Here’s why Apple is skipping its M6 Pro and M6 Max chips to accelerate M7 launch

According to reports from Bloomberg, Apple will be skipping its M6 Pro, M6 Max, and M6 Ultra chips to accelerate development of the M7 chip. That means the only chip to be released from the M6 family will be the base M6. Here’s why.

This fall, when the redesigned MacBook Pros debut – they’ll be equipped with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips rather than the M6 Pro and M6 Max. This launch will also be accompanied by a base model MacBook Pro with the old design, which will equip base M6.

This decision was largely made for one reason: to accelerate development on the M7 chip. That chip will debut as soon as spring 2027, sooner than the typical fall 2027 window.

Why M7, though? It’s apparently going to accelerate Apple’s lead in on-device AI tasks, per Mark Gurman:

The reason for this break with tradition: AI. Apple had been planning major neural-processing upgrades for the M7 family and ultimately decided those improvements were important enough to justify accelerating the next generation rather than completing the M6 lineup. Those changes go into high gear with the M7 Ultra. I’m told the processor dramatically upgrades AI performance, bringing it closer to the class of dedicated AI accelerators such as Nvidia Corp.’s Blackwell.

Apple has had a lead when it came to running on-device models, largely because of its unified memory architecture. This amount of additional VRAM gave a substantial advantage over traditional GPUs. It sounds like Apple wants to take that further by bolstering its neural engine.

Historically, Apple has included the same size neural engine across its entire lineup, with the exception of the Ultra chip. This meant that if you got an M5, M5 Pro, or M5 Max – you get the same 16 core neural engine.

While not confirmed, that could possibly change with the M7 lineup – and it could scale based on the chip size.

Wrap up

Regardless, its expected that the first M7 Mac will be a redesigned base model 14-inch MacBook Pro in early 2027. It’ll be followed by an M7 Pro/Max update to the high end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro later in the year.

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