Apple could skip M6 pro and M6 max chips, move directly to an AI-focused M7 lineup: Report

As Big Tech races to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities, Apple is reportedly charting a new roadmap that repositions its hardware strategy around AI. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company is refining its long-term AI plans while also exploring projects such as new Apple Pencil styluses and expanding the iPhone's Tap to Pay feature across its retail operations.

In the latest edition of the power on newsletter, Gurman explains how Apple's cancelled self-driving car project—known internally as Project Titan—ultimately helped lay the foundation for the company's modern AI hardware strategy. Apple's pursuit of fully autonomous Level 5 driving capabilities required major breakthroughs in machine learning and custom silicon design.

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The project also highlighted the need for chips capable of handling enormous AI workloads. Apple's expertise in designing those processors ultimately led to technologies that extended far beyond the automotive initiative.

Those efforts resulted in the development of the Neural Engine, the dedicated AI processing unit found in Apple's chips. The technology enabled features such as Face ID, Animoji, and on-device machine learning. Since Apple introduced its in-house Mac processors, every Apple Silicon Mac has included a Neural Engine, underscoring how the company has spent much of the past decade building the hardware foundation required for modern AI.

As AI applications continue to evolve, those investments are beginning to pay off. Apple is increasingly relying on on-device processing while rebuilding its software strategy around a next-generation Siri AI assistant.

Apple's future chip roadmap

Gurman reports that Apple has significantly overhauled its long-term chip roadmap.

The next chip cycle, expected to begin later this year, will reportedly follow Apple's traditional release strategy. The company is expected to introduce the base M6 chip first, followed by the M6 Pro, M6 Max, and eventually the M6 Ultra for high-end desktop systems.

However, Gurman says the roadmap changes after that. Instead of releasing an M7 base chip followed by its Pro and Max variants in the usual sequence, Apple is reportedly planning a redesigned M7 family centred around major AI improvements.

According to the report, the M7 will arrive in the first half of 2027, followed by the M7 Pro and M7 Max later that year, with the M7 Ultra expected in 2028.

The move represents a notable departure from Apple's traditional release strategy. While Apple previously skipped the Ultra variant during the M4 generation, it has never significantly altered its processor roadmap in this way.

Neural processing upgrades drive the shift

According to Gurman, Apple believes the AI-related improvements planned for the M7 family are significant enough to justify a new generation focused primarily on neural processing capabilities rather than continuing incremental upgrades to the M6 lineup.

The upgraded chips are expected to deliver substantially stronger AI performance, allowing Apple's hardware to compete more effectively with dedicated AI accelerators from companies such as Nvidia.

Apple's AI ambitions also extend beyond consumer devices.

The report says the company is preparing a more powerful server based on the M5 Ultra, internally codenamed J246. Engineers are also reportedly developing another generation of server processors built around the M7 Ultra, with a launch targeted for 2029.

The M7 Ultra is expected to support up to 1.5TB of unified memory, nearly double the capacity planned for the M5 Ultra.

Meanwhile, Apple has already begun early development of its M8 chips, reportedly codenamed Soko, which are expected to arrive in 2028. Additional high-end processors are also said to be in development under the company's Cardinal platform. Those chips are expected to adopt a 1.4nm manufacturing process, delivering another significant leap in efficiency and AI performance.

The report concludes that the AI hardware originally intended to power Apple's autonomous vehicle project is now helping shape the future of Macs and the company's AI server infrastructure. Rather than treating AI as just another feature, Apple is now designing its chips with AI at the centre of the architecture—a significant shift from earlier priorities such as CPU performance, graphics, battery life, and thinner designs.