M6 lasts only half a year, Apple accelerates shift to AI core M7 chip

Big changes to Apple's chip roadmap. According to "Bloomberg" PowerOn correspondent Mark Gurman, the M6 ​​series will only launch a basic version, and there will be no M6 Pro, M6 Max or M6 Ultra. Instead, Apple will launch the AI-core M7 chip in just six months. This means the M6's lifespan is only about half a year, far shorter than previous chip generations. M6 series significantly reduced Gurman pointed out that the M6 ​​base chip will appear simultaneously with the new Mac in the fall of 2026, but Apple has not planned subsequent Pro, Max or Ultra models. Instead, the company has focused its R&D resources on the M7 generation, with the M7 base chip expected to launch in the first half of 2027. The M7 Pro and M7 Max are scheduled to be released at the end of 2027, while the highest-end M7 Ultra is not expected to debut until 2028. In other words, Apple has chosen to skip the higher-end version of the M6 ​​and move directly to the next generation. M7 focuses on improving AI performance. M6 will still bring a certain degree of upgrades, such as increasing the memory bandwidth from 153GB/s of M5 to 200GB/s, adopting a new memory architecture, enhancing the neural engine, and increasing the number of GPU cores from 10 to 12 cores. However, the M7 series will see a more significant leap in AI processing power. The memory bandwidth of the base M7 will be further increased to approximately 240GB/s; while the M7 Ultra can support up to 1.5TB of unified memory, which is the same as the highest memory configuration of the Intel version of the Mac Pro launched by Apple in 2019. Whether this specification can be realized still depends on the shortage of memory chips. Server strategy and future development Gurman believes that the performance of M7 Ultra is close to that of a dedicated AI accelerator