While all eyes are on Apple’s next-gen iPhone 18 series, rumoured to release in September, Cupertino is also working behind closed doors to revamp its next-gen Macs. Thanks to a sneak peek from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman – an analyst who shares industry insights related to Apple products and services – we now have a fair idea of everything Apple’s Mac team has planned going into 2027 and even beyond.
John Ternus, the company’s next CEO, and his team are working on updates across every single Mac line — spanning entry-level laptops, high-end workstations, and desktop all-in-ones.
Based on what Gurman’s report states, the next-gen Macs and iMacs are gearing up for the AI era, especially with Apple Silicon possibly taking huge leaps in performance. The decision is largely fueled by a rise in local AI workloads, where users are turning to unified memory architectures to run complex AI models and agents directly on-device.
Hence, if you are planning to get a new Mac over the coming years, we have prepared this Mac release timeline from Bloomberg’s leak, charting out which Macs will hit the market over the next two years.
2026 releases: New MacBook Pro, iMacs
Apple’s release plan for 2026 includes updates to the MacBook Pro and iMac lineup, continuing with the company’s annual release cycle.
Entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro: The standard 14-inch MacBook Pro will feature Apple’s next-generation M6 chip built on a 2-nanometer node. However, Apple will restrict this to just a processor upgrade, as the current design chassis remains unchanged.
Refreshed 24-inch iMac: The first major update to the all-in-one Apple desktop in two years comes in late 2026. Apple is upgrading the model to the upcoming M6 processor, which shall help with the new Apple Intelligence features announced on macOS 27.
Mac mini, Mac Studio: Apple is testing updated versions of the Mac mini and Mac Studio with the M6/M5 Pro and M5 Max/M5 Ultra configurations, respectively. However, extremely high demand for AI compute has pushed current shipping lead times out to three months, making launch timing dependent on memory availability.
Late 2026/ early 2027 release: MacBook Ultra steps in
In late 2026 or early 2027, Apple could make additions to the MacBook lineup with a high-end version, dubbed the Ultra.
High-End 14-inch, 16-inch MacBook Pros: Code-named or dubbed by rumours as the “MacBook Ultra,” this major redesign introduces a new OLED touchscreen, a thinner chassis, and a Dynamic Island replacing the camera notch. These laptops could be powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. Rumours have it that the M6 family of chips won’t spawn beefier Pro and Max variants in favour of the M7 generation processors.
Early 2027 release: New MacBook Airs, Neo updates
In early 2027, Apple will shower love on the MacBook Air and Neo models.
13-inch, 15-inch MacBook Air: The MacBook Air will get another spec bump to the M6 chip while preserving the current chassis design in early 2027.
2nd-Gen MacBook Neo: Following its debut in 2026, Apple’s budget laptop is slated to get a faster A19 Pro chip from the iPhone 17 Pro Max, an upgrade to 12GB unified memory (up from 8GB), and fresh colour options to establish an annual/periodic update cycle.
Late 2027 – 2028: The arrival of M7
In late 2027 to early 2028, Apple will likely be ready with the M7 generation processor family, which will be focused on on-device AI processing.
Base 14-inch MacBook Pro: The base 14-inch MacBook Pro will get the ‘Ultra’ redesign in late 2027 to match the slim aesthetic of the touchscreen models. This version will be powered by the standard M7 chip.
M7 Pro, M7 Max MacBook Pros: The next-gen silicon updates for top-tier MacBook Pros are arriving late 2027 or early 2028. This shall be the first major performance upgrade for the touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro, offering a huge step-up in performance.
OLED MacBook Air & iMac: An OLED display update for the MacBook Air is targeted for 2028 at the earliest, with an OLED iMac slated further out on the horizon. You can expect the MacBook Air to take design cues from the Pro models.
Buying guide for MacBook buyers
For all those in the market for buying a new MacBook, here is what we recommend, considering the leaked story:
If you need a Pro laptop soon: We recommend waiting for late 2026 / early 2027 to get new MacBook Ultra models, which will feature the first major hardware redesign in five years, featuring OLED screen and touch input.
If you’re on a budget: The second-generation MacBook Neo addresses early complaints by moving from 8GB to 12GB of RAM. This shall make it a far better long-term pick for light multitasking. Hence, potential MacBook Neo buyers should wait for the upgraded model to drop in early 2027.
However, those planning to get the MacBook Air M5 can consider purchasing it, given that the MacBook Air M6 won’t offer much of a performance boost or any changes in design.