Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Macworld reports that Apple is expected to release new iPad Pro models and an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro in the first half of 2027.
- The iPad Pro will retain its current design but feature faster internal chips, while the MacBook Pro will include an M7 processor and redesigned chassis.
- Apple appears to be accelerating M-series chip development, with the M7 generation arriving sooner than anticipated for these significant hardware updates.
The oft-reliable Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has a few new details about the hardware Apple expects to ship in the first half of 2027.
It starts with new iPad Pro models in the spring. The new models won’t be very different from the current models physically–expect 11-inch and 13-inch models with the same design, with both cellular-equipped and Wi-Fi only variants. The changes will be internal, with faster chips and perhaps vapor-chamber cooling, which Gurman says Apple has experimented with in iPad designs.
The more exciting update will be a new entry-level MacBook Pro. Apple is already preparing a new entry-level MacBook Pro for this fall with an M6 processor, which will be similar to the current M5 model. The company is also preparing a new touchscreen MacBook Pro with an all-new design, but it will use M5 Pro and Max chips. This is because Apple is going to fast-track the M7 processor generation, aiming to bring the first M7 Macs to market in the first half of 2027 and the M7 Pro and Max products in the fall of 2027, with an M7 Ultra pegged for 2028.
That’s what the new entry-level MacBook Pro in the first half of 2027 is all about. It will be a 14-inch model that features the same new design as the touchscreen MacBook Pros coming as soon as this fall. It will likely not have a touchscreen itself, being the more affordable version of the laptop, but it will share the other new design characteristics with the higher-priced touch models.
Between the RAM and storage shortages and general chip crunches, and the rapid generational jumps from M6 to M7 over the next year, it’s starting to look like this fall is not a great time to buy a new MacBook.
