AppStories The Potential and Limits of the M5 iPad Pro
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Oct 26, 2025 Explore whether the M5 iPad Pro truly supports local LLMs and gaming. Discover Apple's claims about a 3.5x performance boost, as the hosts dive into the technicalities of MLX. They highlight the current limitations of iPadOS for gaming, discussing why major titles like Cyberpunk are absent. Federico shares insights on gaming performance and the necessity for Apple to enhance compatibility. Finally, find out who should consider upgrading to the M5, weighing the real benefits against existing models.
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Apple's M5 Pitch Focused On AI And Games
- Apple pitched the M5 iPad Pro mainly around local LLMs and gaming as its standout features.
- Federico treated Apple's claim as a testable technical promise rather than marketing fluff.
Review Driven By Apple Footnote Verification
- Federico dug into Apple's press materials and found a footnote about a 3.5x improvement for local LLMs.
- He chose to verify that claim experimentally rather than just publish a superficial spec review.
MLX Unlocks Apple Silicon For Local Models
- MLX is an Apple-created framework that leverages unified memory and neural accelerators to speed local model execution.
- It can multiply performance compared with non-MLX runtimes by optimizing for Apple Silicon hardware.
