Apple May Skip M6 Pro and M6 Max as It Prepares a Bigger M7 Chip Family

Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its next Mac chip roadmap by skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max processors. The company is still expected to introduce a standard M6 chip, but higher end MacBook Pro and desktop models may move directly to the M7 generation in 2027.

The change would be unusual for Apple Silicon. Since the launch of the original M1 chip, Apple has regularly expanded each generation with Pro, Max, and Ultra variants. The new report suggests that the M6 family may be limited to entry level and mainstream Macs, while the more powerful models wait for the next generation.

Apple has not confirmed these plans, so the roadmap should be treated as provisional. However, the reported shift points to a stronger focus on artificial intelligence performance, memory bandwidth, and upgraded graphics for the M7 family.

The Base M6 Chip Could Arrive in 2026

Apple is reportedly testing the base M6 chip in a future 14 inch MacBook Pro. The processor is said to use the internal names Komodo and H18G.

The new chip may offer around 200GB/s of memory bandwidth, compared with roughly 153GB/s on the base M5. Apple is also believed to be working on a revised memory architecture, an updated Neural Engine, and a stronger integrated GPU.

Testing reportedly includes versions with up to 12 GPU cores, an increase from the 10 core graphics configuration used by the base M5 chip.

M7 Could Bring a Larger AI Focus to Mac Hardware

The M7 series is expected to place greater emphasis on on device AI processing. Apple has already increased the importance of neural processing hardware across recent chip generations, but M7 may bring a more substantial change to the company’s Mac strategy.

The base M7 chip could arrive during the first half of 2027 and may offer around 240GB/s of memory bandwidth. That would be a notable jump over the reported M6 target and could help with more demanding creative work, software development, AI tasks, and multitasking.

Higher end M7 Pro and M7 Max chips are reportedly planned for later in 2027. The M7 Ultra may follow in 2028 for a future Mac Studio or other workstation class system.

M5 Ultra Could Still Arrive Before the M6 Transition

Before the M6 generation begins, Apple may still launch an M5 Ultra chip for a new Mac Studio. The processor could reportedly include around 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores.

Apple has also tested configurations with up to 768GB of unified memory. That would target demanding professional workloads such as video production, 3D work, software development, scientific computing, and AI development.

The final memory limits may depend on supply conditions and component costs. Apple’s future Mac pricing could also change as memory and storage prices remain under pressure.

Skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max would make the M6 generation less important for buyers waiting for a high end MacBook Pro. The bigger question is whether Apple can use the extra time to make M7 a more meaningful step forward for performance and on device AI.