Apple is making a significant change to its Mac silicon roadmap, reportedly skipping the high-end variants of the upcoming M6 chip in favour of a new AI-focused M7 generation, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The base M6 processor, internally codenamed Komodo, is still expected to debut in a refreshed 14-inch MacBook Pro later this year with up to 12 GPU cores (up from 10 in the M5), an upgraded neural engine, and memory bandwidth of around 200 GB/s (153 GB/s on the M5). But the Pro, Max, and Ultra variants, traditionally the chips that power Apple’s high-end MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Studio, will be bypassed entirely.
Instead, Apple will jump to the M7 family beginning in the first half of 2027. The base M7, codenamed Delos, is designed around major advancements to on-device AI processing and will offer memory bandwidth of around 240 GB/s. M7 Pro and M7 Max chips, collectively codenamed Andros, are targeted for late 2027, with an M7 Ultra expected in 2028.
The unusual shift allows Apple to fast-track technologies originally slated for a later release, according to Gurman’s sources. The move is intended to meet growing demand for on-device AI capabilities and increasingly graphics-intensive software.
The roadmap change also comes as Apple navigates an industry-wide memory shortage that recently forced the company to raise prices across its Mac and iPad lineups. One final chip in the M5 family, the M5 Ultra, expected in a refreshed Mac Studio with up to 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores, is still anticipated before the M6 base chip arrives.
Sources: Apple’s most powerful Macs might be waiting until 2027 for big chip upgrades (The Verge, June 26, 2026); Apple to Skip High-End M6 Chips, Fast-Track AI-Focused M7 Line (iClarified, June 26, 2026)