Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor .
Apple reportedly skips M6 Pro and M6 Max as AI reshapes Mac chip roadmap
Apple moves directly from M6 to M7 for high-end Macs.
Apple is reportedly changing its Mac processor roadmap, with the company planning to release the standard M6 before moving directly to the M7 generation for its higher-end chips. This means there may be no M6 Pro, M6 Max or M6 Ultra processors.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple began taping out the M7 only six months after completing the same stage for the M6. The standard M7 is expected in the first half of 2027, followed by M7 Pro and M7 Max near the end of that year. The M7 Ultra is reportedly planned for 2028.
Apple has skipped individual Ultra processors before, including the M4 Ultra, but it has not previously abandoned all three higher-end versions of one generation. The change is reportedly linked to larger Neural Engine upgrades planned for M7, which Apple considered important enough to accelerate the entire generation.
M7 Ultra targets AI accelerators and 1.5TB memory
The M7 Ultra is expected to deliver the largest AI performance upgrade in the series. Gurman reports that Apple wants the chip to approach the performance class of dedicated AI accelerators such as NVIDIA Blackwell, although no technical specifications or benchmark targets were provided.
Apple is also designing the M7 Ultra to support as much as 1.5TB of unified memory. This is around twice the capacity planned for the M5 Ultra. The final retail configuration will depend on memory supply and component pricing when the chip enters production.
The M7 Ultra is designed to support as much as 1.5 terabytes of memory — double the capacity planned for the M5 Ultra — though whether Apple ultimately offers that configuration will depend on the state of the industry. https://t.co/AyZ5GiIRA0
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) July 12, 2026
The architecture may also be used outside the Mac. Apple reportedly plans to deploy an M5 Ultra-based AI server under the internal designation J246, while another server processor based on M7 Ultra capabilities is under development for 2029.
Apple is already working on the following M8 generation, including a processor reportedly known as Soko and additional high-end Mac chips under the Cardinal name. These processors are said to use a 1.4nm manufacturing process and are expected around 2028. The roadmap shows that AI performance is now influencing both Apple’s processor designs and the timing of new Mac generations.
Source: Bloomberg
