Apple is reportedly planning a major overhaul of its Mac chip roadmap by skipping the M6 Pro and M6 Max processors and moving directly to AI-focused M7 chips, reported Bloomberg.
According to people familiar with the matter, Apple will still introduce the base M6 chip later this year in entry-level Macs, but higher-end M6 variants will not be released. Instead, the company is expected to launch M7 Pro and M7 Max processors in 2027, marking the first time it has abandoned its traditional chip rollout strategy.
The move is aimed at accelerating more powerful on-device AI features and graphics performance. The base M6 chip is expected to deliver around 200GB/s of memory bandwidth, up from roughly 153GB/s on the M5, alongside an upgraded Neural Engine, faster CPU performance, improved media processing, and a redesigned GPU with up to 12 graphics cores.
Apple is designing the M7 lineup primarily for AI workloads, with the base M7 expected to debut in the first half of 2027. The M7 Pro, M7 Max, and M7 Ultra models are currently planned for release between late 2027 and 2028.
Despite the roadmap changes, Apple is still expected to launch the M5 Ultra later this year with an updated Mac Studio. The flagship chip is expected to feature around 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, and support up to 768GB of unified memory, although supply constraints could affect final configurations.
Apple declined to comment on its future silicon plans.
