ZoomPhoto 1 of 1Apple
Apple M5 Max (18-core)
Apple's new Fusion Architecture chip bonds two 3nm dies to field an 18-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU, delivering faster multithreaded performance and up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth for the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio.
Pros
- 18-core CPU with class-leading single-thread performance
- Up to 40-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into every core for AI workloads
- Up to 128GB of unified memory with up to 614GB/s of bandwidth
- Dedicated Thunderbolt 5 controller for each port
- Doubled media engine speeds up ProRes encode and decode
Cons
- Only available in expensive MacBook Pro and Mac Studio configurations
- Memory and storage are fixed at purchase with no user upgrades
- No discrete GPU option for workloads that need one
Excellent
Computed from specs & benchmarks via our public methodology.
Full specifications
Everything we track for the Apple M5 Max (18-core)
General
- Announced
- 2026
- Process
- 3 nm
Cores & Clocks
- Cores
- 18
- Performance cores
- 6
- Efficiency cores
- 12
- Threads
- 18
- Boost clock
- 4.6 GHz
- L3 cache
- 24 MB
Integrated GPU
- iGPU
- Apple 40-core GPU
Memory
- Memory support
- LPDDR5X-9600
- Max memory
- 128 GB
Benchmarks
- Geekbench 6 (single)
- 4,322Top 3%
- Geekbench 6 (multi)
- 29,256Top 2%
- PassMark
- 57,677Top 2%
Quick answers
Is the Apple M5 Max (18-core) good in 2026?
The Apple M5 Max (18-core) earns an Inno Score of 89/100 (“Excellent”) based on its specs and benchmark results. Apple's new Fusion Architecture chip bonds two 3nm dies to field an 18-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU, delivering faster multithreaded performance and up to 614GB/s of memory bandwidth for the MacBook Pro and Mac Studio.
Does the Apple M5 Max (18-core) count as "Core i7 or equivalent"?
Its PassMark CPU Mark average is 57,677 (cpubenchmark.net, retrieved Sep 26, 2026), which puts it in Tier A of our CPU tier checker: current Core i7 H / Core Ultra 7 / Ryzen 7 class and above. It is an Arm-based chip, so a requirement that asks specifically for an Intel or AMD (x86-64) processor excludes it. Requirement pages word this differently, so check the exact wording with your department.
What are the key specs of the Apple M5 Max (18-core)?
Cores: 18 · Threads: 18 · Boost clock: 4.6 GHz
What are the closest alternatives to the Apple M5 Max (18-core)?
Its closest rivals on InnoReviews are Apple M5 Pro (18-core), Apple M4 Max (16-core), Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme — open the comparison pages for a spec-by-spec breakdown.
