New M chips: What Apple is planning for M5, M6, and M7
M6 without Max and Pro, M7 with (even more) AI – and new M5 variants: This is what Apple's processor roadmap looks like, according to a new insider report.
Apple M5: New models planned – and soon also M6 and M7.
(Image: Apple)
Apple is apparently working on three chip families simultaneously. According to a report by Mark Gurman, the usually well-informed Bloomberg Apple reporter, there should be an M6 Mac for the first time by the end of the year, as well as new models with M5 chips, including an Ultra variant for the first time. At the same time, work on the M7 is progressing, which should focus particularly on AI.
M5 Ultra on the way, M6 this year
Apple's M5 line is apparently not yet retired. Apple plans a new Mac Studio by the end of the year, codenamed J775, which will feature an M5 Ultra for the first time (codename “Sotra D” or H17D). It is planned to have up to 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores. Apple is said to have planned to deliver the computers with up to 768 GByte of RAM, but due to the current memory crisis, this could remain a dream – or become prohibitively expensive. With the current Mac Studio, Apple had already cut back the RAM configurations.
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The M6 (“Komodo” or H18G) is set to debut in the entry-level MacBook Pro model. It promises more memory bandwidth (200 GByte per second instead of 153 for the M5), an updated memory architecture, and an improved neural engine for more AI performance. Up to 12 GPU cores are planned (compared to 10 for the M5). It remains unclear whether the iMac and Mac mini will also receive an M6 upgrade this year or if Apple will release M5 variants for them.
Work on M7 is well underway, up to Ultra
According to Gurman, Apple does not plan to release Pro and Max variants of the M6 – this would be a first since the M1. Instead, these versions are expected to appear with the M7 in 2027. It remains unclear what this means for the MacBook Ultra, Apple's first MacBook with a touchscreen and OLED display, likely with a thinner form factor. It might have to make do with an M6 without Max and Pro, which could cause controversy given the apparently targeted high price.
According to Gurman, work on the M7 is progressing. In addition to the base model (“Delos” or H19G), M7 Pro, M7 Max, and M7 Ultra (H19S, H19C, and H19D) are planned. M7 Pro and M7 Max could appear in the first Macs by the end of 2027, with an M7 Ultra machine in the form of a Mac Studio likely not until 2028. Apple is working on “major breakthroughs” in on-device AI with a memory bandwidth of up to 240 GByte per second.
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