Apple will reportedly skip the M6 Pro and Max and jump straight to M7

The 2027 chips will emphasize on-device AI processing.

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Apple may be changing up more than its prices. According to the latest report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, the tech company's silicon strategy could also look different next year. His sources claim that Apple will not release Pro or Max versions of its upcoming M6 chip. If this does come to pass, it would be the first time Apple has only offered a base version of its in-house silicon.

Instead of offering more powerful M6s, Gurman writes that Apple would leap ahead to the M7 generation. Those chips reportedly will be designed to center on powering artificial intelligence. AI and Siri were the key talking points during the WWDC keynote this year, so its not surprising that Apple would continue to emphasize on-device AI in the next generation of hardware.

In skipping the more powerful versions of the M6, Apple could release the M7 during the first half of 2027. It would potentially be followed by M7 Max and Pro chips at the end of 2027. Apple hasn't released an Ultra model since the M3 generation, but according to Gurman, we could see an M7 Ultra arriving in 2028.

It's unclear if this change in strategy means Apple will be delaying its first possible touchscreen laptop, which was rumored to be coming to the M6 MacBook Pro. The company introduced the M5 Pro and Max chips earlier this year, and we expect to see the M6 announced for its entry-level MacBooks before the end of 2026.