Apple may be switching up its Mac silicon strategy. The tech giant typically releases higher-end variants of its chips, but apparently this won’t be the case for the upcoming generation. According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company will only release the base M6, with no plans for an M6 Pro or an M6 Max.
As per the report, Apple has tested the M6 in a new entry-level MacBook Pro, which is slated to launch later this year. The new processor will apparently offer 200GB/s of memory bandwidth, improving on the base M5 chip’s 153GB/s. Other upgrades supposedly include an updated memory architecture and an upgraded neural engine, so we can probably expect better AI capabilities.
Aside from that, the M6 will reportedly offer improved performance across its cores, plus enhancements for video decoding and encoding. It may also come with a redesigned GPU, possibly with up to 12 cores. For reference, the M5 comes with a maximum of ten GPU cores. Either way, this change is meant to allow the chip to better handle the concurrent rendering demands of AI, graphics, and other tasks.
M7 chips to focus on AI performance
Gurman’s report asserts that Apple is shelving the M6 Pro and M6 Max to focus on the M7 chips. If the claim proves accurate, then the M6 will be the bitten fruit brand’s first M-series chip to not have any higher-end variants. That said, the Pro and Max processors aren’t going away entirely, as they will return with the M7 generation.
Apparently, the base M7 could arrive as early as the first half of 2027. Meanwhile, the faster M7 Pro and M7 Max will reportedly launch at the end of next year. And finally, the M7 Ultra is said to launch sometime in 2028.
With the M7 generation, the company will allegedly prioritise AI performance. According to Gurman, these chips are designed primarily around major advancements to on-device AI processing. Furthermore, the base M7 could support about 240GB/s of memory bandwidth.
The focus on AI is probably why Apple is jumping straight to the M7. Earlier this month, it finally announced the long-delayed Siri upgrade. The company has been on the back foot when it comes to AI. As such, it’s likely hoping to catch up with the competition.
M5 Ultra to arrive this year
With all this in mind, the brand isn’t quite finished with this generation of chips. The M5 Ultra is apparently still in the works, and it could arrive with a new Mac Studio as early as this year. In terms of specifications, the processor might feature around 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores.
On a related note, Apple has reportedly tested support for up to 768GB of memory in the M5 Ultra Mac Studio. However, component constraints may become an issue. As it stands, the company is already feeling the crunch.
(Source: Bloomberg)
