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra processors
Ming-Chi Kuo @mingchikuo on X, who's a reputed leaker, suggests Apple could change the design process of its M series processors, starting with the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra. According to this leaker, the CPU and GPU of these chips will reportedly be designed separately, and later molded together, using the SoIC-mH packaging technology from TSMC.
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SoIC-mH stands for System-on-Integrated-Chips-Molding-Horizontally. This advanced 2.5D packaging technology will allow Apple to manufacture the CPU and GPU dies separately at TSMC and then mold them together horizontally, as the name suggests.
Traditionally, Apple has designed the M series of processors like an SoC (System-on-a-Chip), where both the CPU and GPU reside together. However, this makes the die a lot larger, which decreases the yield rates of the chips. Lower yield rates result in lower profit margins for Apple, which is bad for business.
Instead of manufacturing one giant SoC, Apple will now supposedly make multiple smaller dies, which should increase the yield rates significantly. Apple could end up saving a lot of die space.
To add to that, separated CPU and GPU dies should help in thermal management and allow for better voltage scaling, leading to increased gaming performance and power efficiency. However, note that this is just pure speculation.
Moreover, Apple is expected to use TSMC's N3P process instead of the N3E process used to manufacture the Apple M4 series of chips, which should lead to even more improvements. According to TSMC's roadmap, the switch to the N3P process node should bring 5-10% better power efficiency while delivering 5% more performance.
If everything goes well with the reported design process, the rumored M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra processors could potentially tape out and enter mass production in the first half of 2025, the second half of 2025, and 2026, respectively.
Also read: MSI MAG 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor available for under $600 on sale.
The leaked Apple M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra chips will reportedly also be used for Apple's PCC servers
Ming-Chi Kuo @mingchikuo also mentioned that these high-end M5 chips could end up powering Apple's Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers. This should boost the Apple Intelligence response time in situations when the AI taps into Apple's PCC servers for more computational power.
