Apple’s most powerful Macs might be waiting until 2027 for big chip upgrades

Apple is expected to shake up its usual Mac silicon release strategy, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reporting that there won’t be Pro or Max versions of the upcoming M6 chip. Instead, Apple wants to “fast-track technologies that it originally planned to release later” with the M7 launch next year.

The Cupertino company will reportedly only release a base model M6 chip “as early as this year,” with the base M7 chip set to launch sometime in the first half of 2027. The M7 Pro and M7 Max are then expected to follow “as early as the end of 2027.” That could leave the most powerful Macs in a lurch since Apple’s base chips are typically aimed at entry-level MacBook, Mac minis, and iMacs. The upcoming M5 Ultra will likely be the only near-term upgrade opportunity for Apple’s higher-end devices.

This would mark the first time that Apple hasn’t released Pro and Max variants of its silicon processors, which, until now, had accompanied every new version since the M1. Apple is still wrapping up its M5 lineup — the M5 Pro/Max were released in March, and the flagship M5 Ultra chip is slated to launch “as early as this year,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, as part of a new Mac Studio.

The M7 lineup, which is reportedly designed around “major advancements to on-device AI processing,” would be the next series to include Pro, Max, and Ultra variations that power Apple’s most powerful devices. The M7 Ultra is on track to release sometime in 2028, Bloomberg reports.