| M7 Ultra |
2028 |
**Late 2027** |
| Touchscreen MacBook |
M6 chips |
**M5 Pro/Max** |
The base M6 chip is still coming later this year for lower-end Macs like the MacBook Air. But if you were waiting for an M6 Max MacBook Pro — it’s not happening. Apple is shifting engineering resources directly to M7.
Why the Rush? It’s All About AI
Apple needs dedicated AI silicon — and fast. The M7 family is reportedly being designed with “significant AI optimizations” that go beyond what the current Neural Engine offers. Think on-device large language models and advanced machine learning tasks that the M6 architecture apparently couldn’t deliver at the scale Apple wants.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is accelerating M7 development specifically to “deliver greater AI capabilities” in its Mac lineup. With competitors like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series pushing hard on NPU performance, Apple can’t afford to fall behind.
What This Means for Buyers
**If you’re shopping for a Mac today:** The M5 Pro and M5 Max in current MacBook Pros are excellent chips. They launched just months ago and will remain competitive through 2027. Don’t wait for M6 — it’s not coming in the form you expected.
**The Touchscreen MacBook:** Apple’s long-rumored OLED MacBook with touch support — unofficially called the “MacBook Ultra” — will launch with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips later this year or early 2027. It was originally expected to ship with M6 silicon, but the roadmap change means it’ll arrive with proven M5 hardware instead.
**The M7 promise:** If you can wait until late 2027, the M7 Ultra will be a beast. But for most users, today’s M5 Pro MacBook Pro will handle anything you throw at it for years.
Other Apple News This Week
**iPhone 18 RAM bump:** The 1H27 iPhone 18 (non-Pro) is getting 9GB of RAM — up from 8GB on the iPhone 17 — specifically to handle AI workloads more smoothly, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
**iOS 27 beta 2:** Apple seeded a second developer beta with improvements to Shortcuts (natural language creation via Apple Intelligence), RCS messaging tweaks, and smarter Siri writing tools.
FAQ
Q: Should I buy a Mac now or wait for M7?
A: Buy now if you need a new Mac. M5 Pro/Max are very capable, and waiting another 12-18 months for M7 means dealing with current hardware in the meantime. MacBook Air buyers should still get great value from the upcoming base M6 model.
Q: Will Apple drop prices with the M7 launch?
A: Unlikely, especially given the recent across-the-board price hikes. Expect M7 Macs to launch at the same (elevated) price points or higher.
Q: What’s the touchscreen MacBook Ultra?
A: A rumored premium MacBook with an OLED display and touch support — essentially Apple finally making a touchscreen Mac. It’s expected to compete with high-end Windows convertible laptops and will ship with M5 Pro/Max chips.
Final Verdict
Apple’s chip roadmap shakeup is a clear signal: the company is pivoting hard toward AI, and it’s willing to skip an entire generation of high-end silicon to get there. For buyers, the M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro remains an excellent choice today. But if AI performance is your priority, the M7 generation in 2027 will be worth the wait.
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Related: [Apple Hikes Prices Across Mac, iPad, and More](https://blog.pcmasterdeals.com/apple-price-hikes-mac-ipad-ram-shortage-2026/) | [Apple’s Touchscreen MacBook Pro to Launch This Fall with M5 Chips](https://blog.pcmasterdeals.com/apple-touchscreen-macbook-pro-m5-chips-dynamic-island/) | [Nvidia Targets $200 Billion CPU Market with AI Agent PCs](https://blog.pcmasterdeals.com/nvidia-targets-200-billion-cpu-market-with-ai-agent-pcs/)
