Apple appears to have made a surprising and unexpected move to deviate from its usual processor roadmap. In a bold step aimed at accelerating the development of artificial intelligence technologies, the latest reports indicate that Apple will skip the high-performance versions of the upcoming M6 processor and jump directly to the next generation with the M7 family of processors specifically designed for AI.
Apple completely skips the M6 Pro and Max processors
According to a new report by renowned journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple plans to release its entry-level M6 processor (codenamed Komodo) later this year for budget-friendly devices like the base MacBook Pro. However, unlike previous generations of processors from the M1 to the M5, there will be no M6 Pro or M6 Max versions. Instead, Apple will jump straight to the M7 Pro and M7 Max, targeted for release in 2027, followed by the high-end M7 Ultra processor in 2028.
This decision allows Apple to accelerate the introduction of technologies it had planned to postpone. The primary goal is to keep pace with the huge and growing demand for on-device AI processing and to deliver more powerful graphics performance capable of meeting modern requirements.
What will the base M6 processor offer?
Despite the cancellation of the professional versions, the base M6 processor will represent a significant upgrade compared to the M5. Leaks suggest that memory bandwidth will increase to approximately 200 gigabytes per second, compared to 153 gigabytes per second in the previous generation. These specifications play a crucial role in accelerating AI tasks that rely heavily on transferring massive amounts of data at extremely high speeds.
In addition, Apple has redesigned the graphics processing unit (GPU), testing versions with up to 12 graphics cores compared to the 10 cores in the M5 processor, to handle graphics tasks and artificial intelligence processing more efficiently. The processor will also feature an improved neural engine and significant enhancements to video encoding and decoding.
The M7 processor family takes the lead
Apple plans to introduce the base M7 processor in the first half of 2026, followed by the “Pro” and “Max” versions in late 2027. The entire M7 processor family will focus on making a revolutionary leap in artificial intelligence processing.
Even the base M7 processor alone will target a memory bandwidth of around 240 gigabytes per second, which is another huge leap that even surpasses the anticipated M6 processor.
One last stop before the great leap: the M5 Ultra processor
Before this new scheme can fully operate, Apple still plans to release the M5 Ultra processor, the most powerful processor in its current generation, as part of the new and updated Mac Studio.
Reports indicate that the processor will feature approximately 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores, making it one of the most powerful processors in any PC currently on the market. Apple has already tested configurations supporting up to 768GB of unified memory, but the ongoing shortage of chips and memory in global markets could affect the final specifications and release dates.
What does this shift mean for Mac users?
For professionals and creatives who rely on Mac Studio or MacBook Pro for demanding tasks like 3D video editing, rendering, and training machine learning models, this simply means they'll have to wait longer for a new Pro or Max processor upgrade. The M5 Pro and M5 Max processors will remain the most powerful option on the market for a while longer, until the arrival of the M7 generation.
But the upside is that when Apple finally releases these processors, it will be a giant technological leap, not just a typical, incremental upgrade. This shift also reflects the economic pressures facing Apple and the entire industry, as severe component shortages have driven up costs and constrained supply chains, forcing the company to rethink its timelines and long-term plans.
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