Apple M7 Chip Rumours: What It Means for 2027 Macs
Something odd is happening with Apple's chip roadmap: the "M6" generation is shaping up to be the shortest-lived in Apple Silicon history, with reports suggesting the high-end Pro and Max variants are being skipped entirely in favour of a fast-tracked M7 lineup. If you're holding off on a new Mac, this is the timeline you need to understand.
What's confirmed
Apple is skipping M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.
MacRumors reported on June 25, 2026 that Apple has cancelled its plans for high-end M6 Pro and M6 Max chips, marking the first time an Apple Silicon generation won't get a Pro or Max tier at all. Apple will instead move its higher-end Mac lineup straight to M7 chips in 2027.
A base M6 MacBook Pro is still coming in late 2026.
A follow-up MacRumors report from July 1, 2026 confirmed Apple plans an updated 14-inch MacBook Pro with the standard M6 chip later this year, ahead of a redesigned M7 model arriving in the first half of 2027 — Apple's first MacBook Pro redesign in around five years.
What's reported (analyst / supply-chain sourced)
The M6 base chip targets roughly 200GB/s of memory bandwidth.
MacRumors' supply-chain sourcing puts M6 bandwidth at around 200GB/s, up from roughly 153GB/s on the M5 — a jump Apple is reportedly making to support heavier on-device AI workloads.
M7 is being pitched internally as an AI-first architecture.
Tom's Hardware reports that Apple is fast-tracking M7 development specifically because of new on-device AI features and GPU-intensive software Apple wants to support, rather than following its usual yearly cadence.
The redesigned M7 MacBook Pro shares its design language with the rumoured OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro.
MacRumors reports the 2027 M7 MacBook Pro redesign is expected to align visually with Apple's longer-term plans for a high-end OLED, touch-capable MacBook Pro, though that touchscreen model itself is a separate and even less certain rumour.
Mac Studio is expected to get M7 Max, with M7 Ultra following in 2028.
Coverage from VideoCardz and Digital Trends indicates the Mac Studio's Max and Ultra tiers will also skip M6 entirely, with M7 Max arriving alongside the redesigned MacBook Pro and M7 Ultra trailing into 2028 given Apple's historical pattern of Ultra chips landing later than the rest of a generation.
Twisti's opinion
If you need a Mac now, buy now — don't wait for M7.
The M7 Pro/Max MacBook Pro isn't expected until late 2027 at the earliest, and Ultra-tier chips could stretch into 2028. That's a long runway. Unless you specifically need the base M6 bump landing later this year, current M4/M5-generation Macs remain a perfectly sound buy — we'll keep tracking NZ pricing as the M6 base models land so you can compare rather than guess.
What we'll update
We'll revise this page once Apple confirms the base M6 MacBook Pro launch (expected late 2026) and again when concrete M7 specifications or a launch date surface from supply-chain sources ahead of the rumoured 1H 2027 redesign.
Shopping for a Mac in the meantime?
Twisti tracks real, current Mac pricing across NZ retailers so you can see what's actually on shelves today — not what might ship in 2027.
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