June 30, 2026, 7:17 am | Read time: 3 minutes
After Apple significantly lagged in launching artificial intelligence, the company is now trying with all its might to catch up with the competition. On the software side, collaboration with Google is expected to give Siri a boost. But there are also big plans for its own hardware. Specifically, Apple is accelerating the development of AI-focused Mac chips—and is cutting back on other models to do so.
M7 Arrives Sooner Than Expected
Since moving away from Intel processors in 2020, all Mac and MacBook models have been switched to Apple’s own M-series Silicon chips. The base model of the current M5 generation was released in October 2025, followed by the more powerful M5 Pro and M5 Max variants in March 2026.
According to a report from “Bloomberg,” Apple is already preparing to launch the M7 generation in the first half of 2027. The M7 base model is expected to offer a memory bandwidth of about 240 gigabytes per second compared to 153 GB/s for the M5. This should make the chip particularly suitable for local AI models.
In the second half of the year, the M7 Pro and M7 Max could follow, with the most powerful variant, the M7 Ultra, arriving in 2028. The Ultra chips deliver roughly twice the performance of the Max variants and are exclusively found in the Mac Studio. Apple had previously skipped an Ultra version of the M4 chip. However, according to “Bloomberg,” a new Mac Studio with M5 Ultra is expected to appear in 2026.
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What New Devices Does Apple Have in the Works?
M6 Series Without High-End Variants
Although Apple is focusing on the M7 generation, an M6 chip is still expected to appear in 2026—but without Pro, Max, or Ultra variants. It would be the first time since the introduction of the M-series that the company has foregone the more powerful models.
According to “Bloomberg,” the M6 could first be used in the more affordable 14-inch MacBook Pro as well as in the Mac mini, iMac, iPad Pro, and iPad Air. The new chip is expected to increase memory bandwidth by about 25 percent to 200 GB/s compared to the M5 and come with a new memory architecture. A new Neural Engine and two additional graphics cores could also be part of the upgrade.
Is Apple Delaying the MacBook “Ultra”?
By skipping the M6 Pro and M6 Max, the next MacBook Pro models in 2027 would start directly with M7 Pro and M7 Max. Later, the Mac Studio with M7 Max and M7 Ultra is expected to follow.
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It remains unclear what the new plan means for the planned MacBook “Ultra.” The new model, positioned above the MacBook Pro, is expected to come with an OLED display and touchscreen. Originally, rumors suggested that the “Ultra” model would launch at the end of 2026 with M6 Pro and M6 Max. Since these two variants now apparently won’t appear, the question arises whether this date is still feasible. A launch with M5 Pro, M5 Max, or even M5 Ultra is possible. Otherwise, Apple might have to postpone the launch to the second half of 2027 along with M7 Pro and M7 Max.