• 2 min read
Apple may skip most of M6 as base chip lands this year
Bloomberg reports Apple’s M6 chip could arrive later this year with 200GB/s memory bandwidth, but without Pro, Max, or Ultra variants.
Image: 9to5Mac
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch its next Apple Silicon chip, the M6, later this year — but this generation may look very different from the ones before it.
According to Bloomberg, the M6 will bring several upgrades over the current M5. The biggest reported change is memory bandwidth: while the M5 tops out at 153 gigabytes per second, the M6 is said to reach 200 gigabytes per second. That increase is expected to improve on-device AI performance.
Bloomberg also says the chip will deliver faster performance across all cores, plus better video encoding and decoding. On the graphics side, the GPU is reportedly being redesigned. The base M5 supports up to 10 GPU cores; the M6 is expected to offer up to 12 graphics cores, which should help with gaming, video rendering, and other GPU-accelerated workloads.
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Why the M6 lineup may be unusually small
The bigger shift may be Apple’s product strategy. Since the M1, Apple has consistently released higher-end Pro and Max versions, and it shipped Ultra chips in the M1 and M3 generations. According to Mark Gurman, that will change with M6.
Apple is reportedly planning to release only the base-model M6, with no Pro, Max, or Ultra variants. The reported reason is that improvements coming with M7 are significant enough for Apple to skip most of the M6 family.
The M7 is reportedly expected in the first half of 2027 and could push memory bandwidth to 240 gigabytes per second, alongside larger gains in on-device AI processing.
M6 release window and first device
The M6 could arrive as soon as later this year. Apple has reportedly tested it in an updated base model MacBook Pro, which is currently powered by the M5.
It is still unclear whether the chip will appear in any other Apple products. If the M7 arrives on the reported schedule, there is a good chance many devices will skip the M6 generation entirely.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via 9to5Mac
