Apple is reshuffling its Mac chip roadmap again, and the clearest losers are the M6 Pro and M6 Max. According to Mark Gurman, the company will still ship base M6 chips this year, but the higher-end versions of that generation are being dropped in favor of an earlier M7 push, with the first M7 arriving in the first half of next year.
That means Apple is effectively compressing two upgrade cycles into one: M6 for entry-level MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, and some iPad models, then M7 Pro and M7 Max later. It is a familiar Apple move – keep the mainstream chip moving, delay the expensive halo parts, and save the biggest jump for when it can headline a product refresh.
What the base M6 is getting
The base M6 is already being tested in an entry-level MacBook Pro, and Apple appears to be giving it more than a routine speed bump. The memory interface bandwidth is said to rise from 153 Гбайт/с on M5 to 200 Гбайт/с on M6, which should help both everyday workloads and AI tasks that lean on fast data movement.
- M5 memory bandwidth: 153 Гбайт/с
- M6 memory bandwidth: 200 Гбайт/с
- Other changes: faster video encode and decode, a quicker neural coprocessor, and a possible jump from 10 to 12 graphics blocks
M7 timing and the chip split
The base M7, identified internally as H19G or Delos, is now expected in the first half of next year. Apple is also preparing M7 Pro, M7 Max, and M7 Ultra, but those are spaced much further out: the first two are said to land by the end of 2027, while the Ultra version is planned for 2028. That gap matters because Apple’s top-end Mac Studio and MacBook Pro models tend to wait for these suffix chips before getting a real spec bump.
The M7 is also tipped to push memory bandwidth to 240 Гбайт/с, a sensible step if Apple wants its chips to look stronger on local AI workloads rather than just raw CPU bragging rights. Competitors are clearly heading the same way: Microsoft and Qualcomm are both pitching AI-first PCs, and Apple cannot afford to let its Mac story sound like last year’s keynote.
M5 Ultra still comes first
Before M7 arrives, Apple still has one more flagship chip in the current generation: M5 Ultra. It is expected in a new Mac Studio this year and carries about 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores. In theory, it could be paired with up to 768 Гбайт of RAM, but memory shortages may make that configuration more of a brochure line than a shelf-ready product, just as current Mac Studio models based on M3 Ultra are capped at 96 Гбайт because of supply constraints.
That leaves Apple with a very Apple-like sequence: an M5 Ultra for the people who buy the most expensive desktop, an M6 that gets the mainstream Mac refresh, and an accelerated M7 family waiting in the wings. The open question is whether the shortened M6 era makes the Mac lineup feel fresher – or simply makes buyers wonder how long they should wait before opening their wallet.