Apple is breaking its own playbook. It will skip the high-end versions of its M6 chip and leap to an AI-focused M7 line. Apple M7 chips, not the M6, will power its best Macs from 2027.
Apple has changed how it rolls out Mac chips, and the shift is bigger than it sounds. The company will release a base M6 processor as early as this year for entry-level Macs. For the first time, though, it will not make Pro or Max versions of that chip.
Those higher-end parts will instead arrive in 2027 as part of a new M7 generation, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the plans. Apple, currently on its M5 series, declined to comment.
The change matters because it breaks a pattern Apple has held since 2020. Every family from M1 to M5 shipped with Pro and Max variants. The M1, M2 and M3 even gained a top-tier Ultra. An M-series generation with only a base chip is a first.
The split matters because of which machines use which chip. Apple’s Pro and Max parts drive its high-end Mac minis, Mac Studios and MacBook Pros. The base chips power entry-level MacBook Pros, cheaper Mac minis and iMacs, plus some iPad Pro and iPad Air models. Skipping the high-end M6, then, holds back Apple’s most demanding computers, not its cheapest.
Why Apple is leapfrogging #
The official logic is speed. Apple wants to fast-track technology it had planned for later. The aim is to meet demand for on-device AI and heavier graphics work. The M7 line, the people said, is built primarily around on-device AI processing.
There is a less flattering reading, too. The whole industry is wrestling with a chip and memory shortage that has pushed up costs, squeezed margins and forced delays. Apple raised prices on every current Mac and iPad on the same day this roadmap leaked. A tidy “AI fast-track” story is also a convenient frame for a roadmap reshaped by scarcity.
What the M6 actually brings #
The base M6 is no minor update. Apple has tested it in a refreshed entry-level MacBook Pro, code-named J804, and built it to lead its class. Internally, the chip goes by Komodo. The headline gain is memory bandwidth, a measure of how fast a chip moves data, which matters more than ever for AI.
The M6 is set to reach about 200GB/s, up from roughly 153GB/s on the M5. It pairs that with a new memory architecture, an upgraded neural engine for AI tasks, and faster cores across the board. A redesigned graphics processor adds up to 12 cores, two more than the M5, to juggle AI and rendering at once.
The long wait for Pro power #
The catch is timing. Apple plans the base M7 as early as the first half of 2027. The M7 Pro and Max could follow as late as the end of that year. The M7 Ultra, the chip behind the most powerful Mac Studio, is not due until 2028. The base M7 is slated for about 240GB/s of bandwidth.
So anyone who wants Apple’s fastest silicon faces a real wait. A buyer eyeing a top MacBook Pro or Mac Studio has two options. Settle for an M5-era machine, or hold out well into 2027, and to 2028 for the Ultra.
One stopgap remains. Apple still plans an M5 Ultra. It should arrive as early as this year in a new Mac Studio, one that slipped because of supply and cost pressure. The chip is no slouch, with around 36 processing cores and 80 graphics cores. Apple has tested it with up to 768GB of memory. Yet the squeeze is real. Apple has cut new orders of the existing M3 Ultra Mac Studio from 512GB to just 96GB.
A bet on in-house AI silicon #
The reshuffle lands at a sensitive moment. Apple’s chips are its sharpest edge over rivals that lean on Intel and Qualcomm. The silicon team now reports to Johny Srouji, newly promoted to chief hardware officer. John Ternus, meanwhile, is moving toward the chief executive role.
The Mac is only part of it. Apple is also said to be moving iPhone chips to a 2-nanometre process. Fresh silicon is coming for a foldable phone due this year, and for 20th-anniversary iPhones in 2027. Designing its own chips remains the company’s core advantage, which is exactly why a roadmap this scrambled is worth watching.
The throughline is AI. Apple is rebuilding its chip plan around on-device intelligence. It is doing so while a shortage reshapes what it can ship, and when. Whether that leaves Pro users patient or frustrated is the question the next two years will settle.
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