Apple's spring 2027 lineup: new iPad Pro, redesigned MacBook Pro, and a chip skip
Apple is planning its most significant product refresh in years for spring 2027 — and the chip strategy behind it is unusual. According to Bloomberg Mark Gurman, the company is skipping high-end M6 Pro and M6 Max chips altogether to accelerate the M7 generation, which is designed from the ground up around on-device AI performance. That decision shapes everything arriving next spring.
The MacBook Pro redesign
The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro is getting a new look. Sources say it will take visual cues from the flagship MacBook Pro models Apple plans to unveil in late 2026 or early 2027 — those higher-end machines will be the first MacBooks with a touchscreen display, running on M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The redesigned entry model follows in spring 2027, powered by the base M7. The M7 Pro and M7 Max variants won't arrive until late 2027, per MacRumors M7 analysis, meaning buyers who need maximum performance face a genuine wait.
The M7 chip brings meaningful memory bandwidth gains — targeting 240 GB/s — and is built on a 2nm process. Apple's rationale for skipping M6 Pro is to avoid splitting engineering resources and get AI-optimized silicon into products faster. A side effect: memory chip shortages have already pushed Mac pricing up, with the MacBook Pro base model rising to $1,999 following a June memory surcharge.
Four new iPad Pro models
Apple is testing four iPad Pro variants for the same spring 2027 window. Screen sizes stay at 11 and 13 inches, but the focus is squarely on performance upgrades. No design overhaul is expected — this is a spec-driven refresh rather than a visual one.
iPhone 18 and iPhone Air 2
The spring 2027 wave also includes the base iPhone 18 and a second-generation iPhone Air. Apple's A-series chips for iPhones follow a separate roadmap from the M-series used in Macs and iPads, but the broader push toward AI-capable silicon applies across the lineup.
Worth waiting for?
If you're eyeing a new MacBook Pro today, the calculus is awkward. The current M4 Pro models are solid, and the M5-based touchscreen flagship arrives later this year — but the M7-powered redesigned entry model isn't due until spring 2027. For iPad Pro buyers, waiting until 2027 for the next performance jump looks like the smarter move, provided prices don't climb further. Given the memory supply crunch already squeezing Apple's margins, that's not guaranteed.