According to ETnews, Jobs’ Mob is using a new node process to package the semiconductor, which will improve Apple’s lacklustre AI performance.

Industry sources told the Korean publication that Apple began packaging the M5 chip last month. Taiwan’s TSMC started the initial production of the M5 chip circuit using its 3nm process (N3P). The technology is alleged to improve the M5 chip's power efficiency by between five per cent and ten per cent and performance by five per cent compared to the previous M4 chip.

Apple is known to be releasing a series of M5 chips, including the M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra.

Other companies assisting in packaging the M5 chip series are ASE in Taiwan, Amkor in the US, and JCET in China. ETnews said that additional outsourcing suppliers are preparing the extra facilities to expand the mass production of the higher-end chips, including Pro, Max, and Ultra.

“Orders for equipment to expand the mass production volume of the M5 are continuously being made. As it has begun full-scale production, it will be installed in Apple devices that will be released in the future,” they added.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in December 2024 that the earliest M5 models should begin mass production during the first and second quarter of 2025, while the M5 Ultra would start mass production in 2026. He added that higher-end chips would be “better suited for AI inferencing.”  Although to be fair they could not be much worse than what is avaliable now.