① Mark Gurman stated that Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook could debut between late this year and early next year, powered by existing M5 Pro/Max chips; ② Apple has reportedly scrapped the M6 Pro/Max and is accelerating development of the AI-focused M7 series chips.
Cailian Press, June 27 (Editor: Shi Zhengchen) — According to the latest reports released Friday evening Beijing time, Apple’s upcoming premium laptop lineup is likely to launch in an interim form equipped with existing chips.
Well-known leaker Mark Gurman indicated that Apple’s first ‘touchscreen MacBook,’ scheduled for release between late this year and early next year, will feature the current M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The subsequent generation could arrive as early as the end of 2027, directly adopting M7 Pro and M7 Max chips with significantly upgraded neural engines and expanded memory bandwidth to support ‘more demanding AI workloads.’
This seemingly confusing scenario reflects a new shift in Apple’s in-house silicon strategy.
According to Gurman’s disclosure on Thursday, in response to growing market demand for on-device AI capabilities and software requiring higher graphics performance, Apple is accelerating the rollout of technologies originally slated for later release. Although the M6 chip—intended for entry-level Macs and select iPad models—is still expected to launch as soon as this year, its Pro and Max variants have been canceled.
The M6 will still rank among the most powerful offerings in its class. Gurman noted that the M6 is expected to deliver approximately 200 GB/s of memory bandwidth, compared to around 153 GB/s for the M5. The M6 chip will feature an updated memory architecture and an enhanced Neural Engine, with internal testing showing up to 12 GPU cores (versus a maximum of 10 on the M5), designed to better handle concurrent rendering demands such as those from AI applications.
The accelerated M7 series chips are entirely designed around ‘running AI on-device.’ The base M7 chip is expected to launch as early as the first half of next year, followed by M7 Pro and M7 Max variants potentially debuting by the end of next year, with an M7 Ultra slated for early 2028.
Based on currently available information, the base M7 chip is expected to support memory bandwidth of 240 GB/s.
Returning to the forthcoming touchscreen MacBook, despite using ‘older’ chips, this device will nonetheless represent the most significant redesign of Apple’s premium laptop lineup since the company transitioned to its own silicon.
In addition to the touchscreen, this new device will incorporate iPhone’s ‘Dynamic Island’ interactive design and feature an OLED display—three firsts for the MacBook lineup. The device will also adopt an ‘updated industrial design,’ marking the first exterior change to premium MacBooks since 2021.
Although Apple's iconic figure Steve Jobs once publicly criticized 'touchscreen laptops as illogical,' Apple's move is likely driven by the need to capture market share as more competitors launch such devices.
Gurman also echoed and endorsed a user comment on Friday. The user noted that Apple’s strategy makes perfect sense: it has existing inventory of M5 Pro/Max chips, which are significantly cheaper than new chips manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor’s 2nm process. Moreover, consumers will pay for the new design and features, as the chip performance is already more than sufficient.
Given Thursday’s price increase announcement, the new touchscreen MacBook is likely to be 'quite expensive.' Currently, the base M5 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at USD 1,999, while the M5 Pro version has risen from USD 2,199 to USD 2,499.
Regarding Apple’s price hike, Gurman commented on Friday that the most absurd take he had seen was the claim that 'once memory supply issues are resolved, Apple will revert prices back to their original levels.'
Gurman bluntly stated, 'Don’t even think about it,' adding that while prices for certain upgraded configurations might be adjusted, 'this is almost certainly the new normal.'
Editor/Liam