Apple announced new models of the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro on Wednesday, all powered by the updated M5 chip, which allows them to run significantly faster than their predecessors.
New Chip and Pricing Strategy
The new devices are the latest additions to Apple’s fall product catalog, which typically sees major releases to capitalize on holiday and Christmas shopping—Apple’s largest sales quarter. This year’s holiday quarter will also be the first full period of sales for the iPhone 17.
The new product lineup is centered on the M5 chip, which Apple claims offers four times the peak compute performance compared with the previous M4 generation. Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, stated that the “M5 delivers a huge boost to AI workloads.”
Despite pressure from President Donald Trump’s announced and threatened tariffs on semiconductors and Chinese imports, the starting prices for the latest M5 models remain the same as the previous versions: the MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999, and the latest Apple Vision Pro (which now includes a Dual Knit Band) starts at $3,499. The new devices are available for pre-order now in most markets and will go on sale starting October 22.
Financial Importance of Secondary Lines
While iPhone revenue remains Apple’s most crucial segment, accounting for more than 47% of revenue in the June quarter (nearly $45 billion), the Mac and iPad lines are massive businesses in their own right. Mac sales reached **$8.05 billion** in the June quarter, a 15% year-over-year increase, driven by the earlier release of a new MacBook Air model. In contrast, iPad sales came in at $6.58 billion, an 8% annual decrease, which the company attributed to difficult comparisons with the year-ago quarter’s product launches.
Apple does not publicly break out figures for the Vision Pro headset, but its revenue is included in the company’s wearables (or other products) line item alongside the Apple Watch and AirPods. Analysts believe the Vision Pro revenue remains negligible. Wall Street analysts tend to focus heavily on iPhone sales and growth over the company’s secondary product lines, but the M5 updates are an important part of the overall portfolio strategy.
Author’s Opinion
Apple’s decision to quietly launch these key products via press release, rather than a spectacle event, underscores a strategy of prioritizing incremental hardware lock-in over theatrical hype. The M5 chip is a crucial, non-negotiable refresh needed to keep its core devices competitive and retain high-value professional users like developers and designers. By bundling these necessary upgrades with news of delaying the much-anticipated cheaper Vision Pro, Apple is confirming that its immediate focus is on monetizing its most loyal professional segment and maximizing silicon performance, rather than chasing new, mass-market consumer breakthroughs.
Featured image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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