Apple macOS 26.3.1 Update: M5 Processor "Performance Core" Renamed to "Super Core"

IT之家 March 5 news: earlier this week, Apple released a flurry of new products, including the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. With the introduction of these two chips, Apple has completely changed the naming convention for the processor cores: the original “Performance Core” has been renamed to the “Super Core,” the “Efficiency Core” name remains unchanged, a third type of core—situated between the two—has been added, and it has been named the “Performance Core.”

IT之家 notes that earlier this week, Apple stated that this naming change will retroactively apply to the performance cores of the standard M5 chip. Today’s pushed macOS Tahoe 26.3.1 update officially confirms this name change. After the update, the core identifiers in System Information and Activity Monitor have been updated accordingly.

This “upgrade” applies only to the M5 MacBook Pro—the only Mac model equipped with an M5-series chip prior to the announcement of the naming change. It needs to be made clear that this is purely a naming adjustment; after installing the update, users’ Mac performance and runtime behavior will not experience any substantive changes. As for the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models equipped with the M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chips, they will adopt the new core naming directly at the factory.

Mac models equipped with earlier M-series chips such as the M4 will not be affected. On the M1 to M4 series chips (as well as the A18 Pro chip in the MacBook Neo, which is of the same lineage as the M4), the performance cores will continue to use the original names, and the efficiency core identifiers will remain unchanged.

In addition, the macOS 26.3.1 update is also a necessary condition for supporting Apple’s new Studio Display monitor. This may be because, as with the first-generation product, the new Studio Display is essentially an intelligent device with a built-in iOS system. Its chip has been upgraded from the A13 of the first generation to the A19 series, running an operating system derived from iOS; this system needs to be updated periodically via the connected Mac. Obviously, beyond Thunderbolt and DisplayPort signal transmission between the Mac and the Studio Display, there are other forms of communication and interaction, and this system update is precisely intended to provide support for that interaction on the Mac side.

Not all Mac models support the new Studio Display; even for those that do, some models cannot drive the Studio Display XDR’s 120Hz refresh rate at full frame. It’s worth noting that the last few Intel (Intel)-based Mac models have been completely removed from the compatibility list.