apple will do it reportedly will launch its next-generation Apple Silicon chip, the M6, later this year. Here’s everything we know so far, including why this generation will be unprecedented in the Apple Silicon era.
M6 Specs and Performance
According BloombergApple’s M6 chip will feature several major upgrades compared to the current M5 generation.
First, the M6 chip will have an updated memory architecture that offers faster memory bandwidth. The M5 chip currently maxes out at 153 gigabytes per second for memory bandwidth.
The M6 will reportedly increase memory bandwidth to 200 gigabytes per second. In particular, the higher memory bandwidth of the M6 chip will improve AI performance on the device.
The M6 chip will also offer faster performance across all its cores, along with improvements to video encoding and decoding.
Bloomberg It also reports that the M6 chip will have a redesigned GPU. Currently, the base M5 chip supports up to 10 GPU cores. However, the M6 is said to have up to 12 graphics cores. This will result in smoother gaming, faster video playback, and better performance in GPU-accelerated applications.
Why the M6 will be different
The M6 chip, however, will be different from all previous Apple Silicon chips in a big way.
Since the M1, Apple has always released high-end “Pro” and “Max” configurations. It also launched two “Ultra” chips in the M1, M2 and M3 generations.
That will change with the M6 generation. According to Mark GurmanApple will only release the base model M6 processor. It will not launch any high-end Pro, Max or Ultra variants.
Apple has reportedly determined that the M7’s improvements are notable enough to skip most of the M6 line entirely. The M7 chip will reportedly offer further upgrades to on-device AI processing, including support for up to 240 gigabytes per second of memory bandwidth.
M6 release date and products
The M6 chip will reportedly arrive later this year. Apple has tested it in a updated version of the base model MacBook Pro, which is currently powered by the M5 chip.
It remains to be seen whether or not the M6 chip will make its way to other Apple products. The base M7 chip is expected to be available in the first half of 2027, so it’s very likely that most products will skip the M6 generation entirely.
What do you think about Apple’s upcoming M6 chip and the change in strategy? Do you think it is making the right decision? Let us know in the comments.
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