On this week’s episode of The Woozad Show, we discuss the future of Apple’s increasingly complex high-end MacBook lineup, including the entry-level MacBook Pro and the so-called “MacBook Ultra.”
Apple’s chip roadmap for Macs is expected to take an unusual turn over the next year. The company is reportedly skipping the M6 Pro and M6 Max entirely, moving straight from the M5 generation to the M7 for its premium laptops. A standard M6 chip will still arrive this year in an entry-level MacBook Pro, but there apparently won’t be a Pro or Max variant in this family.
As a result, Apple’s first high-end OLED laptop will use the existing M5 Pro and M5 Max chips rather than newer silicon. First-generation buyers would therefore pay more for a redesigned machine with the same processors already present in the current MacBook Pro, with the M7 Pro and M7 Max models expected to follow in the second half of 2027.
The launch window remains fluid. The device had long been expected to arrive in late 2026, but memory chip constraints and Apple’s recent price increases have pushed it to early 2027. A second-generation model with M7 chips is already planned for late 2027, meaning the first Ultra could remain on sale for a relatively short window.
Overlapping versions result in a cluttered and confusing roadmap. Over about a year, Apple is expected to ship an M6 base MacBook Pro, a redesigned M7 base model in the first half of 2027, two MacBook Ultra models M5 Pro and M5 Max, their possible successors M7 Pro and M7 Max, and perhaps new high-end MacBook Pro models with the M7 Pro and M7 Max. Notably, the entry-level M7 model is expected to receive the new design first, ahead of the more expensive high-end MacBook Pro models.
Major changes are reserved for the top-of-the-line “Ultra” model. It is expected to be the first Mac with an OLED display, using the same hybrid OLED tandem technology as the iPad Pro, as well as the first touchscreen on a Mac, a Dynamic Island in place of the notch, and a thinner chassis. Sizes of 14 and 16 inches are expected. Built-in cellular connectivity for the first time on a Mac is also rumored.
Apple would position touch as “user-friendly, not touch-first”, allowing users to switch between touch, trackpad and keyboard rather than treating the Mac like an iPad. This marks a turnaround for a company that has long resisted the idea. Steve Jobs argued in 2010 that vertical touchscreens caused arm fatigue, and as recently as 2021, hardware chief John Ternus said the Mac was “totally optimized for indirect typing.”
Signs of this change are already visible in macOS 27 Golden Gate, which adds direct touch control to Sidecar, so users can tap and interact with macOS elements using a finger on an iPad. A reinforced hinge is also expected, so that the screen does not wobble when touched.
Prices will likely be high. Apple raised prices across the entire Mac line in June, and the current 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,999, rising to $2,499 with the M5 Pro chip and $4,099 for an M5 Max. The 16-inch M5 Max tops out at $4,399, and a fully specced configuration is already over $10,000. The top-of-the-line OLED model is expected to start even higher.
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